Stephen R. Lawhead > Quotes

“...tell me the word that will win you, and I will speak it. I will speak the stars of heaven into a crown for your head; I will speak the flowers of the field into a cloak; I will speak the racing stream into a melody for your ears and the voices of a thousand larks to sing it; I will speak the softness of night for your bed and the warmth of summer for your coverlet; I will speak the brightness of flame to light your way and the luster of gold to shine in your smile; I will speak until the hardness in you melts away and your heart is free...”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Taliesin

“If thou wouldst seek justice, thyself must be just. ”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Hood

“Truth is a constant delight to those that love her; such beauty holds no power to offend.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“To see evil and call it good, mocks God. Worse, it makes goodness meaningless. A word without meaning is an abomination, for when the word passes beyond understanding the very thing the word stands for passes out of the world and cannot be recalled.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“We are closest to Christ when sharing the world’s misery. Think you Jesus came to remove our pains? Wherever did you get that notion? The Lord came, not to remove our suffering, but to show us the way through it to the glory beyond. We can overcome our travails. That is the promise of the cross.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“Do not think it impossible just because it has never happened.
- Friar Tuck”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Tuck

“We kissed, then, and the ardour of her kiss stole my breath away. I returned her passion with all the fervor I possessed. A lifetime of vows and heart-felt disciplines had prepared me well, for in that kiss I sealed with all my soul the fate before me, embracing a mystery clothed in warm and yielding female flesh. Holding only the moment, with neither thought nor care for the future, I kissed her, and drank deep the strong wine of desire.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“Perhaps it is how we are made; perhaps words of truth reach us best through the heart, and stories and songs are the language of the heart”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Merlin

“Humility, if it comes at all, almost always comes too late.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Merlin

“What makes you so certain?"
"But I am not certain," I told him. "Nothing is certain. You want certainty?"
"Yes!"
"Then you want death.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Silver Hand

“Do not borrow tomorrow's troubles today”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“I have seen a land shining with goodness, where each man protects his brother's dignity as readily as his own, where war and want have ceased and all races live under the same law of love and honour.

I have seen a land bright with truth, where a man's word is his pledge and falsehood is banished, where children sleep safe in their mother's arms and never know fear or pain.

I have seen a land where kings extend their hands in justice rather than reach for the sword; where mercy, kindness, and compassion flow like deep water over the land, and men revere virtue, revere truth, revere beauty, above comfort, pleasure or selfish gain. A land where peace reigns in the hill, and love like a fire from every hearth; where the True God is worshipped and his ways acclaimed by all.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“To friends! Life belongs to those who love, and where love reigns is man truly king!”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“..none of this surprised me; it was as if this meeting between us was foreordained by a force greater than either of us. I know I had the events wheeling swiftly over a well-traveled course to a destination long ago established. I felt as if I was merely saying the words I had been destined to say. If there was no surprise, neither was there fear or alarm. The circumstance seemed both right and natural--as if we had talked this way a thousand times, and knew well what the other would say... This is the only truth we can know in life. Nothing else in the world is certain--only this: that a man and woman should come together in love.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“The path is revealed in the treading.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Silver Hand

“Words are worth little when the heart refuses to hear. Therefore, judge us by our works.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“She [Mérian] shook her head sadly. 'What Bran wants is impossible.'
'Well,' I [Will] said, 'I wouldn't be too sure. I have seen the lone canny fox outwit the hunter often enough to know that it matters little how many horses and men you have. All the wealth and weapons in the world will not catch the fox that refuses to be caught.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Scarlet

“They are young and life has no limits. Nothing is impossible, nothing beyond doing or knowing. The world is theirs and everything in it.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Taliesin

“Call me Silidons, for such I am.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Hood

“That was on the pillar stone on Ynys Bainail," I said, indicating the carving. "What does it mean?"
"It is Mor Cylch, the maze of life," Tegid told me. "It is trodden with just enough light to see the next step or two ahead, but not more. At each turn the soul must decide whether to journey on or whether to go back the way it came."
"What if the soul does not journey on? What if it chooses to go back the way it came?"
"Stagnation and death," replied Tegid with mild vehemence. He seemed irritated that anyone would consider retreating.
"And if the soul travels on?"
"It draws nearer its destination," the bard answered. "The ultimate destination of all souls is the Heart of the Heart.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“Arthur is no fit king. Uther's bastard, Merlin's pawn, he is lowborn and a fool. He is wanton and petty and cruel. A glutton and a drunkard, he lacks all civilized graces. In short, he is a sullen, ignorant brute.
All these things and more men say of Arthur. Let them. When all the words are spoken and the arguements fall exhausted into silence, this single fact remains: we would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth.
Show me another who can claim such loyalty.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“I knew, even as we touched that I had never wanted anything more in all my life. All my crabbed cravings were as a cupful of pond water beside the vast ocean of longing I felt surging through me. My head swam; my eyes blurred. I burned from the inside out as if my blood and bones were consumed with liquid fire.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“Oh, but once my memories had pulsed with the blood-heat of life. In desperation, I forced myself to recall that once, I had walked with kings and conversed in languages never heard in this land. Once I had stood at the prow of a Sea Wolf ship and sailed oceans unknown to seamen here. I had ridden horses through desert lands, and dined on exotic foods in Arab tents. I had roamed Constantinople’s fabled streets, and bowed before the Holy Roman Emperor’s throne. I had been a slave, a spy, a sailor. Advisor and confidant of lords, I had served Arabs, Byzantines, and barbarians. I had worn captive’s rags, and the silken robes of a Sarazen prince. Once I had held a jeweled knife and taken a life with my own hand. Yes, and once I had held a loving woman in my arms and kissed her warm and willing lips...Death would have been far, far better than the gnawing, aching emptiness that was now my life.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“Well, I was thinking this very thing. I was thinking: I am going to die today, but Jesu also died, so he knows how it is with me. And I was thinking, would he know me when I came to him? Yes! Sitting in his hall, he will see me sail into the bay, and he will run down to meet me on the shore; he will wade into the sea and pull my boat onto the sand and welcome me as his wayfaring brother. Why will he do this? Because he too has suffered, and he knows...HE KNOWS...Is that not good news?”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“Knowledge is a burden--once taken up, it can never be discarded.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“Who upholds the gorsedd if not You? Who counts the ages of the world if not You? Who commands the Wheel of Heaven if not You? Who quickens life in the womb if not You? Therefore, God of All Virtue and Power, sain us and shield us with Your Swift Sure Hand.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“When heaven joins the battle against you, who could stand?”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Hood

“I know nothing of any phantom,' replied Aethelfrith. 'What sort of phantom is it presumed to be?'
'Why,' replied the merchant, 'it takes the form of a great giant of a bird. Men hereabouts call it King Raven.'
'Do they indeed?' wondered the friar, much intrigued. 'What does it look like - this giant bird?'
The merchant stared at him in disbelief. 'By the rood, man! Are you dim? It looks like a thumping great raven.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Hood

“Arthur’s fingers tighten on the silver-braided hilt: see how naturally it fits his hand! He pulls.
The Sword of Britain slides from its stone sheath. The ease with which this is accomplished shines in the wonder in Arthur’s eyes. He truly cannot believe what he has done. Nor can he comprehend what it means.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“The Emrys! The Emrys is here!'
Merlin shook his head in astonishment. 'Has it come to this?' he wondered. 'Even small children know me by sight.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“The Queen of Air and Darkness tilted back her head and laughed. A more ghastly sound I hope never to hear. ‘Do you think I care about these trifles?’
‘Murder is no trifle, woman,’ Arthur said.
‘No? How many men have you killed, Great King? How many have you slain without cause? How many did you cut down that you might have spared? How many died because you in your battle-rage would not heed their pleas for mercy?’
The High King opened his mouth to speak, but could make no answer.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“It is the poor man who clenches so tightly to the gold he is given - for fear of losing it. The man of wealth spends his gold freely to accomplish his will in the world. It is the same with life.'
Suddenly ashamed of my conspicuous poverty, I lowered my eyes. But Scatha placed a hand beneath my chin and raised my head. 'Cling too tightly to your life and you will lose it, my Reluctant Warrior. You must become the master of your life, not its slave.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“As I understand it, the Celts venerated all sorts of plexus-type things: the seashore, dawn, dusk, the edge of the forest - anything that was neither here nor there, so to speak.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“Two friends . . . there are stronger forces on earth, perhaps, but few as tenacious and enduring as the bond between true friends.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Merlin

“I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their water graves.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Taliesin

“We would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“Unbelievers enjoy the security of their unbelief; there is great confidence in ignorance.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“The Otherworld does not supply the meaning of life. Rather, the Otherworld describes being alive. Life, in all its glory - warts and all, so to speak. The Otherworld provides meaning by example, by exhibition, by illustration if you will. ... Through the Otherworld we learn what it is be be alive, to be human: good and evil, heartbreak and ecstasy, victory and defeat, everything. ... where does one first learn loyalty? Or honor? Or any higher value, for that matter? ... Where does one learn to value the beauty of a forest and to revere it?'
In nature?'
Not at all. This can easily be proven by the fact that so many among us do not revere the forests at all - do not even see them, in fact. You know the people I am talking about. You have seen them and their works in the world. They are the ones who rape the land, who cut down forests and despoil oceans, who oppress the poor and tyrannize the helpless, who live their lives as if nothing lay beyond the horizon of their own limited earth-bound visions. But I digress. The question before us is this: where does one first learn to see a forest as a thing of beauty, to honor it, to hold it dear for its own sake, to recognize its true value as a forest, and not just see it as a source of timber to be exploited, or a barrier to be hacked down in order to make room for a motorway? ... the mere presence of the Otherworld kindles in us the spark of higher consciousness, or imagination. It is the stories and tale and visions of the Otherworld - that magical, enchanted land just beyond the walls of the manifest world - which awaken and expand in human beings the very notion of beauty, of reverence, of love and nobility, and all the higher virtues.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Paradise War

“Earth and sky, rock and wind, bear witness!
By the power of the Swift Sure Hand, I claim this ground and sain it with a name: Bwgan Bwlch!

Power of fire I have over it,
Power of wind I have over it,
Power of thunder I have over it,
Power of wrath I have over it,
Power of heavens I have over it,
Power of earth I have over it,
Power of worlds I have over it!

As tramples the swan upon the lake,
As tramples the horse upon the plain,
As tramples the ox upon the meadow,
As tramples the boar upon the track,
As tramples the forest host of heart and hind,
As tramples all quick things upon the earth,
I do trample and subdue it,
And drive all evil from it!

In the name of the Secret One,
In the name of the Living One,
In the name of the All-Encircling One,
In the name of the One True Word, it is Bwgan Bwlch,
Let it so remain as long as men survive
To breath the name.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, The Endless Knot

“The female heart is a world unto itself, incomprehensible to men. Yet I perceive that you have been of a mood today: pensive, contemplative, hesitant, expectant. And you have spent the better part of the day watching me as if you thought I might follow your merlin into the sky and never return.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Taliesin

“Yet, there was once a king worthy of that name. That king was Arthur. It is paramount disgrace of this evil generation that the name of that great king is no longer spoken aloud except in derision. Arthur! He was the fairest flower of our race, Cymry's most noble son, Lord of the Summer Realm, Pendragon of Britain. He wore God's favour like a purple robe.
Hear then, if you will, the tale of a true king.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“Three things cannot be called back: the arrow when it speeds from the bow, the milk when the churn is upturned, the word when it leaps from the tongue.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead

“He holds the sword!' shouted Merlin. 'And that has not changed. Whoever would be king must first take the sword from Arthur's hand. For I tell you truly, none among you will be king without it!”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“And the Wise Emrys said that Arthur would yet come again to lead his own.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“That Arthur has not always existed seems odd to me. Like the wind on the moors and the wild winter stars, surely he has always lived . . . and always will.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“All he had, in fact, was Merlin's shining promise.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“Arthur!' I cried, but my voice was lost in the battle roar. The seething waters of the enemy host closed over the place where he had been.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“He sighed and shook his head slowly. 'And there will be no bringing back the light once it has gone.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“Arthur, with his keen blue eyes and hair of burnished gold, his ready smile and guileless countenance. Wide and heavy of shoulder, long of limb, he towers above other men and, though he does not yet know the power of his stature, he is aware that smaller men become uneasy near him. He is handsomely knit in all; fair to look upon.”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur

“I took him by the arm to steady him. He opened his eyes slowly, the bright golden gleam now darkened with pain and sorrow. "Morgian!' he uttered, his voice strangled with grief. "It was Morgian. . . ”
― Stephen R. Lawhead, Arthur