Quotes from Bernard Cornwell

Because I'm tired of Wessex,' I said, 'tired of priests, tired of being told what your god's will is, tired of being told that I'm a sinner, tired of your endless damned nonsense, tired of that nailed tyrant you call god who only wants us to be miserable.

Priests have never been great men for the truth

I learned that the joy and the fear are the exact same things, the one merely transformed into the other by action

I spoke in English because the language of the Frisian people is so close to our own.

do hate talking to old women; they're so grateful for company

A man without honor has no reputation

Wyrd bi ful aræd.

Confusion is inevitable in battle, but indecision is unforgivable.

How many's that?" I asked the shepherd. "Jiggit and mumph, lord," he said. "Is that enough?" "It's enough, lord." "Kill the rest then," I said. "Jiggit and mumph?" Willibald asked, still shivering. "Twenty and five," I said. "Yain, tain, tether, mether, mumph. It's how shepherds count. I don't know why. The world is full of mystery.

understand, and then, of course, the Danes had come, and they tore the churches apart to steal the silver from the altars. I remember Ragnar laughing one day. "It is so kind of the Christians! They put their wealth

And Wessex was the last kingdom of England.

You road, Uhtred, is like a bright blade across a dark moor. I see it clearly.

A man whose house is burning to the ground does not carry water to his neighbour's fire

And where are we going?' he asked. to war,' I said grandly. 'We'll give the poets something to sing about. We'll wear their tongues out with singing! We're going to war, my friend,' I slapped Finan's shoulder, 'but right now I'm going to sleep. Keep the men busy, tell them they're going to be heroes!

Your road, Uhtred, is like a bright blade across a dark moor. I see it clearly.

It is a book of truths, that money and power are not the right ambitions of a virtuous man, but that justice, charity, and humility will bring you contentment.

it's full of Frenchmen who are raping anything that isn't dead and probably things that are dead if they're still fresh

That's the women's real gift, to be wise, and not many men have it.

victory does not come to men ho listen to their fears.

The rest merely requires common sense; it is like a boxing match, the more you punch the better it is.

There's no point in kicking a wild bee's nest, not unless you're determined to get the honey.

You don't buy a dog and bark yourself

Enemies come soon in man's life, you don't need to seek them out.

Lust is the deceiver. Lust wrenches our lives until nothing matters except the one we think we love, and under that deceptive spell we kill for them, give all for them, and then, when we have what we have wanted, we discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there. Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination.