Dave Duncan > Quotes

“Friends are harder to make than enemies, but they are more useful.”
― Dave Duncan, The Coming of Wisdom

“Faith was praiseworthy, but should be seasoned with intelligence.”
― Dave Duncan

“belief begins with the wish”
― Dave Duncan, The Alchemist's Apprentice

“Being a man is not a matter of whether hair grows on your chin, lad. It's inside your head. Some males never make it at all. Being a man is rolling up your sleeves and telling the world 'Now I'll play by the real rules—no more wooden swords. If I succeed, then the credit belongs to me, not my parents or teachers or employers, and I shall savor the prizes without guilt, knowing I earned them. And if I fail, then I'll pay the penalties without whimpering or blaming anyone else.' That's what manhood is,”
― Dave Duncan, Magic Casement

“He was so diplomatic he hardly spoke at all...”
― Dave Duncan

“What was wrong with darkness? In the darkness of the Earth the Mother caused seeds to sprout. In the darkness of the womb a baby was conceived. In the darkness of the graves her Children returned to her.”
― Dave Duncan

“A sheep in wolf’s clothing should not bleat within the pack.”
― Dave Duncan, The Reluctant Swordsman

“I never tell you lies, imp. But sometimes I don’t tell everybody all the truth.”
― Dave Duncan, Queen of Stars

“ first reaction to the indescribable, stupid, and undignified procedure required for procreation had been disappointment...”
― Dave Duncan

“No reason. Because it’s always been done that way. That’s the standard explanation for anything.”
― Dave Duncan, The Reluctant Swordsman

“Voilet had told me about wives. In cultures where marriage was practiced, he had said, a woman was allowed to choose the man who would own her, or at least she might protest if she did not approve of her father's choice. Usually but not always, a man was limited to owning one wife and therefore might display jealousy.”
― Dave Duncan, West of January

“Revenge was violence and therefore forbidden by the Teacher - excepting violence against unbelievers, of course, which this probably would be.”
― Dave Duncan

“Strange how what one saw depended on how one looked.”
― Dave Duncan, The Reluctant Swordsman

“He was their leader, and a leader must never admit to doubts.”
― Dave Duncan, The Runner and the Saint

“We were not mad youngsters, but love is not confined to the young. Indeed, true love is a phenomenon of middle age, for only then can one be sure that what one feels is not all lust. Passion is a product of love, not its source. Why do the young never see this?”
― Dave Duncan, The Hunters' Haunt

“And as for recreation, variety was a large part of it. Why sing the same song every night when there were so many beautiful melodies around to try? Of”
― Dave Duncan, The Cutting Edge

“His Majesty doesn't even visit the privy except on the advice of the Privy Council.”
― Dave Duncan

“The learned Paracelsus wrote that anything is poisonous in sufficient dosage.”
― Dave Duncan, The Alchemist's Apprentice

“wars are like love affairs—easy to start, hard to end, and outrageously expensive.”
― Dave Duncan, The Hunters' Haunt

“No, she who rides the tiger can never dismount!”
― Dave Duncan, Ill Met in the Arena

“People believe what they want to believe, lad. It’s very hard to believe in anything that will make you unhappy.”
― Dave Duncan, The Runner and the Wizard

“People value happiness by what it costs.”
― Dave Duncan, The Cutting Edge

“Youth departs: There are gains for all our losses, There are balms for all our pain, But when youth, the dream, departs, It takes something from our hearts, And it never comes again.   Stoddart, And It Never Comes Again”
― Dave Duncan, Magic Casement

“This is the end. There will be no more Blades books! (Thank you for liking them so much.)”
― Dave Duncan, The Ethical Swordsman

“Sober, for Gods’ sake? Fight sober? Jotnar think that’s unmanly. That’s worse cheating than using far-sight!”
― Dave Duncan, A Man of His Word

“I don’t like it, but as they say you can’t make chickens without breaking eggs.” The”
― Dave Duncan, The Stricken Field

“Your ladyship is most kind, but such a talent is a gift from God, nothing I can take pride in. Indeed, such a gift can be a burden, for it imposes the duty to develop it, which can require much work.” She sighed. “Like beauty?” What was the correct response to that? Who was she calling beautiful? I was hopeless at such courtly banter. “Beauty that is fated to bring joy to one man and great pain to all the rest? But no one could know more about that than yourself, my lady.”
― Dave Duncan, Ironfoot

“We all find reasons to accept sugary fables and ignore unwelcome tidings.”
― Dave Duncan, Impossible Odds

“It was a long time since he’d been one of a group. He had friends again.”
― Dave Duncan, A Man of His Word

“Preparing for war, as was well known in other lands but perhaps not then in that one, is usually a self-fulfilling precaution.”
― Dave Duncan, The Hunters' Haunt