{"author":"David Gemmell","author_id":"David+Gemmell","total_quotes":46,"quotes":[{"text":"An enemy is like a man's most prized flower. It brings him joy to see it buried in the ground.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["death","enemy","flowers"],"id":2105,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"Risks? I have lived with the prospect of assassination for years. What risks? All men die, rich and poor alike. But if I am to die, then let it be while I fight, not like some bullock in a pen waiting for the ax to fall.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["death","risk"],"id":10253,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"There is a darkness in you. In all of us, probably. Beasts we keep chained. Ordinary men have to keep the chains strong, for if we let the beast loose then society will turn upon us with fiery vengeance. Kings though...Well, who is there to turn upon them? So the chains are made of straw. It is the curse of kings, Helikaon, that they can become monsters. And they invariably do.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["evil","humanity","kings","leadership","treachery"],"id":10375,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"Life is a struggle, from the agonies of birth to the railing against death. Devour or be devoured. The law of the wild.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["death","life","struggle"],"id":11750,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"It is hard to be angry when one has seen the sun rise,' she said.It seems to be true,' he admitted. 'I wonder why.'Because it makes one feel so small and insignificant. It has been rising forever and will rise forever no matter what we do or do not do. All our problems are as nothing to the sun.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["anger","emotion","life","philosophy","sun"],"id":23547,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"It seems to me, that you people spend a great deal of time talking about honour, but strip away the high sounding words and you are no different from any other race. Family? Has Priam not killed wayward sons? When a king dies do his sons not go to war with one another to succeed him? Men speak of how you reacted to your father's death. They say it was amazing, for you did not order your little brother's execution. Your race thrives on blood and death, Helikaon. Your ships raid the coasts of other nations, stealing slaves, burning and plundering. Warriors brag of how many men they have killed, and women they have raped. Almost all of your kings either seized their thrones with swords and murder, or are children of men who seized power with swords and murder. So put all this talk of honour to one side.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["family","honour","murder","war"],"id":37584,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"... Life can be savored only if you look to the future and leave vengeance to the gods.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["life","revenge","vengeance"],"id":43695,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["age","death"],"id":55681,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"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.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["love","reality","realization","true-love"],"id":58175,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"},{"text":"Our souls are but leaves in a storm, and only the gods know where we will come to rest.","author":"David Gemmell","tags":["destiny","fait","gods","life","people","prophecy"],"id":66397,"author_id":"David+Gemmell"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":46,"pages":5,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}