Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)

by Joe Abercrombie

Above all, he has learned the trick of saying a great deal less than he knows.”

“The failure of something great is never a simple matter, but where there is success and glory, there must also be failure and shame. Where there are both, jealousies must simmer. Envy and pride led by slow degrees to squabbles, then to feuds, then to wars.

The least a leader can do is to share the burdens of his people.

“Then you’ve got the chance to do better next time.” “Next time?” “’Course. Doing better next time. That’s what life is.”

“Anyone can face ease and success with confidence. It is the way we face trouble and misfortune that defines us. Self-pity goes with selfishness, and there is nothing more to be deplored in a leader than that. Selfishness belongs to children, and to half-wits. A great leader puts others before himself. You would be surprised how acting so makes it easier to bear one’s own troubles. In order to act like a King, one need only treat everyone else like one.”

Men must sometimes do what they do not like if they are to be remembered. It is through struggle, not ease, that fame and honour are won. It is through conflict, not peace, that wealth and power are gained.

Strange how, as long as the hardship lasts, we can stand it. As soon as the crisis is over, the strength all leeches away in an instant.

Never took an easy path if he thought it was the wrong one. Never stepped back from a fight if he thought it had to be done.