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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

The bards sing of love, they celebrate slaughter, they extol kings and flatter queens, but were I a poet I would write in praise of friendship.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Friendship Kings Queens Writing
I’ll happily mentor anyone who wants mentoring, and most of that goes on by internet rather than face to face.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Mentor Mentoring Want
We don’t build,’ I said to my son, ‘we just destroy.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Build Destroy Son
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
And yes, there’s a simplicity to writing books because you’re not a member of a team, so you make all the decisions yourself instead of deferring to a committee.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Decision Team Writing
The existence of tricks does not imply the absence of magic.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Absence Imply Magic Trick
This is our land, mixed with our blood, strengthened with our bone. Ours!
BERNARD CORNWELL

Blood Bone Land Our Strengthened
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
If you understand everything,’ I said carefully, ‘then there’s no room left for magic. It’s only when you’re lost and frightened and in the dark that you call on the Gods, and they like us to call on them. It makes them feel powerful, and that’s why they like us to live in chaos.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Carefully Frightened God Lost Magic Room Understand
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
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 Cruel Nailed Truth Warrior
I do understand that you can look into someone’s eyes,” I heard myself saying, “and suddenly know that life will be impossible without them.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Eye Heard Heart Impossible Voice
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

Amass Army Children Feasts Land
Book tours and research provide a lot of travel – too much, I sometimes think, but we do take vacations.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Thinking Travel Vacation
A man does not see where he treads in battle, for he is watching the enemy.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Battle Enemy Men Watching
Know that their voice can make your heart miss a beat and that their company is all your happiness can ever desire and that their absence will leave your soul alone, bereft and lost.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Alone Company Happiness Leave Lost Miss Soul
I know nothing about producing TV drama and any involvement on my part is liable to prove an obstacle to the producers, so I prefer to be a cheerleader and let them get on with it.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Cheerleader Drama Obstacle Procedure
Wyrd bith ful araed (Fate is inexorable).
BERNARD CORNWELL

Arared Fate Ful Inexorable
You won’t regret the men you never killed, but you will regret the women you passed up.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Men Pass Regret Women
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land War Winning
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
Writing is a solitary occupation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Occupation Solitary Writing
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
Looking back, of course, it was irresponsible, mad, forlorn, idiotic, but if you don’t take chances then you’ll never have a winning hand, and I’ve no regrets.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Hands Regret Winning
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
Only a fool wants war, but once a war starts then it cannot be fought half-heartedly. It cannot even be fought with regret, but must be waged with a savage joy in defeating the enemy, and it is that savage joy that inspires our bards to write their greatest songs about love and war.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Fool Love Regret Savage Song Start
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

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.

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Popular Authors

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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bernard Cornwell Quotes