Top 150 David Gemmell Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Do not speak badly of yourself, for the warrior that is inside you hears your words and is lessened by them.”

— David Gemmell

Featured in: Self-Care Quotes, Believe in Yourself Quotes, Warrior Quotes, Affirmation Quotes, Know Your Worth Quotes

2. “Each man has a breaking point, no matter how strong his spirit. Somewhere, deep inside him, there is a flaw that only the fickle cruelty of fate can find.”

— David Gemmell

Featured in: Strong Quotes, Depressing Quotes

3. “Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.”

— David Gemmell

4. “May all your dreams but one come true, for what is life without a dream?”

— David Gemmell

5. “Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the persuit of evil.”

— David Gemmell

Featured in: Strong Quotes

6. “We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And – if we are strong enough – we live with the consequences.”

— David Gemmell

7. “All wars are started by angry old men, but they are fought by young men who die for reasons that are beyond them. In the end, the same old men sit around tables and the war ends. Nothing is achieved. Nothing is gained. New faces move into old castles, and the sons of the dead build families ready to feed new battleground graveyards.”

— David Gemmell

8. “Trust your instincts, and make judgements on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.”

— David Gemmell

9. “There’s no shame in fear. But understand this – the coward is ruled by fear, while the hero rides it like a wild stallion.”

— David Gemmell

10. “There is evil in all of us, and it is the mark of a man how he defies the evil within.”

— David Gemmell

11. “The purpose of debates is to explore issues, not end them.”

— David Gemmell

12. “Plan for the worst, expect the best.”

— David Gemmell

13. “I make little distinction betwee those who commit evil and those who stand by and do nothing.”

— David Gemmell

14. “A man’s strength is ultimately born of his knowledge of his own weakness...”

— David Gemmell

15. “Steal a loaf of bread and they hang you, steal a land and they’ll make you king.”

— David Gemmell

16. “A problem shared is a problem doubled.”

— David Gemmell

17. “A warrior feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul.”

— David Gemmell

18. “I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land.”

— David Gemmell

19. “Every little bit of good I may do, let me do it now for I may not come this way again.”

— David Gemmell

20. “In any broth, the scum always rises to the top.”

— David Gemmell

21. “Do not complain of life’s unfairness. It is never fair – at best it is impartial.”

— David Gemmell

22. “No matter how impossible this war, I shall fight to win. Whatever I have to do, I will do.”

— David Gemmell

23. “All beauty is sad. For it fades.”

— David Gemmell

24. “By nature of definition only the coward is capable of the highest heroism.”

— David Gemmell

25. “Nothing in life is sure, my son. Except the promise of death.”

— David Gemmell

26. “She was his north star, the fixed point round which his world turned. For as long as his heart beat, or hers, he believed they would always share a destiny.”

— David Gemmell

27. “Not one of the creatures of blood can escape death. We all face it, and succumb to it. It follows us like a dark shadow. Yet if we live in terror of it, then we do not live at all. Yes we are born alone, and yes we will die alone. But in between, Tae, we live. We know joy.”

— David Gemmell

28. “You may think life is sweet now, but when death is a heartbeat away then life becomes unbearably desirable. And when you survive, everything you do will be enhanced and filled with greater joy: the sunlight, the breeze, a good wine, a woman’s lips, a child’s laughter.”

— David Gemmell

29. “Hate is the father of all evil.”

— David Gemmell

30. “Love is a mystery. We embrace it where we can. Mostly we do not choose whom we love. It just happens. A voice speaks to us, in ways the ears cannot hear. We recognize a beauty the eye does not see. We experience a change in our hearts that no voice can describe.”

— David Gemmell

31. “Life is not so simple. There are many futures. The life of a single person is like a great tree: every branch, every twig, every leaf is a possible future.”

— David Gemmell

32. “I don’t give a damn, laddie. Until the actual moment, when they cut me down, I shall still be looking to win. And the gods of war are fickle at best.”

— David Gemmell

33. “Miracles are merely events that happen just when they are needed.”

— David Gemmell

34. “Too many people go through life without pausing to enjoy what they have.”

— David Gemmell

35. “Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a different universe.”

— David Gemmell

36. “If you look at any ancient civilization, they’ve all used fantasy stories to train the young.”

— David Gemmell

Featured in: Quotes About Stories

37. “Some people are born ugly. It’s not their fault, and I for one have never held it against a man that he is ugly. but others and I count myself among them are born with handsome features. That’s a gift that should not be lightly taken away.”

— David Gemmell

38. “I caught a pebble in the moonlight.”

— David Gemmell

39. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

— David Gemmell

Featured in: Romance Quotes

40. “Evil lives in a pit. If you want to fight it, you must climb down into the slime to do so. White cloaks show the dirt more thank black, and silver tarnishes.”

— David Gemmell

41. “If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”

— David Gemmell

42. “A man is only as strong as that which makes him angry.”

— David Gemmell

43. “You can buy gold that is bright as the sun and diamonds as pale as the moon. But you cannot buy the sun. You cannot own the moon.” II.”

— David Gemmell

44. “My happiness is not in the gift of others. I will be happy or I will not be happy. No man will supply it or deprive me of it.”

— David Gemmell

45. “A man should be free to do what he wants to do, as long as it doesn’t hurt others.”

— David Gemmell

46. “Some people have a gift for stupidity, an almost mystic ability to withstand any form of logic.”

— David Gemmell

47. “It is a merchant’s nature to quibble over coins. It is how we become rich and buy satin shirts. The problems of who governs this area is one for another day.”

— David Gemmell

48. “In my experience all women deserve someone better.”

— David Gemmell

49. “Why now? Why not? Live or die, a man and a woman need love. There is a need in the race. We need to share. To belong. Perhaps you will die before the year is out. But remember this: to have may be taken from you, to have had never. Far better to have tasted love before dying, than to die alone.”

— David Gemmell

50. “A great man once told me there can be no courage without fear,” Helikaon said. “He was right. Remember that when your belly trembles and your legs grow weak.”

— David Gemmell