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

by Joe Abercrombie

Never to want for anything, or work for anything, or show the tiniest grain of self-discipline in a whole life must give a man a strange outlook on the world,

A great leader must share the hardships of his followers, of his soldiers, of his subjects. That is how he wins their respect. Great leaders do not complain. Not ever.”

Respect costs you nothing, and nothing gets a man killed quicker than confidence.”

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.

Logen Ninefingers, the most feared man in the North,

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.

“It would seem the glory of the past is faded here also,” said Longfoot with some disappointment, “if indeed there ever was any.” Bayaz nodded. “Glory is in short supply these days.”