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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

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

Battle Enemy Men Watching
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
We don’t build,’ I said to my son, ‘we just destroy.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Build Destroy Son
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
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 sometimes wonder what would have happened if the first book had not sold… doesn’t bear thinking about, but I suppose we’d have made it work somehow.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Firsts Sold Suppose Thinking
So far it’s 43 books in 25 years.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Far Years
This is our land, mixed with our blood, strengthened with our bone. Ours!
BERNARD CORNWELL

Blood Bone Land Our Strengthened
Wyrd bith ful araed (Fate is inexorable).
BERNARD CORNWELL

Arared Fate Ful Inexorable
Of course some days are easier than others, but my worst day is better than being in most humdrum occupations.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Easier Occupation
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land 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
But when you have order, you don’t need Gods. When everything is well ordered and disciplined then nothing is unexpected.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Dark Order Powerful
Life is a jest of the Gods and there is no justice. You must learn to laugh… or else you’ll weep yourself to death.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Death Jest Justice Laughing Life
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
You won’t regret the men you never killed, but you will regret the women you passed up.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Men Pass Regret Women
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
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
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
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
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
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
Writing is a solitary occupation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Occupation Solitary Writing
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
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
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
Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Men Pride Reputation Wall

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bernard Cornwell Quotes