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We make children and wealth and amass land and build halls and assemble armies and give great feasts, but only one thing survives us. Reputation.

Bernard Cornwell

Research is a lifelong occupation so it’s hard to factor it in, but I reckon most books take 5 months from start to finish.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Finish Months Research
Writing is a solitary occupation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Occupation Solitary Writing
Of course some days are easier than others, but my worst day is better than being in most humdrum occupations.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Easier Occupation
Every day is ordinary, until it isn’t.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Day Every Ordinary Unit
Then you start another book and suddenly the galley proofs of the last one come in and you have to wrench your attention away from what you’re writing and try to remember what you were thinking when you wrote the previous one.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Attention Book Proof Thinking Writing
You know what circumcision is, Private?
BERNARD CORNWELL

Circumcision Knows Private
You’ll call me damned Jew, a Christ murderer, a secret worshipper of pigs and a kidnapper of Christian children. How absurd! Who would want to kidnap children, Christian or otherwise? Vile things.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Children Christian Grow Up
We discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there. Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination. Love is a voyage too, a voyage with no destination except death, but a voyage of bliss.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Destination Love Lust Men Such Voyage
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win. Even the nailed god cannot change that truth. And I was a warrior, and in a world at war the warrior must be cruel.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land Tribe War Winning
Latin! The language of God! Or perhaps He speaks Hebrew? I suppose that’s more likely and it will make things rather awkward in heaven, won’t it? Will we all have to learn Hebrew?
BERNARD CORNWELL

Awkward God Heaven Latin Suppose
The only mercy of children is that they grow up, as my son has but then, tragically, they beget more children. We do not learn life’s lessons.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Beget Children Lesson Mercy Son Tragically
Wyrd bith ful araed (Fate is inexorable).
BERNARD CORNWELL

Arared Fate Ful Inexorable
What I mean by that is that the point of life, as I see it, is not to write books or scale mountains or sail oceans, but to achieve happiness, and preferably an unselfish happiness.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Achieve Funny Inspirational Ocean
A man does not see where he treads in battle, for he is watching the enemy.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Battle Enemy Men Watching
I’m fortunate that the books sell, but even more fortunate to live in Chatham, to be very happily married and to have, on the whole, a fairly clear conscience.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Clear Happily Married
You won’t regret the men you never killed, but you will regret the women you passed up.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Men Pass Regret Women

We make children and wealth and amass land and build halls and assemble armies and give great feasts, but only one thing survives us. Reputation.

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We make children and wealth and amass land and build halls and assemble armies and give great feasts, but only one thing survives us. Reputation.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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