David Gemmell
I think maybe it is better to believe than not to believe. But I couldn't tell you why.Collection: Believe
Some people are born ugly. It's not their fault, and I for one have never held it against a man that he is ugly. but others and I count myself among them are born with handsome features. That's a gift that should not be lightly taken away.Collection: Taken
This world has few redeeming features, and one is the capacity for people to love one another with great, enduring passion.Collection: Passion
By nature of definition only the coward is capable of the highest heroismCollection: Coward
Most wars are fought for greed, but we are luckier here we fight for our lives and the lives of the people we love.Collection: War
Life is nothing unless death has been faced down.Collection: Life Is
It is easier with strangers, for they touch your life but for an instant. You will not disappoint them, for you owe them nothing; neither do they expect anything. Friends you can hurt, for they expect everything.Collection: Hurt
Plan for the worst, expect the best.Collection: Missionary
Hold on to your dreams, Kiall. They are more important than you realise.Collection: Dream
... Life can be savored only if you look to the future and leave vengeance to the godsCollection: Looks
War. What was it about the prospect of some bloody enterprises that reduced men to the level of animals?Collection: War
Kings are chosen by the Source, so it is said. [...] Therefore those who fight for the king can be said to be godly. Is that not cause enough?Collection: Kings
It would be a fine thing if war could be conducted as a game where no lives were lost. At the end of a battle combatants could meet [...] and drink and talk.Collection: War
The baresark loses all fear; his method is all-out attack, and invariably he takes his opponent with him even if he falls.Collection: Fall
Life is sad enough, Magir. Laughter is a thing to be treasured.Collection: Laughter
'Do not expect help.' 'One should always hope.' 'Then hope for a handsome savage with kindly ways.'Collection: Savages
But men don't come in just two groups, one of gold and the other of lead. They are a mix of both." "And what about women?" "Pure gold, my girl," Rayvan answered with a chuckle.Collection: Girl
Why now? Why not? Live or die, a man and a woman need love. There is a need in the race. We need to share. To belong. Perhaps you will die before the year is out. But remember this: to have may be taken from you, to have had never. Far better to have tasted love before dying, than to die alone.Collection: Taken
No one can take away the freedom of a man's soul.Collection: Men
Bow to nothing, son. I make mistakes as well as any man. If you think me wrong, be so good as to damn well say so.Collection: Mistake
One hundred only, Lord Earl. But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind.Collection: Numbers
Your men are brave men, And you have won. I can live with that, Earl of Bronze a poor man would I be if I could not.Collection: Men
How many hopes and dreams are trapped within these bones? How many wonders lie never to be discovered? This is what war is. Desolation, despair and loss. There are no victors.Collection: Dream
Yours is a race whose imagination is limited to its own small appetites. Greed, lust, envy - these are the motivating forces of humankind. What redeems you is that in every man and woman there is a seed that can grow to encompass love, joy and compassion. But this seed is never allowed to prosper in fertile ground. It struggles for life among the rocks of your human soul.Collection: Struggle
Evil lives in a pit. If you want to fight it – you must climb down in the slime to do so.Collection: Fighting
All things are possible, ... Except the passing of regret.Collection: Regret
The very odd thing about sagas ... is that they very rarely mention dry mouths and full bladders.Collection: Odd Things
A man cannot spend his life worrying about the unexpected.Collection: Men
I would have offered you a forest of truth, but you wish to speak of a single leafCollection: Wish
All legends have a base in fact.Collection: Legends
love is in the eyes, and one woman knows when another woman is in love.Collection: Eye
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.Collection: Prayer
When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive.Collection: War
No matter how impossible this war, I shall fight to win. Whatever I have to do, I will do.Collection: War
Liberty is only valued when it is threatened, therefore it is the threat that highlights the value. We should be grateful to the Nadir, since they heighten the value of our liberty.Collection: Grateful
I am not going to talk about patriotism, duty, liberty, and the defense of freedom because that's all dung to a soldier.Collection: Soldier
While men compete in war, there will be warriors. While there are warriors, there will be princes among warriors. Among the princes will be kings, and among the kings an emperor.Collection: Kings
All men have talents. Some build, some paint, some write, some fight. For me it is different.Collection: Writing
Why must I have the Piglet?' 'Because you are the best.' 'I do not understand.' 'Teach him.' 'And who teaches me?' ' As an officer, my lord, you will have many men under your command and not all will be gifted. You must learn to use each man to his best advantage.Collection: Men
Most of the heroes we remember we remember only because they won. To win you must be ruthless. Single-minded ... which was why he had no friends just admirers.Collection: Hero
You do not convince me. You rationalize your actions and because the result is favorable you become right.Collection: Action
Our souls are but leaves in a storm, and only the gods know where we will come to rest.Collection: Soul
A man can overcome his background, even as he can overcome a skilled opponent.Collection: Men
Life is a struggle, from the agonies of birth to the railing against death. Devour or be devoured. The law of the wild.Collection: Struggle
You are getting too old for this. A man is as old as he feels, woman! And how old do you feel? About ninety.Collection: Men
All beauty is sad. [...] For it fades.Collection: Fades
When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die ... Evil cannot be overcome by evil.Collection: Evil
An enemy is like a man's most prized flower. It brings him joy to see it buried in the ground.Collection: Flower
Blood always aids blood, my friend.Collection: Blood