Quotes About Responsibility

You were right. I should really never have gone back to Jerott. Intolerance drunk is bad enough, but intolerance sober is quite insupportable.

As a man, this child would be one's offering to the future races of men. The burden of his upbringing, wherever it fell: however tiresome or onerous, was of no importance compared with his living grasp of the future.

At the end of life, parent and kinsman are as a blind man set to look after a burning lamp.

our childhood is over now, Marshal. Mankind can survive very well without an intimate study of your susceptibilities but not, unfortunately, without your other functions and talents. Do you think I bring any child into the world to live for himself alone?

Is that your whole measure? To shirk what is difficult? To escape to safety, like a strawberry-preacher, when your friends are in danger? My gentleman: if you run from me now, I will brand you and your sister in France, in Scotland, in Midculter and out of it for what you were: rotten stock.

Then I tell you,' Sybilla said, 'that you have no leave to die. Nor have you leave to desert the race you belong to. I want your word that from this moment, you live.

There was a space, during which, of the five men and women standing or kneeling about Francis Crawford, only one watched him. Then Lymond said clearly, 'On my honour, I promise it.

Sybilla said, 'If there are swords, then I suppose you must wear yours. But it is you we need.' 'We?' he said. 'Five hundred thousand people,' said Sybilla. 'You have a high opinion of my swordsmanship,' Lymond said.

Now she was wiser. In this brief and dizzying apprenticeship, she had started to realize that, whatever his occupation, Lymond's life was lived on this level: the level on which the future of whole communities could be steered or reshaped, improved or jeopardized by a handful of people.

It is not easy for Brehons to decide concerning bees that have taken up their lodging in the trees of a noble dignitary; with respect to which it is not easy to cut the tree.

Do you think I bring any child into the world to live for himself alone?

And did you mean to honour your promise?" Sybilla said.

You don't remember?" Sybilla said. "No. I don't suppose you do. You begged a favour of me, and once it was granted you had no reason to remember your promise. I will remind you. You said, 'I will promise anything. I will do anything you wish, to the end of my life, if you will tell me the name of the house that you know of.

I sometimes wonder," said Francis Crawford, "if I only exist to be sacrificed to." Her heart beating strongly, she watched him. "Perhaps," she said. "But if you accept sacrifices, you must respond with acts of reparation.

She told me one night that she had no wish to go on living, and that if she did, it could only harm you. She was thirteen years old.… Can you not stand still, and look me in the face, and give me an answer?

The carrying voice of Alec Guthrie said unexpectedly, 'But as Sir Graham has already pointed out, every practising Christian must serve two masters.' 'My God … I know it,' said Lymond. 'My nerves are on edge like a Dublin butcher over the conversation as it is. The situation is that Sir Graham's other Master and I are in perfect accord; whereas, being human, I am not convinced that Sir Graham and I should necessarily be.

The master had gone very red. 'My lord, there can only be one who commands on a ship.' 'That is correct. And you have kindly handed me your authority for a day,' Lymond said. 'Go and sleep. I shall give you your ship back at nightfall.' His jaw jutting, the master turned on Lord Culter. 'I will stand security for him,' said Richard gravely. 'If he chips the shaft of an oar, I shall pay for it.

You wouldn't expect me to make social calls if you had the remotest idea of the work entailed in bringing two unfortunate persons to the altar.' Careless words. 'It takes ten minutes, in my experience,' Lymond said.

There is a new game about to begin. Will you leave it to others?' 'As you will leave it to your son,' said Francis Crawford. 'It is all I find I can do.

Philippa. You gave your husband a brevet to absent himself from his responsibilities. I have cancelled it.

They told me that if I didn't come back, they would force you to marry?' In the plain, sensible face, the brown eyes were derisive. 'Is that why you came back?' said Kate Somerville. 'No. I knew you could handle it.' 'Thank you,' said Kate.

Marriage, like law, is a practice. Aut bibat, aut abeat. Subscribe, or get out of it.

You sit on trouble, don't you, until it blows up in your face?

Adam!' said Danny. 'You mustn't drop out of the choir. We have too much to do. What do we have to do?