Commodore Hornblower Quotes

“...irresponsibility was something which, in the very nature of things, could not co-exist with independence.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“He was perfectly prepared to go on killing Bonaparte’s soldiers and sailors, but he would not flatter himself that he was executing justice by killing one man because some other man had murdered his wounded allies.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“and England would be left alone, with the whole world in arms against her.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“making a still more dangerous peace with a tyrant whose malignant ill will could never be appeased.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“enjoying the superior and paternal state of mind of one who has not a headache while the man who is with him has.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“Boney’s weakness,” said Wychwood, “is that he thinks all the opposition in the world can be dissolved by force.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“He would not display vulgar curiosity by staring”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“that mere revenge, objectless, retaliatory, was always stale and unprofitable.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“Heart of oak are our ships, Jolly tars are our men”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“The two words terminated a morning of wild speculation, tore up a wide cobweb of possibilities.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“two words terminated a morning of wild speculation, tore up a wide cobweb of possibilities.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“the stoical calm of the British upper classes.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“Hornblower looked out over the lush green of the park; beyond it rose the massive curves of the Down, and to one side the tower of Smallbridge church rose above the trees. On that side, too, an orchard was in full bloom, exquisitely lovely. Park and orchard and church were all his; he was the squire, a landed gentleman, owner of many acres, being welcomed by his tenantry. Behind him was his house, full of his servants; on his breast the ribbon and star of an order of chivalry; and in London Coutts & Company had in their vaults a store of golden guineas which were his as well. This was the climax of a man's ambition. Fame, wealth, security, love, a child- he had all that the heart could desire. Hornblower, standing at the head of the steps while the parson droned on, was puzzled to find that he was still not happy. He was irritated with himself in consequence. He out to be running over with pride and joy and happiness, and yet here he was contemplating the future with faint dismay p11”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“Hornblower sat in his private sitting-room in the Golden Cross inn. There was a fire burning, and on the table at which he sat there were no fewer than four wax candles lighted. All this luxury — the private sitting-room, the fire, the wax candles — gave Hornblower uneasy delight. He had been poor for so long, he had had to scrape and economize so carefully all his life, that recklessness with money gave him this queer dubious pleasure, this guilty joy. His bill tomorrow would contain an item of at least half a crown for light, and if he had been content with rush dips the charge would not have been more than twopence. The fire would be a shilling, too. And you could trust an innkeeper to make the maximum charges to a guest who obviously could afford them, a Knight of the Bath, with a servant, and a two-horse chariot. Tomorrow’s bill would be nearer two guineas than one, Hornblower touched his breast pocket to reassure himself that his thick wad of one-pound notes was still there. He could afford to spend”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower

“miles down the Nehrung, the long spit”
― C.S. Forester, The Commodore

“Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower sat in his bath, regarding with distaste his legs dangling over the edge. They were thin and hairy, and recalled to his mind the legs of the spiders he had seen in Central America.”
― C.S. Forester, Commodore Hornblower