‘I said I was frightened. There’s a difference. A coward is a man who knows what’s right, but is afraid to do it; there’s plenty of them around. But the worst of them are easy to spot: they talk loud, they brag big, and given a chance they’re as cruel as sin. ‘
– An old man, to Druss, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘I said no such thing, lad. I said I was frightened. There’s a difference. A coward is a man who knows what’s right, but is afraid to do it. There’s plenty of them around. But the worst of them are easy to spot: they talk loud, they brag big, and given a chance they’re as cruel as sin.’
– An Old Man, to Druss, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘Fear is sensible. Never make the mistake of equating it with cowardice.’
– Sieben, to Druss, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘We are all of us hybrid beasts. There is the savage in us, who would tear out an enemy’s heart and devour it raw. There is the lover, who composes songs to the woman who owns his soul. There is the father, who holds his child close, and would die to protect it from all harm. Three creatures in one man. And there are more. In every one of us is the total of all we have ever been, the sullen child, the arrogant youth, the suckling babe. Every fear endured in childhood is lodged somewhere in here. And every act of heroism or cowardice, generosity or meanness of spirit.‘
– Gershom, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘In life there are two kinds of people: those who run from their fears, and those who overcome them. Fear is like a coward. If you back away it becomes a fearsome bully who will beat you into the ground. Face him and he shrinks to a tiny noise insect.‘
– Keeva’s Uncle, to Keeva Taliana, Hero in the Shadows
‘Know this, to fail is not so terrible. The real act of cowardice is never to try.‘
– Maedhlyn, to Cormac, Last Sword of Power
