David Greig > Quotes

“You seem to think peace is a natural state, Siward, and conflict its interruption, but the truth is the exact opposite. Peace is what the sea looks like in a dead calm - a rare and beautiful moment - something impossible - a glimpse of perfection before the wind comes back again.

You can no more force peace into existence than you can wander across the surface of the sea stamping the waves flat.”
― David Greig, Dunsinane

“So there comes a moment when we turn and look at each other - England and Scotland - and realise we just want different things. The Union is an unhappy marriage. I think it's time we both sat down and said it out loud - it's over.”
― David Greig

“Two centuries ago, Saint Colm, who was then a well-known and very holy man, became tired of Ireland and went looking for a new place to found a house. This was to be somewhere from where he could send out missions to pagans and gather souls for Christ, as well as do the work of the Lord with prayer and writing. So, Saint Colm and his twelve brothers took to the sea in their currachs and let the wind blow them where it would. Well, the wind blew them to I. They landed on the cobbled beach, and Saint Colm said to his brothers: “This is the right place.” Then he climbed Dùn Ì and turned his back on Ireland for ever.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“The Viking slept on cow straw by the fire. Una lay in the cot. She felt she ought to weep, but she wasn’t sure why. She was happy her husband was dead. She was sad about the monks. She was happy the bees had survived the winter. She was worried about Brother Martin. She felt sorry for the Viking, so far away from home. She was happy he liked her mead.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“The bees crawled happily round their complex interior architecture. The honeyed combs were like carved ivory screens flooded with warm summer sunlight.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Brother Finnian thought bees were male. That’s what his books told him. She had never contradicted him”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“God willing, you have many years ahead of you. When you’re young, the weight of the future can seem a burden at times, but I want to tell you, in each day which passes, no matter how hard it feels to bear, you can find something, Something to lighten the load: a joke, a face, some food, a song, a child, a man. Sometimes all of them in one day.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Brother Finnian thought bees were male. That’s what his books told him. She had never contradicted him, but she’d always known better. She’d tasted the bitter acrid stuff that comes out of male bodies, and she’d tasted the sweet nourishing stuff that comes out of female bodies. Honey was a woman’s gift, that much was clear. Also, bees lived together without fighting, sang as a choir and worked all year round. To say nothing of the fact that they spent their lives serving the needs of a big fat lazy king. Women.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“I said this thing was a thing too little for even God to care about. The smith said: “Wife, it’s my duty to correct you. I am your husband, and I am telling you now, God cares very, very, very much about even the smallest things.” And I said: “Well, it’s good to know he cares about your dick then.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Aed had taught Martin there were three different ways to understand scripture. 1. The Present Meaning 2. The Hidden Meaning 3. The Mysteries”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“The island was silent. The moon rose, full and fat. Moonbeams gilded the flowers and vegetables in the abandoned garden. Warm light filled the smithy window. From the ruined church, a lonely bell rang evensong.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Grimur came to a conclusion he’d been groping towards from his very first moments on I. Christians are strange.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“The grass of I is rich and green. It’s a pleasure to walk on. You could eat it yourself if you had the right teeth. Whoever they were, these Christ-loving men, they keep their cows well, Grimur thought.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Brother Aed was Martin’s anamchara, his spiritual guide.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Vespers Night was falling. The church was dark. Martin’s voice was quiet as he lit a candle for every soul lost in the massacre . . . for Brother Baithéne, Brother Gavin, Brother Fergus, Brother Colman, Brother Michael, Brother Clochán, Brother Ninian, Brother Jerome, Brother Odhran, Brother Colm, Brother Adomnán, Brother Peter, Brother Declan, Brother Tristan, Brother Ciaran, Brother Aodhan, Brother Flann, Brother Taghd, Brother Niall, Brother Cobtach, Brother Muirchertach, Brother Bran, Brother Rónán, Brother Máel Dúin, Brother Crundmáel, Brother Finnian, Father Abbot Blathmac. O God the Father, Creator of the world, Have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed. O God the Son, Redeemer of mankind, Deliver the souls of the faithful departed, O God the Holy Ghost, perfector of the elect, Accomplish the bliss of the faithful departed. Slowly, the church filled with light.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Copying was not a simple act of reproduction. It was also a type of prayer, the way to a deeper understanding of scripture. Writing out lines was a meditation on meanings and hidden meanings. Illustrations appeared on the page in a dream state of grace.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“You stupid boy. Grimur spoke gently. Why don’t you see? This is your fate. Woven into your story. Martin hung his head. He was so tired. You brought me back from the dead. “A miracle,” you called it. And you were right. I, Grimur No-Name, have been sent back from death to protect you while you finish this book. Even a pagan like me can see that. This task is given to you by your god.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“It says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I don’t understand. Well, it takes many years and much guidance to understand these words. Do you understand it? Well, I wouldn’t say I know it completely, but it’s something like “Everything is a story, a story told by God, and the story is God” . . . At least that’s how Brother Aed explained it to me. Everything is a story told by a god.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“He was so gentle with the beast. So careful with the udder. How could these be the same hands that had killed the smith? Maybe he just really likes tits?”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Even at the best of times, no one was less welcome in Scotland than a Viking after a massacre.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Nothing for you to worry about at all. The bees crawled happily round their complex interior architecture. The honeyed combs were like carved ivory screens flooded with warm summer sunlight.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Grimur’s father taught him the uses of trees. He showed him which wood was good for boats, which for bows, which for burning and which for building. He showed him how to make and repair all the things necessary for a farm. Grimur liked repairing.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“His flesh turned to wood. He became a tree . . . His roots reached down into I, curling and splitting like the inside of a lung. His arms became branches, reaching up and multiplying, his hands sprouting thin green leaves and clouds of pale blossom. . . . an ash.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“What do you call a Viking without a boat? said Una. I don’t know. Dead. That’s not funny.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Now it was high summer. Night made hardly a smear on the long blue days. The island had long forgotten the ache of winter’s grip. Bees hovered over the flowers in the garden even into the late evening. Small birds shouted to each other in the oak grove.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“The bees filled the air with a drowsy hum. Morning, ladies! (With bees, it was important to be respectful.) Sorry I’ve been away. Things have been a wee bit lively lately in the world of men.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Slaves, women, beggars, children, the sick, the feeble-minded . . . The Holy Spirit is in them all . . . Criminals, sinners, even the lowest of the low. God loves them all. Martin threw up his arms excitably. Imagine! Grimur did imagine. He felt it was an implausible and vaguely comical idea and not one he wanted to spend much time on, because this evening they had to rescue a cow.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“He once told Grimur that the only purpose of a man was to fight, fuck and sail ships.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“It was like being covered in honey and going to bed with a bear.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Martin heard them. He wrapped himself tightly in his blanket. The laughter made him smile. Maybe, when it reached Heaven, it would make God smile, too. Who knows?”
― David Greig, The Book of I