“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
David Gemmell
Born place: in London, England, The United Kingdom
Born date August 1, 1948
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“Exactly what the powers of hell feed on: the best instincts in man.”
― Philip K. Dick, quote from VALIS
“Hence I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.”
― Malcolm X, quote from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“The tricky part of illness is that, as you go through it, your values are constantly changing. You try to figure out what matters to you, and then you keep figuring it out. It felt like someone had taken away my credit card and I was having to learn how to budget. You may decide you want to spend your time working as a neurosurgeon, but two months later, you may feel differently. Two months after that, you may want to learn to play the saxophone or devote yourself to the church. Death may be a one-time event, but living with terminal illness is a process.”
― Paul Kalanithi, quote from When Breath Becomes Air
“...waking at very early dawn amid all that sweat and stink, he had found himself comparing this ghastly journey with his own life, which had first moved over smiling level ground, then clambered up rocky mountains, slid over threatening passes, to emerge eventually into a landscape of interminable undulations, all of the same color, all bare as despair. These early morning fantasies were the very worst that could happen to a man of middle age; and although the Prince knew that they would vanish with the day's activities, he suffered acutely all the same, as he was used enough to them by now to realize that deep inside him they left a sediment of grief which, accumulating day by day, would in the end be the real cause of his death.”
― Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, quote from The Leopard
“Dimitri held up a car seat with one hand, which was almost comical. “We can go whenever you’re ready. Lana gave us this and swears it’s easy to install.”
Rose laughed at that. “Oh, this I’ve got to see, comrade. Dimitri Belikov, badass god, installing a baby’s car seat.”
― Richelle Mead, quote from The Ruby Circle
Midnight Alley
Among the Hidden
The Complete Stories
The Book of Negroes
The Fiery Heart
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.
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