David Gemmell on Life

"Fear is like a fire in your belly. Controlled, it warms you and keeps you alive. Uncontrolled, it burns and destroys you."

"I don't know yet whether I fully believe in fate, but certain things do happen in a man's life that he cannot explain."

"'A man should not risk his life for beauty alone, Kiall, for that fades. You might as well risk it for a rose. Think on it.'"

"When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive."

"Never be glad that another man has died. Not ever. It never ends. Never ... ever ... be glad to kill."

"I don't give a damn, laddie. Until the actual moment, when they cut me down, I shall still be looking to win. And the gods of war are fickle at best."

"Foolish: It's all foolish. Life is a farce— a stupid, sickening farce played out by fools."

"But from now on act the part. You will be amazed at the number of people you fool. Don't share your doubts! Life is a game, Scaler. Play it like that."

"When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die ... Evil cannot be overcome by evil."

"We are not made for life at all, old horse. It is made for us. We live it. We leave it."

"We like to think of life as a constant ... Yet it can be ended in a heartbeat."

"Too many people go through life without pausing to enjoy what they have."

"What is life if a man cannot count on his friends when he has gone mad?"

"For the lion to to prosper the deer must die. All the world is combat."

"Life is sad enough, Magir. Laughter is a thing to be treasured."

"Nothing in life is sure, my son. Except the promise of death."

"A man cannot spend his life worrying about the unexpected."

"Some of you are probably thinking that you may panic and run. You will not! Others are worried about dying. Some of you will. But all men die. No one ever gets out of this life alive."

"I don't understand how any man would wish to pursue such a away of life.Causing pain, being hurt, risking death — and for what? so that a crowd of fat-bellied merchants can see blood flow."

"Life is nothing unless death has been faced down."

"Nothing in life is easy, Arvan. But it's what I'm trained for. To lead an army. To bring death and destruction on my enemies A man must stand against evil wherever he finds it and he must use all his talents."

"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."

"It is easier with strangers, for they touch your life but for an instant. You will not disappoint them, for you owe them nothing; neither do they expect anything. Friends you can hurt, for they expect everything."

"How do you decide a battle is lost? Numbers, strategic advantage, positioning? It's all worth a sparrow's fart. It comes down to men who are willing. The largest army will founder if its men are less willing to die than to win."

"Evil is never truly strong, for it is born of fear. Why did he fall so easily? Because he tested your strength and saw the possibility of death had he possessed true courage, he would have fought back. Instead he froze — and died."

"We all of us carry the seed of evil in our hearts and souls ... Even the purest, even the most holy. It is part of the human condition, born in us. We cannot root it out. All that we can do — at best — is to prevent it from germinating."

"Look around you: see the people as they touch and show their love. But don't watch coldly, like an observer. Don't hover outside life—take part in it. There are people waiting to love you. It is not something you should turn down lightly."

"'Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty miles away.' ‘Life is a mystery,’ said Powdermill, with a gold-toothed grin. 'It is that, right enough,' agreed Huntsekker."

"There are many forms of cowardice, Chareos. One man can face a score of enemies with a sword, but not a sickness which paralyses him. Another can face death with a smile, yet fear the years of hardship and toil which are living. Are you a coward?"

"Why do they do it?" whispered Horeb. "Their eyes, you mean?" said Rek. "Yes. How can a man put out his own eyes?" "Damned if I know. They say it aids their visions." "Sounds about as sensible as cutting off your staff in order to aid your sex life."