Bernard Cornwell - Sir Quotes

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"It is not wise, I think, to mix private revenge with war."
"Of course it's not wise, but it's bloody enjoyable. Enjoying yourself, Sergeant?"
"Never been happier, sir."

Bernard Cornwell
"She's like a woman, sir, take care of her and she'll take care of you."
"You'll notice he let Mister Sharpe do the ramming, sir."

Bernard Cornwell
"They're drunk sods, sir, but they're the best Soldiers in the world. The very best." And he meant it. They were the elite, the damned, the Rifles. They were Soldiers in green. They were Sharpe's Rifles.

Bernard Cornwell
Unfairness existed, it always had and it always would, and the miracle, to Sharpe's eyes, was that some men like Hill and Wellesley, though they had become wealthy and privileged through unfair advantages, were nevertheless superb at what they did. [...] Sharpe did not care that Sir Arthur Wellesley was the son of an aristocrat and had purchased his way up the ladder of promotion and was as cold as a lawyer's sense of charity. The long-nosed bugger knew how to win and that was what mattered.

Bernard Cornwell
I doubt I called him illegitimate, sir. I wouldn't use that sort of word. I probably called him a bastard.

Bernard Cornwell
"Form them up Sergeant!"
"Aye aye, sir."
"You're not a bloody sailor, Sergeant. A plain yes will do."
Aye aye, sir."

Bernard Cornwell
"You had no choice, sir."
"There's always a choice."

Bernard Cornwell
What did he want? A tournament? Who does he think we are? The knights of the round bloody table? I don't know what happens to some folk. They put a sir in front of their names and their brains get addled. Fighting fair! Whoever heard of anything so daft? Fight fair and you lose.

Bernard Cornwell
There's no chance of cheering him up, sir. He likes being miserable, so he does, and the bastard will get over it.

Bernard Cornwell
"They're not going, sir. Not going South."
"And who made that decision, Sergeant?"
"We all did, sir."
"Since when, Sergeant, has this army been a... a democracy?"
"A what, sir?"
"Since when did Sergeants outrank Lieutenants?"

Bernard Cornwell
"Our guide, a fisherman. A good fellow."
"He doesn't hate us?"
"Hate us?"
"I keep being told how the Spanish hate us, sir."
"He hates the French, like I do, Sharpe. If there is one constancy in this vale of tears, it is always hate the damned French, always."

Bernard Cornwell
We have to level the ground, Sir, because God didn't think of gunners when he made the world. He made too many lumps and not enough smooth spots. But we're very good at improving His handiwork, sir.

Bernard Cornwell
To say anything was useless, to say nothing was cowardly. "I think it a bad idea, Sir."

Bernard Cornwell
"What do you think?"
"Sir?"
"Frightening? Did you ever learn mathematics?"
"Yes, sir."
"So add up how many Frenchmen can actually use their muskets."

Bernard Cornwell
"The Major's a grand big fellow, so he is."
"So what are we? The damned?"
"We're that, sure enough, but we're also Riflemen, sir. You and me, we're the best God-damned Soldiers in the world."

Bernard Cornwell
Sir Thomas was a sentimental man. He loved Soldiers. He had once thought all men who wore the red coat were rogues and thieves, the scourings of the gutters, and since he had joined the army he had discovered he was right, but he had also learned to love them. He loved their patience, their ferocity, their endurance, and their bravery.

Bernard Cornwell
There's a great blood mine, sir! Just waiting to kill our lads! I ain't letting that happen. You can do what you bloody well like, but I'm going to kill some more of these bastards.

Bernard Cornwell