‘A man must stand against evil wherever he finds it and he must use all his talents.‘
– Tenaka Khan, to Scaler, The King Beyond the Gate
Tag Archives: David Gemmell
‘My father told me never to be a part of anything that lacked honour. He once said to me that there was no greater satisfaction for a man than to be able to look in a mirror while shaving, and be proud of what he saw.‘
– Premian, to Jomil, The Legend of Deathwalker
‘Love is a mystery. We embrace it where we can. Mostly we do not choose whom we love. It just happens. A voice speaks to us, in ways the ear cannot hear. We recognize a beauty that the eye does not see. We experience a change in our hearts that no voice can describe. There is no evil in love.‘
– Odysseus, to Kalliope, Shield of Thunder
‘You humans are wonderful creatures. You can show compassion and love that is awe-inspiring, and hatred of such power and vileness it could darken the sun itself. What you find hard to accept is that such extremes are in each and every one of you. You gaze upon the works of evil men and you tell yourself that they must be monsters, inhuman and different. Because to accept that they are just like you would threaten the foundations of your existence.‘
– Ustarte, to Waylander, Hero in the Shadows
‘When the wolf slaughters the sheep we shrug and say, it is his nature. When the sheepdog turns on the flock it breaks our hearts, for his actions are treacherous.‘
– Gershom, to Helikaon, Shield of Thunder
‘And this is your first lesson: A warrior has only one true friend. Only one man he can rely on. Himself. So he feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks skill, he practises. Where he lacks knowledge he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul. Do not speak badly of yourself, for the warrior that is inside you hears your words and is lessened by them. You are strong and you are brave. There is a nobility of spirit within you. Let it grow – you will do well enough.‘
– Chareos, to Kiall, Quest for Lost Heroes
‘Evil? An interesting concept. The fox eats the partridge chicks. For the fox it is a delightful breakfast. For the mother partridge it is an evil calamity. It all becomes merely a case of which perspective one takes. The partridge or the fox.‘
– The Thagda, to Connavar, Sword in the Storm
‘Sometimes life can be needlessly cruel. You have witnessed such a time. Evil does not grow from the head of a devil with horns – if it did we would all run from it. It springs from an angry word, and settles in the ears of the hearers. It can grow almost unnoticed until it flowers in rage and envy, jealousy and greed. The next time you have an angry thought about a clan brother or sister, remember this.‘
– Kollarin, to the clan children, Ironhand’s Daughter
‘You have honour and principles. You are a great man. It doesn’t matter about the past. You are who you are, regardless of it. When I first began to dig trenches they told us the foundations needed to be four feet deep. When the first earthquake hit, all our new buildings crumbled. Foundations should have been six feet deep, you see. All that digging just to make an unsafe house. But it didn’t make me a bad digger. I was a great digger. A legend among diggers.‘
– Yu Yu Liang, to Kysumu, Hero in the Shadows
‘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