David Gemmell: Trending quotes (page 2)

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 11
Context: We are closest to life when we are vying with death... The blood runs hot, the air smells sweet, the sky becomes an unbearably beautiful blue. Battle is intoxicating. That is why the ghastly vileness of war has always been so popular.

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 11
Context: Be at peace, my friend. One thing I have learnt about Death is that his bark is worse than his bite.

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 10
Context: It is the curse of absolute power, Olek. There is no one to admonish you, no laws save those you make. We like to believe there is something special, even alien, about evil. We like to think that tyrants are different from the rest of us. That they are somehow inhuman. They are not. They are merely unchained, unfettered; free to do as they please.

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 28
Context: 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.

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 21
Context: Winning is not everything, Stavut. Men like to think it is. Sometimes it is more important to stand against evil than to worry about beating it... Evil will always have the worst weapons. Evil will gather the greatest armies. They will burn, and plunder, and kill. But that's not the worst of it. They will try to make us believe that the only way to destroy them is to become like them. That is the true vileness of evil. It is contagious.

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 16
Context: One hundred only, Lord Earl. But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind.

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 9
Context: 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.

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 23
Context: 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.

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 13
Context: And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity— it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 12
Context: There is only one way to survive in war, and that is by being willing to die. You will find soon that swordsmen can be downed by untutored savages who would slice their fingers if asked to carve meat. And why? because the savage is willing. Worse, he may be a baresark.

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 5
Context: Self-preservation is a paramount desire in all of us. Good and evil are interchangeable. When the wolves pull down a fawn I don't doubt the doe would consider it an evil act. For the wolves it is a necessity, and they would see the arrival of fresh meat as good.

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 18

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 22

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 18
Context: "I had a teacher... He said there were three kinds of people in life: winners, losers and fighters. Winners made him sick with their arrogance, losers made him sick with their whining, and fighters made him sick with their stupidity." "In which category did he put himself?" "He said he had tried all three and nothing suited him." "Well, at least he tried. That's all a man can do, Lake. And we shall try."

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 23
Context: This enterprise was doomed, but we do what we can and do what we must. So a young farmer with wife and children decides to go home. Good! He shows a sense that you and I will never understand. They will sing songs about us, but he will ensure that there are people to sing them. He plants. We destroy.

Source: Drenai series, The Swords of Night and Day, Ch. 11
Context: We are closest to life when we are vying with death... The blood runs hot, the air smells sweet, the sky becomes an unbearably beautiful blue. Battle is intoxicating. That is why the ghastly vileness of war has always been so popular.

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8
Context: When responsibility is thrust upon you, can you run from it? No— you have never and you never will. That is what makes you as you are. That is why men follow you, though they hate your blood. They trust you.