"You may think life is sweet now, but when death is a heartbeat away then life becomes unbearably desirable. And when you survive, everything you do will be enhanced and filled with greater joy: the sunlight, the breeze, a good wine, a woman's lips, a child's laughter."

"Life is nothing unless death has been faced down."

"Man alone, it seems, lives all his life in the knowledge of death. And yet there is more to life than merely waiting for death. For life to have meaning, there must be a purpose. A man must pass something on — otherwise he is useless."

"This world has few redeeming features, and one is the capacity for people to love one another with great, enduring passion."

"There is only one way to survive in war, and that is by being willing to die. You will find soon that swordsmen can be downed by untutored savages who would slice their fingers if asked to carve meat. And why? because the savage is willing. Worse, he may be a baresark."

"I am not going to talk about patriotism, duty, liberty, and the defense of freedom — because that's all dung to a soldier."

"Be at peace, my friend. One thing I have learnt about Death is that his bark is worse than his bite."

"Most of the heroes we remember—we remember only because they won. To win you must be ruthless. Single-minded ... which was why he had no friends—just admirers."

"None of us can choose the manner of our passing."

"Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at something."

"The point is [...] that you never know whether you've lost until you've lost. Anything can happen."

"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."

"No one can take away the freedom of a man's soul."

"We are not made for life at all, old horse. It is made for us. We live it. We leave it."

"Liberty is only valued when it is threatened, therefore it is the threat that highlights the value. We should be grateful to the Nadir, since they heighten the value of our liberty."

"I'm not laughing at you. [...] I'm laughing at the whole stupid business. We face the biggest threat in our history and they give me a helmet too big,and you a helmet too small, and tell us we can't exchange them. It's too much. Really."

"I don't give a damn, laddie. Until the actual moment, when they cut me down, I shall still be looking to win. And the gods of war are fickle at best."

"A man should be free to do what he wants to do, as long as it doesn't hurt others."

"I underestimated you, woman." ... "The cry of men down the ages."

"A man's strength is ultimately born of his knowledge of his own weakness ..."

"How do you decide a battle is lost? Numbers, strategic advantage, positioning? It's all worth a sparrow's fart. It comes down to men who are willing. The largest army will founder if its men are less willing to die than to win."

"A man must know his limitations."

"What I did understand from the rebirth process was that the rebirth reproduced a physical duplicate of the original. But this is my point. It is physical. What truly makes a man who he is? Is it the strength of his arms, or the courage of his soul? You have your own soul, Harad. You are not Druss. Live your own life."

"“I understand why some men become soldiers: to protect the nation and all that. But a whole race of people living to be soldiers seems … unhealthy. Does that sound right?”“Indeed it sounds right. But the northern steppes make poor farmland. Mainly they breed goats and ponies. Any luxuries they desire, they must steal.”"

"I am not going to kill a man because he won't let us rob him." "Then go back to your mother and send for a man who wants to win."

"Each man has a breaking point, no matter how strong his spirit. Somewhere, deep inside him, there is a flaw that only the fickle cruelty of fate can find."

"Foolish: It's all foolish. Life is a farce— a stupid, sickening farce played out by fools."

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

"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."

"By nature of definition only the coward is capable of the highest heroism."

"...the baresark loses all fear; his method is all-out attack, and invariably he takes his opponent with him even if he falls."

"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."

"[F]ear is a great ally."

"When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive."

"A man with wife and daughters has no place losing his temper."

"A man cannot spend his life worrying about the unexpected."

"I had a teacher ... He said there were three kinds of people in life: winners, losers and fighters. Winners made him sick with their arrogance, losers made him sick with their whining, and fighters made him sick with their stupidity." "In which category did he put himself?" "He said he had tried all three and nothing suited him." "Well, at least he tried. That's all a man can do, Lake. And we shall try."

"[A]ll men die. ... A man needs many things in his life to make it bearable. A good woman. Sons and daughters. Comradeship. Warmth. Food and shelter. but above all these things, he needs to be able to know that he is a man. And what is a man? He is someone who rises when life has knocked him down. Someone who raises his fist to heaven when a storm has ruined his crop — and then plants again. And again. A man remains unbroken by the savage twists of fate. That man may never win. But when he sees himself reflected, he can be proud of what he sees. For low he may be in the scheme of things: peasant, serf, or dispossessed. But he is unconquerable. And what is death? an end to trouble. An end to strife and fear. ... Bear this in mind when you decide your future."

"One hundred only, Lord Earl. But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind."

"We don't seem to be overflowing with luck." "You make your own. I put no faith in gods, Lake. Never have. If they exist, they care very little—if at all—about ordinary mortals. I put my faith in me, and do you know why? Because I have never lost!"

"A friend in need is a friend to be avoided."

"It's a funny thing about weaknesses....Most people will tell you they know their weaknesses. When asked, they'll tell you, 'Well for one thing, I'm overgenerous.' ... that's what innkeepers are for."

"A problem shared is a problem doubled."

"'Winning and losing is entirely dependent on what you are fighting for,' answered Shaoshad. 'All men here could die, yet you could still win. Or all men could live, and you could lose.'"

"Any good that I may do, let me do it now, for I may not pass this way again."

"War. What was it about the prospect of some bloody enterprises that reduced men to the level of animals?"

"War is for men, for honor and glory."

"A methodical people," pulsed the voice of Kesa Khan. "They call themselves civilized because they can build tall castles and pitch their tents with geometric precision, but from here you can see the reality. Ants build in the same way. Are they civilized?"

"Majon rubbed his tired eyes. 'You mock politics,' he said softly. 'You sneer at diplomacy. But how do you think we hold the world at peace? I'll tell you, Sieben. Men like me travel to places like this, and we're fed those horse-turd cakes of yours. And we smile, and we say how nourishing they are ... We do this not for gain, but for peace and prosperity. ... Druss is a hero; he can enjoy the luxury of living his own life and speaking his own truths. Diplomats cannot. Now will you help me to convince him?' Sieben rose. 'No, ambassador, I will not. You are wrong in this - though I give you the benefit of the doubt as to your motives.' He walked to the door and turned. 'Perhaps you've been eating those cakes too long. Perhaps you have acquired a taste for them.'"

"We sit here safe, within a circle of swords held by other men."