Quotes from Louis L'Amour

From The Skull and the Arrow : The man went on until he saw the dark opening of a cave. He turned to it for shelter then, as men have always done. Though there are tents and wickiups, halls and palaces, in his direst need man always returns to the cave.

Strange how it was always the spoiled who weakened and cried first, and it was the injured, the maimed, the blind, and the poor who fought on alone. Perhaps

To disbelieve is easy; to scoff is simple; to have faith is harder. Yet I had faith in the intentions of my countrymen, no matter how far they might at times stray from those intentions.

Don't go for that gun," I said quietly. "I want you tried in a court of law, not dead on this floor.

At another time she had said, "Do not be afraid. A little fear can make one cautious. Too much fear can rob you of initiative. Respect fear, but use it for an incentive, do not let it bind you or tie you down.

Remember that, son. The dogs bark, but the wagons go on their way, and if you're going someplace you haven't time to bother with barking dogs.

In Bowdrie's limited vocabulary, to be responsible was the most important word.

It has often been said that we have but one life to live; that is nonsense. If one reads fiction he or she can live a thousand lives, in many parts of the world or in outer space.

If one really wants to learn, one has to decide what is important. Spending an evening on the town? Attending a ball game? Or learning something that can be with you your life long?

Not even a mouse trusts himself to one hole only

The whole town was like that. Probably there weren't three men in town who had not used guns, and used them a lot.

Never let them know how you feel or what you are thinking. If they know how you feel they know how to hurt you, and if they hurt you once, they will try again.

It means little to anybody but us. We set store by kinfolk. We've our troubles from time to time, but when one of us is in danger, there'll be help from any who are around.

He was realizing how cheap are the principles for which we do not have to fight, how easy it is to establish codes when all the while our freedom to talk had been fought and bled for by others.

One thing I'd learned over the years: never to waste time moaning about what couldn't be helped. If a body can do something, fine—he should do it. If he can't, then there's no use fussing about it until he can do something.

And as far as trails go, there's always an open trail for the mind if you keep the doors open and give it a chance.

You will remember that we won our freedom because we were armed. We were not a simple peasantry unused to weapons. The men who wrote our Constitution knew our people would be safe as long as they were armed.

Luck comes to a man who puts himself in the way of it. You

for the bringer of meat is welcome at any fire.

The best of all things is to learn. Money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to mind is yours forever.

It is not enough to do, one must also become.

Unless one is at heart a rascal, I think he becomes a little better in many ways by assuming leadership.

sleep whenever there was time and to eat when there was food.

He had no love for sleeping inside and wanted his horse near him. There was something about lying under the stars that was conducive to thought, and he had some thinking to do.