Nicholas Monsarrat > Quotes

“...blue eyes as level as a foot rule, with wrinkles at the corners—the product of humour and of twenty years' staring at a thousand horizons.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“It was a marvellous morning, clear as a mirror, warm as the promise of love, bright as heaven.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kappillan of Malta

“Out on his flank, a soldier whipped up his crossbow, cocked it with a jerk on a leather thong, took aim and let fly. The iron-tipped arrow whistled through the air and found its mark, straight between the shoulder blades of the retreating spy. The man dropped like a stone. A short scream became a cough, and the cough a torrent of blood on the sand.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kappillan of Malta

“stations on board, the fo’c’sle had been allotted to”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“Huge waves, a mile from crest to crest, roared down upon the pygmies that were to be their prey; sometimes the entire surface of the water would be blown bodily away, and any ship that stood in the path of that onslaught shook and staggered as tons of green sea smote her upper deck and raced in a torrent down her whole length. Boats were smashed, funnels were buckled, bridges and deck-houses were crushed out of shape: men disappeared overboard without trace and without a cry, sponged out of life like figures wiped from a blackboard at a single imperious stroke.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“The Atlantic had never been specifically a British ocean; but it was even less a German one, and now was not the time for it to change its nationality.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“A British voice, measured, low-keyed, almost mournful, yet confident—the voice of the island’s Governor, General Sir William Dobbie—assured them that all would be well. His message was brief, and none the worse for that. It was also clear. Hard times might lie ahead of them, but with divine aid they would maintain the security of their island fortress: "I therefore call on all humbly to seek God’s help, and then in reliance on Him to do their duty unflinchingly.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kappillan of Malta

“He loved the sea, though not blindly: it was the cynical, self-contemptuous love of a man for a mistress whom he distrusts profoundly but cannot do without.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“The secret of good government is to let men alone.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The White Rajah

“Father Salvatore lived here for the last thirty years,’ he answered. ‘He lived with the brothers in the monastery. I cannot tell you why. Some say he was sent there after the war, as a punishment. For what? Some say he went mad, and was put in a cell. I said to you before, who can tell? Some say he chose to live here, instead of Malta, because of something that happened.’ His thigh was twitching again, and he calmed it like a fractious child, a child with toothache or a high fever. ‘They say he never spoke of it. It was a secret between himself and God. And perhaps the archbishop—who knows? … But now he rests here for ever.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kappillan of Malta

“The attack brought America into the war, an ally coming to the rescue at a most crucial moment: but her principal war was never the Atlantic – that lifeline remained, from beginning to end, the ward of the British and the Canadian navies. America turned her eyes to the Pacific, where she had much to do to stem the furious tide of the Japanese advance: in the Atlantic, the battle of escort against U-boats still saw the same contestants in the ring, now coming up for the fourth round, the bloodiest so far.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“The Captain drew a long breath, conscious deep within him of an enormous satisfaction. 'Write this down, and then send it to them. "To Flag Officer in Charge, Londonderry, v Marlborough. HMS Marlborough will enter harbour at 1300 today. Ship is severely damaged above and below waterline. Request pilot, tugs, dockyard assistance, and burial arrangements for one officer and seventy-four ratings." Got that?”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, Three Corvettes

“Probably I even remembered, subconsciously, having “Limey bastard!” shouted at me on a street-car … Yes, a certain bias might have crept in. But to an outside observer the fact did remain that, though a big effort was being made, it was not universal; it was being side-tracked all the time by foolish or trivial or catchpenny ideas and people: by people who thought it was funny to grab more than their share of what was going: by the man who was too smart to work one-hundred-percent, and the woman who was”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, H.M. Frigate

“It wasn’t that they were all pretty, but they were all attractive; they’d obviously taken endless trouble over their appearance, playing up any good feature and being clever about the remainder, and it was really delightful to walk down a street past this moving frieze of faces and figures, each of which seemed to have its own cunning distinction. They”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, H.M. Frigate

“You could do a lot with common sense, at sea. And you could do precious little without it.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea

“אדם הראוי להזכר: כבן ארבעים ושתיים או שלוש, שערו הבהיר מאפיר, עיניו הכחולות ישרות כסרגל, וקמטים בזויותיהן - פרי הומור ופרי עשרים שנות התבוננות אל אלף אופקים"
...
"...במלחמה הזו היו השנים חולפות, מאכלות לא רק אנשים ואוצרות, אלא גם מקדמות חיש את שטפם הרגיל של החיים. דבר לא עמד על עמדו: שום דבר לא חיכה לימות השלום בטרם יקרב לגשת אל הפרק הבא. האנשים זקנו. הנשים אהבו אותם יותר, או פחות, או התאהבו שוב. תינוקות נולדו, התבשילים התקלקלו, חלו מועדי פרעונן של משכנתאות, דוד מת והוניח צוואה משונה, אמא באה לגור עם המשפחה, הצבע התקלף מתקרת האמבטיה.
ולפעמים, מחמת הריחוק וההפרדה, קשה היה לעשות דבר בעניין הצבע או התינוק או ריבוי האהבה ומיעוטה. האנשים לא היה להם אלא לקוות, ולבטוח, ולהמתין שירגיעום או שיבגדו בהם, ולקבל מה שימצאו בשובם.
המרחקים גדולים היו, והחוט המקשר רופף היה לפעמים, מכדי שימלאו תפקיד פעיל בבתיהם כמו גם בים. והים - היתה לו זכות-הבכורה, אם טוב הדבר ואם אין.
... היה איש אחד... שהיה מהליט את חזהו בגאווה מפני שיש לו אישה וארבעה ילדים, ובזכותם דחו לו את הגיוס שלו שוב. אין בזה הגיון... בכל מקום אחר בעולם - ברוסיה או באנגליה או בגרמניה - העובדה שיש לך אישה וארבעה ילדים היא סיבה בשביל להלחם, לא בשביל להחלץ. פירוש הדבר שיש לך איזה דבר מיוחד להגן עליו.”
― Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea