Bernard Cornwell Short Quotes

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

Bernard Cornwell
They haven't made an armor strong enough to resist an English arrow.

Bernard Cornwell
You know what the trick of a long life is, Sharpe? Stay out of range.

Bernard Cornwell
Remember, Mr Sharpe, an officer's eyes are more valuable than his sword!

Bernard Cornwell
Good plain soldiering wins wars. Doing mundane things well is what counts.

Bernard Cornwell
Put a British Soldier in a wilderness and he would soon discover a taproom.

Bernard Cornwell
They thought war was a game and every defeat only made them more eager to play.

Bernard Cornwell
You won't regret the men you never killed, but you will regret the women you passed up.

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

Bernard Cornwell
"I did not love, but yearned to love."
"A very elaborate way of saying you're lonely."

Bernard Cornwell
"So I do my duty, and land in the shit."
"You have at last seized the essence of soldiering."

Bernard Cornwell
If he had learned one thing as a Soldier it was that any decision, even a bad one, was better than none.

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
It seemed that if someone was lost in Copenhagen then the citizens regarded it as their duty to offer help.

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

Bernard Cornwell
My God, I will not abide plundering, especially by officers. How can you expect obedience from the men when officers are corrupt?

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
A soldier's death, he thought, was a happy one, because a man, even in the throes of awful pain, would die in the best company of the world.

Bernard Cornwell
"You know how to deal with senior officers?"
"Respectfully."
"Confuse them. Except for the ones who can't be confused, like Wellington."

Bernard Cornwell
"Your nephew plays."
"My nephew and his friends practice."
"He would do better to look to his soul."
"He has no soul, he's a soldier."

Bernard Cornwell
The bards sing of love, they celebrate slaughter, they extol kings and flatter queens, but were I a poet I would write in praise of friendship.

Bernard Cornwell
"The door is locked, Captain."
"Then I'll break it down."
"It is a shrine."
"Then I'll say a prayer of forgiveness after I've knocked it down."

Bernard Cornwell
You can keep your sword, for you fought proper. Like a proper soldier. Take your blade to paradise, and tell them you were killed by another proper soldier.

Bernard Cornwell
"They'll bloody kill you."
"Maybe they'll turn and run.
"God save Ireland, and why would they do that?"
"Because God wears a green jacket, of course."

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
I think the Holy Grail is a dream that men have, a dream that the world can be made perfect. And if it existed, then we'd all know the dream can't come true.

Bernard Cornwell
The Light Company were not worried by the French. If Richard Sharpe wanted to lead them to Paris they would go, blindly confident that he would see them through

Bernard Cornwell
The Major was a courteous man, judicious and sensible, but he doubted the fighting efficiency of the South Essex would be improved by a campaign to improve its manners.

Bernard Cornwell
"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