Quotes from Captain Alatriste

“No era el hombre más honesto ni el más piadoso, pero era un hombre valiente.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“It was one of Diego Alatriste's virtues that he could make friends in Hell.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“The men buckled on their weapons and started outside amid high expectations, taking care not to leave their backs unguarded -- just in case -- for Jesus may have said something about brothers, but he made no mention of cousins.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“—Así podrá instruirse y estudiar leyes para sangrar de su último maravedí a los pleiteantes; como hacen vuestras mercedes los abogados, escribanos y otras gentes de mal vivir.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Imaginad el cuadro: sería vuestra merced tan amable de venir a la luz y destocarse, caballero, gracias, veo que sois el más rubio, permitid que os introduzca una cuarta de acero toledano en los higadillos.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“A ese tiempo infame lo llaman siglo de Oro. Mas lo cierto es que, quienes lo vivimos y sufrimos, de oro vimos poco; y de plata, la justa. Sacrificio estéril, gloriosas derrotas, corrupción, picaresca, miseria y poca vergüenza, de eso sí que tuvimos a espuertas. Lo que pasa es que luego uno va y mira un cuadro de Diego Velázquez, oye unos versos de Lope o de Calderón, lee un soneto de don Francisco de Quevedo, y se dice que bueno, que tal vez mereció la pena.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Una de aquellas sonrisas hechas de esa lucidez y esa mirada penetrante que en las mujeres constituye exclusivo patrimonio; fruto de siglos y siglos de ver, en silencio, a los hombres cometiendo toda suerte de estupideces”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“El capitán, seguro de no resistir mucho rato frente a cinco hombres armados y diestros en el oficio, decidió no andarse con lindezas de esgrima, y en vez de curar su salud procuró desbaratar la de sus enemigos.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Quizás los malvados se cansan tanto como los corazones leales, pensé un instante. A fin de cuentas, nadie elige su destino.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“viva España y demás, y angelitos al cielo o a donde tocara ir.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“—Una cosa es una cosa, y otra cosa es otra cosa.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“que tú haría un viaje largo, muy lejos... Y sepas lo que sepas, no lo cuentes ni bajo confesión. Si de esto se entera un cura, cuelga los hábitos, vende el secreto y se hace rico.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Mantenerse vivo, descubrí durante esos días, da muchas más fatigas que dejarse morir,”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“por mucho que nuble, la sombra siempre termina despuntando cosida a los pies de uno. Y nadie puede escapar de su propia sombra.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Tal vez su condición de viejo soldado —había peleado en Flandes y el Mediterráneo tras escapar de la escuela para alistarse como paje y tambor a los trece años— dejó impresa en él aquella manera tan suya de encajar el riesgo, los malos tragos, las incertidumbres y sinsabores de una vida bronca, difícil, con el estoicismo de quien se acostumbra a no esperar otra cosa.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“No quedaba más remedio que jugar la partida con las nueve cartas que el burlón destino acababa de ponerle en las manos, aunque éstas fueran pésimas.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Cuerpo a cuerpo he de matalle donde Sevilla lo vea, en la plaza o en la calle; que al que mata y no pelea nadie puede disculpalle; y gana más el que muere a traición, que el que le mata.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“Cualquier hombre cabal puede escoger la forma y el lugar donde morir, pero nadie elige las cosas que recuerda.

Capitán Alatriste”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“—¿Tanta importancia dais al valor? —A veces es lo único que queda —respondió con sencillez el capitán—. Sobre todo en tiempos como éstos, cuando hasta las banderas y el nombre de Dios sirven para hacer negocio.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“establecimientos públicos de moral relajada o equívoca, que en aquella España paradójica, singular e irrepetible, se veían tan frecuentados como las iglesias, y a menudo por la misma gente.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“En aquel tiempo, cualquier cosa (...) podía ser comprada con dinero; hasta las conciencias. Tampoco es que hayamos cambiado mucho desde entonces.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

“A fin de cuentas, se consoló, por mucho que duela y tardes en morir, al final siempre te mueres. Y quien muere, descansa.”
― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, quote from Captain Alatriste

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Popular quotes

“Sometimes the best things are the ones that aren’t planned, the decisions made while living in the moment.”
― Jessica Sorensen, quote from The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

“Though I obviously have no proof of this, the one aspect of life that seems clear to me is that good people do whatever they believe is the right thing to do. Being virtuous is hard, not easy. The idea of doing good things simply because you're good seems like a zero-sum game; I'm not even sure those actions would still qualify as 'good,' since they'd merely be a function of normal behavior. Regardless of what kind of god you believe in--a loving god, a vengeful god, a capricious god, a snooty beret-wearing French god, or whatever--one has to assume that you can't be penalized for doing the things you believe to be truly righteous and just. Certainly, this creates some pretty glaring problems: Hitler may have thought he was serving God. Stalin may have thought he was serving God (or something vaguely similar). I'm certain Osama bin Laden was positive he was serving God. It's not hard to fathom that all of those maniacs were certain that what they were doing was right. Meanwhile, I constantly do things that I know are wrong; they're not on the same scale as incinerating Jews or blowing up skyscrapers, but my motivations might be worse. I have looked directly into the eyes of a woman I loved and told her lies for no reason, except that those lies would allow me to continue having sex with another woman I cared about less. This act did not kill 20 million Russian peasants, but it might be more 'diabolical' in a literal sense. If I died and found out I was going to hell and Stalin was in heaven, I would note the irony, but I couldn't complain. I don't make the fucking rules.”
― Chuck Klosterman, quote from Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

“Having a lover/friend who regards you as a living growing criatura, being, just as much as the tree from the ground, or a ficus in the house, or a rose garden out in the side yard... having a lover and friends who look at you as a true living breathing entity, one that is human but made of very fine and moist and magical things as well... a lover and friends who support the ciatura in you... these are the people you are looking for. They will be the friends of your soul for life. Mindful choosing of friends and lovers, not to mention teachers, is critical to remaining conscious, remaining intuitive, remaining in charge of the fiery light that sees and knows.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, quote from Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

“Why would I care what you looked like? The flesh was the shell that housed the glory.”
― Anne Bishop, quote from Dreams Made Flesh

“I don't think anyone ever remembers what they were really like as kids. Adults think they do, but they don't. Photos and videos don't capture the real you, or bring back to life the person you used to be. You have to return to the past to do that.”
― Darren Shan, quote from Sons of Destiny

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.