“What will you do now?'I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.'No,' said Rek. 'I mean, what will you do today?'Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring,' said Bowman.”

“Today I could like anybody," said Rek, smiling. "The sky is clear, the wind is fresh, and life tastes very fine. What will you do now?""I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.""No," said Rek. "I mean, what will you do today?""Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring," said Bowman.”

“It is said that the gates of paradise can only be opened by the tears of those left behind. I do not know whether that be true. It should be, I think.”

“Fear is good, for it makes us cautious and aids survival. Not so with terror. It is like slow poison, paralyzing the limbs and blurring the mind. . . Never, when in danger, ask yourself, What will they do to me? Instead think, What can I do to prevent them?”

“Odysseus draped the towel over his shoulders and stretched his back. "You remember practicing with wooden swords? All the moves, the blocks, the counters, getting your footwork right, learning how to be in balance always?""Of course you were a hard master.""And you recall the first time you went into a real fight, with blood being shed and the fear of death in the air?""I do""The moves are the same, but the difference is wider than the Great Green. Love is like that, Helikaon. You can spend time with a whore and laugh and know great pleasure. But when love strikes--- ah, the difference is awesome. You will find more joy in the touch of a hand or the sight of a smile than you could ever experience in a hundred nights of passion with anyone else. The sky will be more blue, the sun more bright. Ah, I am missing my Penelope tonight”

“To be truthful i am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the comfort of friendship, but enduring happiness? If it exists i have not found it”

“We are fighting the greatest war the world has ever seen, and our likely future is death and ruins, and you are thinking about a women you love, instead of making battle plans. If this is what love can do to a man, perhaps you were better off without it. He smiled to himself. I do not believe that, he thought.”