‘The philosophers often talked of lies sitting on the tongue like salted honey. This was true enough. But more often the hidden truth was worse. Far worse. For it settled in the belly and grew to engulf the spirit.‘
– Serbitar, to himself, Legend
Tag Archives: David Gemmell
‘I am a woodsman. I know about trees. Once I worked in an orchard. Did you know you can take cuttings from any variety and graft them to another apple tree? One tree can have twenty varieties. It’s the same with pears. My father always said men were like that with knowledge. So much can be grafted on, but it must match what the heart feels. You can’t graft apple to pear.‘
– Druss, to Sieben, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘Any death produces guilt. A son dies of plague, and the mother will berate herself for not taking the child away to somewhere safe before disease struck. A man falls to his death, and his wife will think, “If only I had asked him to stay home today.” It is the nature of good people to draw burdens to themselves. All tragedy could be avoided, if only we knew it; therefore when it strikes we blame ourselves.‘
– Shalitar, to Druss, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘Hatred is like a plague. It is all-consuming, and it springs from man to man. Our enemies become demons, their wives the mothers of demons, their children infant demons.‘
– Banouin, to Connavar, Sword in the Storm
‘It is hard to explain. You start by asking yourself what makes a true man. Is it his ability to hunt, or to farm, or to breed stock? In part the answer is yes. Is it his capacity to love his family? In part the answer is also yes. But there is something else. Something grand. It seems to me that there are three instincts which drive us on. The first is self-preservation – the will to survive. The second is tribal. We have an urge to belong, to be a part of a greater whole. But the third? The third is what counts, boy, above all things.
That is even harder to explain. The lioness would willingly give her life to save her cups. That is her way. But I have seen a woman risk her life for someone else’s child. The third instinct compels us to put aside thoughts of self-preservation for the sake of another life, or a principle, or a belief.”‘
– Kebra, to Conalin, Winter Warriors
‘Now this is how courage and fear work, lad. Both will always be pushing. They are never still. And a man cannot choose to stop pushing. For if he backs away the fear will come after him, and push him pack another step, and then another. Men who give in to fear are like kings who trust in castles to keep out enemies, rather than attacking them on open ground, and scattering them. So the enemies camp round the castle, and now the king cannot get out. Slowly his food runs out, and he discovers the castle is not a very safe place to be.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘When I see birds flying south I know winter is coming. They do not need to be large birds.‘
– Kysumu, to Waylander, Hero in the Shadows
‘Beware of arrogance, laddie. I have seen great fighters brought down by an idiot with a bow. Once I saw a fine warrior felled by a stone hurled from a child’s sling. Fate has a dark sense of humour sometimes.‘
– Druss, to Skilgannon, White Wolf
‘The losers are always evil, for it is the victors who sing the songs that become history.‘
– Gorgon, to Alexander, Dark Prince
‘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