Quotes from Lord of the Silver Bow

“The purpose of debates is to explore issues, not end them.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“You do not convince me. You rationalize your actions and because the result is favorable you become right.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Love is not about conquest. The truth is a man can only find true love when he surrenders to it. When he opens his heart to the partner of his soul and says: "Here it is! The very essence of me! It is yours to nurture or destroy.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Odysseus draped the towel over his shoulders and stretched his back. "You remember practicing with wooden swords? All the moves, the blocks, the counters, getting your footwork right, learning how to be in balance always?"
"Of course you were a hard master."
"And you recall the first time you went into a real fight, with blood being shed and the fear of death in the air?"
"I do"
"The moves are the same, but the difference is wider than the Great Green. Love is like that, Helikaon. You can spend time with a whore and laugh and know great pleasure. But when love strikes--- ah, the difference is awesome. You will find more joy in the touch of a hand or the sight of a smile than you could ever experience in a hundred nights of passion with anyone else. The sky will be more blue, the sun more bright. Ah, I am missing my Penelope tonight”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences. To be truthful I am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the comfort of friendship, but enduring happiness? If it exists I have not discovered it.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Danger lies in the extreme. A man who is always cruel is evil, a man who is always compassionate will be taken advantage of. It is more a question of balance, or harmony, if you will.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“A great man once told me there can be no courage without fear”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“We cannot hide behind high walls, our hearts trembling. For that is not life. We must accept the needs and the duties of each day, and face them one at a time.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Listen...You could spend a lifetime trying to understand the works of evil men. Their joys are not ours. They love to inflict pain, create suffering, cause harm and death. It empowers them, for beneath the skin they are empty and worthless.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Never liked Kolanos. Was at a feast with him one time. Never heard him fart at all. Can't trust a man who doesn't fart at a feast.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Our lives are spent sailing in the mist, hoping for a burst of sunlight that can make sense of who we are.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Love requires a different kind of courage, Andromache.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“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.' He tapped his temple. 'And every act of heroism or cowardice, generosity or meanness of spirit.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“War is the enemy of civilization. We cannot grow through war, Xander. It drags us down, filling our hearts with hatred and thoughts of revenge.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“One day the enemy will cross the Great Green. They will bring war and tragedy to these eastern lands. Such is the nature of vile men. Yet we cannot live in dread of them. We cannot hide behind these high walls, our hearts trembling. For that is not life. We must accept the needs and the duties of each day, and face them one at a time.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“Be lucky, Xander, and be brave. You will find that bravery and luck are often bedfellows.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“You can buy gold that is bright as the sun and diamonds as pale as the moon. But you cannot buy the sun. You cannot own the moon.” II”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“My happiness is not in the gift of others. I will be happy or I will not be happy. No man will supply it or deprive me of it.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

“I know the difference between heroes and cowards. You are a hero. You believe me?’ ‘I don’t feel like a hero,’ Xander admitted. Odysseus tapped the cheekbone under his right eye. ‘This eye is magical, Xander. It is never wrong. Now, I ask again, do you believe me?’ ‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ ‘Then tell me what you are.’ ‘I am a hero.’ ‘Good. When doubt comes, as it always does, remember those words. Say them to yourself. And I will see you again in the spring, if the gods will it.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Lord of the Silver Bow

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Popular quotes

“I thought that I must always search for the remarkable combinations, add unknowns, mix things that were clearly marked with things beyond marking. I would leave the simulated test and enter into forbidden territory. I would look for that moment when I would begin to pour alone and in wonder. I would always try to seize that moment and to accept its challenge. I wanted to become the seeker, the aroused and passionate explorer, and it was better to go at it knowing nothing at all, always choosing the unmarked bottle, always choosing your own unproven method, armed with nothing faith and a belief in astonishment. And if by accident, I could make a volcano in a single test tube, then what could I do with all the strange magnificent elements of the world with its infinity of unknowns, with the swarm of man, with civilization, with language?”
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“I loved you then and I love you now and I have loved you every second in between.”
― Stephen King, quote from Lisey's Story

“Vengeance is a dish best served cold. (Thanatos)
We’re in Alaska, dickhead. Here everything is cold. (Zarek)”
― Sherrilyn Kenyon, quote from Dance with the Devil

“I opened the door and went inside, calling "I'm home!" Except that I wasn't, really. Because home meant something else to me now, and had for quite awhile. And he didn't live there anymore.”
― Meg Cabot, quote from Twilight

“I wish I could say I rushed back and confronted George to get his side of the story. I wish I could say I stood up to Vic and insisted that George be given a translator and allowed to defend himself or announced that I'd find a lawyer who'd handle the case pro bono. At the very least I should have testified as to the kid's honesty. The mystery to me is that there's not much worth stealing in the dry-storage room, at least not in any fenceable quantity: "Is Gyorgi here, and am having 200- maybe 250-catsup packets. What do you say?" My guess is that he had taken- if he had taken anything at all-some Saltines or a can of cherry pie mix and that the motive for taking it was hunger.

So why didn't I intervene? Certainly not because I was held back by the kind of moral paralysis that can mask as journalistic objectivity. On the contrary, something new-something loathsome and servile-had infected me, along with the kitchen odors that I could still sniff on my bra when I finally undressed at night. In real life I am moderately brave, but plenty of brave people shed their courage in POW camps, and maybe something similar goes on in the infinitely more congenial milieu of the low-wage American workplace. Maybe, in a month or two more at Jerry's, I might have regained my crusading spirit. Then again, in a month or two I might have turned into a different person altogether - say, the kind of person who would have turned George in.”
― Barbara Ehrenreich, quote from Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America

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