Quotes from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Success is not worth rejoicing over, failure is not worth grieving over.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“You may return and tell Sun Quan to wash his neck: the executioner is coming.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Victory and defeat are but ordinary events in a soldier's career, and why should you give up?”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“The hound and hare were both so wearied that the peasant got them all.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“From the days of old, those who walk in the way have replaced those who deviate therefrom; those who lack virtue have fallen before those who possess it. Can one escape fate?”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“He is a perfect genius, god and devil combined, the greatest marvel of the age.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“When all dreams wane, same are loss and gain”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Just introduce a woman, conspiracies succeed; Of soldiers, or their weapons, there really is no need.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Solving this issue is as easy as turning over one's hand!”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“I have received the command from Heaven: May my time be always long and prosperous.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Heaven has abandoned us. But you, the tool of his crime, will assuredly perish!" Thereupon Li Ru grew more angry, laid hands on the Empress and threw her out of the window.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

“Suddenly there appeared a general, with a small following, who cried out, “Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are two traitors. The princely Liu Bei is a most upright man and has come here to preserve his people. Why do you repulse him?” All looked at this man. He was of middle height, with a face dark brown as a ripe date. He was from Yiyang and named Wei Yan.”
― Luo Guanzhong, quote from Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes

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“je lui tendis les trois pommes vertes que je venais de voler dans le verger. Elle les accepta et m'annonça, comme en passant :

— Janek a mangé pour moi toute sa collection de timbres-poste.

C'est ainsi que mon martyre commença. Au cours des jours qui suivirent, je mangeai pour Valentine plusieurs poignées de vers de terre, un grand nombre de papillons, un kilo de cerises avec les noyaux, une souris, et, pour finir, je peux dire qu'à neuf ans, c'est-à-dire bien plus jeune que Casanova, je pris place parmi les plus grands amants de tous les temps, en accomplissant une prouesse amoureuse que personne, à ma connaissance, n'est jamais venu égaler. Je mangeai pour ma bien-aimée un soulier en caoutchouc.

Ici, je dois ouvrir une parenthèse.

Je sais bien que, lorsqu'il s'agit de leurs exploits amoureux, les hommes ne sont que trop portés à la vantardise. A les entendre, leurs prouesses viriles ne connaissent pas de limite, et ils ne vous font grâce d'aucun détail.

Je ne demande donc à personne de me croire lorsque j'affirme que, pour ma bien-aimée, je consommai encore un éventail japonais, dix mètres de fil de coton, un kilo de noyaux de cerises — Valentine me mâchait, pour ainsi dire, la besogne, en mangeant la chair et en me tendant les noyaux — et trois poissons rouges, que nous étions allés pêcher dans l'aquarium de son professeur de musique.

Dieu sait ce que les femmes m'ont fait avaler dans ma vie, mais je n'ai jamais connu une nature aussi insatiable. C'était une Messaline doublée d'une Théodora de Byzance. Après cette expérience, on peut dire que je connaissais tout de l'amour. Mon éducation était faite. Je n'ai fait, depuis, que continuer sur ma lancée.

Mon adorable Messaline n'avait que huit ans, mais son exigence physique dépassait tout ce qu'il me fut donné de connaître au cours de mon existence. Elle courait devant moi, dans la cour, me désignait du doigt tantôt un tas de feuilles, tantôt du sable, ou un vieux bouchon, et je m'exécutais sans murmurer. Encore bougrement heureux d'avoir pu être utile. A un moment, elle s'était mise à cueillir un bouquet de marguerites, que je voyais grandir dans sa main avec appréhension — mais je mangeai les marguerites aussi, sous son oeil attentif — elle savait déjà que les hommes essayent toujours de tricher, dans ces jeux-là — où je cherchais en vain une lueur d'admiration. Sans une marque d'estime ou de gratitude, elle repartit en sautillant, pour revenir, au bout d'un moment, avec quelques escargots qu'elle me tendit dans le creux de la main. Je mangeai humblement les escargots, coquille et tout.

A cette époque, on n'apprenait encore rien aux enfants sur le mystère des sexes et j'étais convaincu que c'était ainsi qu'on faisait l'amour. J'avais probablement raison. Le plus triste était que je n'arrivais pas à l'impressionner. J'avais à peine fini les escargots qu'elle m'annonçait négligemment :

— Josek a mangé dix araignées pour moi et il s'est arrêté seulement parce que maman nous a appelés pour le thé.

Je frémis. Pendant que j'avais le dos tourné, elle me trompait avec mon meilleur ami. Mais j'avalai cela aussi. Je commençais à avoir l'habitude.
(La promesse de l'aube, ch.XI)”
― Romain Gary, quote from Promise at Dawn

“You could pretend that Guenever was a sort of man-eating lioncelle herself, or that she was one of those selfish women who insist on ruling everywhere. In fact, this is what she did seem to be to a superficial inspection. She was beautiful, sanguine, hot-tempered, demanding, impulsive, acquisitive, charming - she had all the proper qualities for a man-eater. But the rock on which these easy explanations founder, is that she was not promiscuous. There was never anybody in her life except Lancelot and Arthur. She never ate anybody except these. And even these she did not eat in the full sense of the word. People who have been digested by a man-eating lioncelle tend to become nonentities - to live no life except within the vitals of the devourer. Yet both Arthur and Lancelot, the people whom she apparently devoured, lived full lives, and accomplished things of their own.

She lived in warlike times, when the lives of young people were as short as those of airmen in the twentieth century. In such times, the elderly moralists are content to relax their moral laws a little, in return for being defended. The condemned pilots, with their lust for life and love which is probably to be lost so soon, touch the hearts of young women, or possibly call up an answering bravado. Generosity, courage, honesty, pity, the faculty to look short life in the face - certainly comradeship and tenderness - these qualities may explain why Guenever took Lancelot as well as Arthur. It was courage more than anything else - the courage to take and give from the heart, while there was time. Poets are always urging women to have this kind of courage. She gathered her rose-buds while she might, and the striking thing was that she only gathered two of them, which she kept always, and that those two were the best.”
― T.H. White, quote from The Ill-Made Knight

“Similarly the animal psychologist, Aristophanes, accidentally discovered the world's first joke while inquiring into the hitherto mysterious motivations of pathway-traversing fowl.”
― quote from Death: A Life

“[...]Let me ask around. In the meantime, you need to keep that trinket out of sight, and you need to be careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
Garadin gave me the look. You know the one.
“Whenever I can,” I added.”
― Lisa Shearin, quote from Magic Lost, Trouble Found

“I began to sense that I would be a stranger in society for the rest of my life, and the desire was born in me to lead my life outside this society.”
― Hermann Hesse, quote from Peter Camenzind

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