David Gemmell - Man Quotes

42 Sourced Quotes

View all David Gemmell Quotes
A man can be aroused to anger as easily as he is aroused to rut. The two emotions are closely linked. Anger and lust. So the warrior is aroused in battle and fights to dominate.

David Gemmell
... a man can overcome his background, even as he can overcome a skilled opponent.

David Gemmell
I don't know yet whether I fully believe in fate, but certain things do happen in a man's life that he cannot explain.

David Gemmell
I never worshipped anything but my sword and my wits; now I suffer for it. But I can take it, for am I not a man?... It is not hard to be a legend, Tenaka. It is what follows when you have to live like one.

David Gemmell
And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity—it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!

David Gemmell
Live or die, a man and a woman need love. There is a need in the race. We need to share. To belong. Perhaps you will die before the year is out. But remember this: to have may be taken from you, to have had never. it is far better to have tasted love before dying than to die alone.

David Gemmell
Bow to nothing, son. I make mistakes as well as any man. If you think me wrong, be so good as to damn well say so.

David Gemmell
"You are getting too old for this." "A man is as old as he feels, woman!" "And how old do you feel?" "About ninety."

David Gemmell
What do you mean, why? Is it not obvious? What is life but a betrayal? We start out young, full of hope. The sun is good; the world awaits us. But every passing year shows how small you are, how insignificant against the power of the seasons. Then you age. Your strength fails, and the world laughs at you through the jeers of younger men. And you die. Alone. Unfulfilled. But sometimes... sometimes there will come a man who is not insignificant. He can change the world, rob the seasons of their power. He is the sun.

David Gemmell
I remember a tutor who told me that all the world's hunters have eyes that faced front: lions, hawks, wolves, men... He said man was no different from the tiger. We are nature's killers, and we have great appetites for it... Listen, Rayvan, the beast is in all of us. We do our best in life, but often we are mean, or petty, or needlessly cruel. We don't mean to be, but that's the way we are.

David Gemmell
"Why do they do it?" whispered Horeb. "Their eyes, you mean?" said Rek. "Yes. How can a man put out his own eyes?" "Damned if I know. They say it aids their visions." "Sounds about as sensible as cutting off your staff in order to aid your sex life."

David Gemmell
Never be glad that another man has died. Not ever. [...] It never ends. Never... ever... be glad to kill.

David Gemmell