Stephen R. Lawhead

“Great Light, the Enemy's power is so fragile! The devils can use only what we ourselves will give them. Do you see? Give them nothing and their power fails; it falls like a spent arrow, like a blade broken and blunted.”

“How is a man fortunate to live in the darkness, brother?""Why do you wonder?" asked Blaise. "For only he who has lived in darkness truly knows and values the light.”

“Those diversions sparked her life with momentary excitement. Without them, Charis felt she would be driven mad by the unrelenting sameness of life in the palace. Now and again she imagined that she would like to run away, to disguise herself and travel the tumbled hills, to see life among the simple herdsmen and their families; or perhaps she would take a boat and sail the coasts, visiting tiny, sun-baked fishing villages and learning the rhythm of the sea.Unfortunately, making good either of those plans would mean taking action, and the only thing more palpable than the boredom she endured was the inertia that enclosed her like a massive fist. The weighty impossibility of changing her life in any but the most insignificant detail insured that she would not try.She sighed again and returned to the corridor, pausing to pick a sunshade from a nearby bush, idly plucking the delicate yellow petals and dropping them one by one, like days, fluttering from her hand.”

“Kingship wrought of Infinite worship,Quick-forged by the Swift Sure Hand;Bold in Righteousness,Valiant in Justice,A sword of honor to defend the clans of Albion!”

“We will journey in hope, and trust the Swift Sure Hand to guide us.''A little guidance would not go amiss right now,' I confessed, gazing out at the trackless waste of hills and empty sky.'Llew,' he said, 'we have ever been led.”

“Unbelievers enjoy the security of their unbelief; there is great confidence in ignorance.”

“Two friends . . . there are stronger forces on earth, perhaps, but few as tenacious and enduring as the bond between true friends.”

“Humility, if it comes at all, almost always comes too late.”

“Pray God our aim is straight and true and each arrow finds its mark.”

“Perhaps it is how we are made; perhaps words of truth reach us best through the heart, and stories and songs are the language of the heart”

“That was on the pillar stone on Ynys Bainail," I said, indicating the carving. "What does it mean?""It is Mor Cylch, the maze of life," Tegid told me. "It is trodden with just enough light to see the next step or two ahead, but not more. At each turn the soul must decide whether to journey on or whether to go back the way it came.""What if the soul does not journey on? What if it chooses to go back the way it came?""Stagnation and death," replied Tegid with mild vehemence. He seemed irritated that anyone would consider retreating."And if the soul travels on?""It draws nearer its destination," the bard answered. "The ultimate destination of all souls is the Heart of the Heart.”

“Words are worth little when the heart refuses to hear. Therefore, judge us by our works.”

“Three things cannot be called back: the arrow when it speeds from the bow, the milk when the churn is upturned, the word when it leaps from the tongue.”

“A man can learn much, but learning is not knowledge. The only true source of infallible certainity is divine illumination.”

“We would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth.”

“Arthur’s fingers tighten on the silver-braided hilt: see how naturally it fits his hand! He pulls.The Sword of Britain slides from its stone sheath. The ease with which this is accomplished shines in the wonder in Arthur’s eyes. He truly cannot believe what he has done. Nor can he comprehend what it means.”

“Arthur, with his keen blue eyes and hair of burnished gold, his ready smile and guileless countenance. Wide and heavy of shoulder, long of limb, he towers above other men and, though he does not yet know the power of his stature, he is aware that smaller men become uneasy near him. He is handsomely knit in all; fair to look upon.”

“Who upholds the gorsedd if not You? Who counts the ages of the world if not You? Who commands the Wheel of Heaven if not You? Who quickens life in the womb if not You? Therefore, God of All Virtue and Power, sain us and shield us with Your Swift Sure Hand.”

“To see evil and call it good, mocks God. Worse, it makes goodness meaningless. A word without meaning is an abomination, for when the word passes beyond understanding the very thing the word stands for passes out of the world and cannot be recalled.”

“Power as I possess is not, as many believe, given in exchange for a soul. To hear the ignorant speak, one would think it is merely a simple bargain, an exchange of vows, perhaps, and the power one seeks simply flows from the fingertips for the asking. But no, it is not so easy as that! The truly great gifts are not gifts at all, but treasures obtained after long and difficult searching, prizes won only through hard-fought victories over relentless, near-invincible adversaries. [...]The ignorant speak of hidden arts, but they are not hidden. Indeed, there is nothing secret about them at all; they are freely open and available to any who would pursue them. Ah, but the price! The price is nothing less than the devotion of an entire life. So perhaps the simple-minded are right, after all, in thinking of the acquisition of power as a pact in which the soul is bartered. There is no other way.- Morgian”

“He also possessed Aurelius' curious innocence in battle: the fearless forgetting which led him to attempt and to achieve the impossible. This would, of course, come to be noticed much later. But even now he could be seen to exhibit a certain disregard for his own safety. I recognized it well, and knew its source, for I had ridden with Aurelius.In anyone else it would have been called carelessness. Or foolishness, more like. But it was never that. Arthur simply did not feel afraid. Daring, bravery, boldness, valor - these are qualities of overcoming fear.What is it, then, when there is no fear?”

“The female heart is a world unto itself, incomprehensible to men. Yet I perceive that you have been of a mood today: pensive, contemplative, hesitant, expectant. And you have spent the better part of the day watching me as if you thought I might follow your merlin into the sky and never return.”

“And it came to me while I [Merlin] was singing - watching the ring of faces around the night's fire, their eyes glinting like dark sparks, gazing raptly as the song kindled and took light in their souls - it came to me that the way to men's souls was through their hearts, not through their minds. As much as a man might be convinced in his mind, as long as his heart remained unchanged all persuasion would fail. The surest way to the heart is through song and story: a single tale of high and noble deeds spoke to men more forcefully than all of blessed Dafyd's homilies.I do not know why this should be, but I believe it to be true. I have seen the humble folk crowd into the chapel in the wood to receive the mass. In all sincerity they kneel before the holy altar, mute, reverent, as they should be, but also uncomprehending.Yet, I have seen the eyes of their souls awaken when Dafyd reads out, "Listen, in a far country there lived a king who had two sons..."Perhaps it is how we are made; perhaps words of truth reach us best through the heart, and stories and songs are the language of the heart.”

“They are young and life has no limits. Nothing is impossible, nothing beyond doing or knowing. The world is theirs and everything in it.”

“Do not think it impossible just because it has never happened.- Friar Tuck”

“She [Mérian] shook her head sadly. 'What Bran wants is impossible.''Well,' I [Will] said, 'I wouldn't be too sure. I have seen the lone canny fox outwit the hunter often enough to know that it matters little how many horses and men you have. All the wealth and weapons in the world will not catch the fox that refuses to be caught.”

“I know nothing of any phantom,' replied Aethelfrith. 'What sort of phantom is it presumed to be?''Why,' replied the merchant, 'it takes the form of a great giant of a bird. Men hereabouts call it King Raven.''Do they indeed?' wondered the friar, much intrigued. 'What does it look like - this giant bird?'The merchant stared at him in disbelief. 'By the rood, man! Are you dim? It looks like a thumping great raven.”

“Earth and sky, rock and wind, bear witness!By the power of the Swift Sure Hand, I claim this ground and sain it with a name: Bwgan Bwlch!Power of fire I have over it,Power of wind I have over it,Power of thunder I have over it,Power of wrath I have over it,Power of heavens I have over it,Power of earth I have over it,Power of worlds I have over it!As tramples the swan upon the lake,As tramples the horse upon the plain,As tramples the ox upon the meadow,As tramples the boar upon the track,As tramples the forest host of heart and hind,As tramples all quick things upon the earth,I do trample and subdue it,And drive all evil from it!In the name of the Secret One,In the name of the Living One,In the name of the All-Encircling One,In the name of the One True Word, it is Bwgan Bwlch,Let it so remain as long as men surviveTo breath the name.”

“It is right to pay heed to the stories of our people, for that is how we learn who we are and what is required of us in this life and the life beyond.”

“Stop, Morgian. Your wiles cannot avail you now.’ He turned to the High King and said, ‘The hurt this woman has done me, I readily forgive. It is for the harm that she has caused others that she is to be judged.”

“The Queen of Air and Darkness tilted back her head and laughed. A more ghastly sound I hope never to hear. ‘Do you think I care about these trifles?’‘Murder is no trifle, woman,’ Arthur said. ‘No? How many men have you killed, Great King? How many have you slain without cause? How many did you cut down that you might have spared? How many died because you in your battle-rage would not heed their pleas for mercy?’The High King opened his mouth to speak, but could make no answer.”

“As I understand it, the Celts venerated all sorts of plexus-type things: the seashore, dawn, dusk, the edge of the forest - anything that was neither here nor there, so to speak.”

“The Otherworld does not supply the meaning of life. Rather, the Otherworld describes being alive. Life, in all its glory - warts and all, so to speak. The Otherworld provides meaning by example, by exhibition, by illustration if you will. ... Through the Otherworld we learn what it is be be alive, to be human: good and evil, heartbreak and ecstasy, victory and defeat, everything. ... where does one first learn loyalty? Or honor? Or any higher value, for that matter? ... Where does one learn to value the beauty of a forest and to revere it?'In nature?'Not at all. This can easily be proven by the fact that so many among us do not revere the forests at all - do not even see them, in fact. You know the people I am talking about. You have seen them and their works in the world. They are the ones who rape the land, who cut down forests and despoil oceans, who oppress the poor and tyrannize the helpless, who live their lives as if nothing lay beyond the horizon of their own limited earth-bound visions. But I digress. The question before us is this: where does one first learn to see a forest as a thing of beauty, to honor it, to hold it dear for its own sake, to recognize its true value as a forest, and not just see it as a source of timber to be exploited, or a barrier to be hacked down in order to make room for a motorway? ... the mere presence of the Otherworld kindles in us the spark of higher consciousness, or imagination. It is the stories and tale and visions of the Otherworld - that magical, enchanted land just beyond the walls of the manifest world - which awaken and expand in human beings the very notion of beauty, of reverence, of love and nobility, and all the higher virtues.”

“It is the poor man who clenches so tightly to the gold he is given - for fear of losing it. The man of wealth spends his gold freely to accomplish his will in the world. It is the same with life.'Suddenly ashamed of my conspicuous poverty, I lowered my eyes. But Scatha placed a hand beneath my chin and raised my head. 'Cling too tightly to your life and you will lose it, my Reluctant Warrior. You must become the master of your life, not its slave.”

“To friends! Life belongs to those who love, and where love reigns is man truly king!”

“When heaven joins the battle against you, who could stand?”

“If thou wouldst seek justice, thyself must be just. ”

“I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their water graves.”

“Bajo, quizá. Humillado, quizá. Incluso devastado. Pero no destruido. Y nunca, nunca, acabado.”

“Si queréis obtener justicia, también vosotros deberíais ser justos.”

“Las palabras que tengo que deciros son más amargas que la ceniza.Entonces ¡escúpelas ya! No serán más dulces por no pronunciarlas.”

“El agua es el elixir de la vida. Nunca me canso de beberla.”

“Este mundo está lleno de penurias, Dios lo sabe y no ahorra ninguna a sus propios sirvientes.”

“Dejaste de ser un príncipe cuando abandonaste a tu gente.”

“El respeto es un tesoro valioso que no cuesta nada. Si pudieras contener tu lengua, verías que puedes aprender a ser cortés.”

“Soy lo que quieras ver. Cada persona ve algo diferente. ¿Qué es lo que ves tú?”

“Cuando el cielo se une a una batalla en tu contra, ¿quién puede resistirlo?”

“Mejor morir en la batalla que vivir como un cobarde.”

“... la justicia debería proteger alguna vez a aquellos menos capaces de protegerse a sí mismos. ¿O ha cambiado eso?”

“Déjalo. Si eso es lo que verdaderamente siente, nada de lo que le digamos le va a hacer cambiar de opinión, y cabezota como es, nos iba a seguir de cualquier modo.”