G.A. Henty Quotes & Sayings

It is just as easy to be polite as to be rude, and men are served better for love than for fear. — G.A. Henty

What, did you think," she asked, laughing as he struggled up the bank, "that I, a Gaulish maiden, could not swim?"
"I did not think anything about it," Malchus said; "I saw you pushed in and followed without thinking at all."
Although they imperfectly understood each other's words the meaning was clear; the girl put her hand on his shoulder and looked frankly up in his face.
"I thank you," she said, "just the same as if you had saved my life. You meant to do so, and it was very good of you, a great chief of this army, to hazard your life for a Gaulish maiden. Clotilde will never forget. — G.A. Henty

Look at their arts, their power of turning stone into lifelike figures, and above all, the way in which they can transfer their thoughts to white leaves, so that others, many many years hence, can read them and know all that was passing, and what men thought and did in the long bygone. Truly it is marvelous. — G.A. Henty

Men are foolish creatures sometimes, even the wisest of them." Marion — G.A. Henty

Among the Huguenots he learned to be gentle and courteous; to bear himself among his elders respectfully, but without fear or shyness; to consider that, while all things were of minor consequence in comparison to the right to worship God in freedom and purity, yet that a man should be fearless of death, ready to defend his rights, but with moderation and without pushing them to the injury of others; that he should be grave and decorous of speech, and yet of a gay and cheerful spirit. — G.A. Henty

Excuse me, Scopus," Beric said quietly, "I am perfectly ready to fight with this bragadocio, and challenge him to a contest; a few hard knocks will do neither of us any harm, therefore let us go into the school and have it out, It is much better so than to have perpetual quarrelling. — G.A. Henty

No one is strong in himself, but God gives strength. — G.A. Henty

They say troubles never comes singly, — G.A. Henty

Men make their own happiness, and a man may be respected even though only a slave. — G.A. Henty

I fear not," Hamilcar said gravely, shaking his head. "It seems to be the fate of all nations, that as they grow in wealth so they lose their manly virtues. With wealth comes corruption, indolence, a reluctance to make sacrifices, and a weakening of the feeling of patriotism. — G.A. Henty

I do not say that there is no glory to be gained [in war]; but it is not personal glory. In itself, no cause was ever more glorious than that of men who struggle, not to conquer territory, not to gather spoil, not to gratify ambition, but for freedom, for religion, for hearth and home, and to revenge the countless atrocities inflicted upon them by their oppressors. — G.A. Henty

How is a boy's mind to expand if he does not ask questions, and who should be so well able to answer his questions as his father? — G.A. Henty

Women are always passionately certain that they are right, and neither counsel nor entreaty can get them to believe that there can be any other side to a case than that which they take. — G.A. Henty

everyone in the land has an equal chance. In war the bravest becomes a general, in peace the cleverest is chosen as a councillor. — G.A. Henty

Our long wanderings have made a man out of him, too. They have not only strengthened his frame and hardened his constitution, but they have given stability to his character. He is thoughtful and prudent, and his advice will always be valuable, while of his courage I have no doubt. — G.A. Henty

So that there is enough to keep life together, it matters little what it is. — G.A. Henty

To be a true hero you must be a true Christian. To sum up then, heroism is largely based on two qualities- truthfulness and unselfishness, a readiness to put one's own pleasures aside for that of others, to be courteous to all, kind to those younger than yourself, helpful to your parents, even if helpfulness demands some slight sacrifice of your own pleasure ... you must remember that these two qualities are the signs of Christian heroism. — G.A. Henty

Whether success will crown the effort, or whether God wills it otherwise, it is not for man to discuss; it is enough that the work is there, and it is our duty to do it. — G.A. Henty

this is a time when we must all take sides for or against the king. — G.A. Henty

a rogue can generally express himself better than an honest man. — G.A. Henty

We cannot go into court with merely suspicions; we must get facts. — G.A. Henty

friends of the king can no longer be grip hands with friends of the Commons. — G.A. Henty

His father had been so seriously wounded, at Vimiera, that he was invalided home and placed on half pay; and in the same battle Captain O'Grady lost his left arm but, on its being cured, returned to his place in the regiment. — G.A. Henty

One don't like setting out to help to bring a man to the gallus when you have got his money in your pocket. — G.A. Henty

I do believe you would be perfectly happy shut up in your study with your rolls of manuscript all your life, without seeing another human being save a servant to bring you in bread and fruit and water twice a day. — G.A. Henty

I took a voyage once
it is many years ago, now
to Amsterdam, and the owner, not my good cousin here, but another, took a fancy to go with me; and his wife must needs accompany him, and verily, before that voyage was over, I wished I was dead. I was no longer captain of the ship. My owner was my captain, and his wife was his. We were forever putting into port for fresh bread and meat, milk and eggs, for she could eat none other. If the wind got up but ever so little, we had to run into shelter and anchor until the sea was smooth. The manners of the sailors shocked her. She would scream at night when a rat ran across her, and would lose her appetite if a living creature, of which, as usual, the ship was full, fell from a beam onto her platter. I was tempted, more than once, to run the ship on to a rock and make an end of us all. — G.A. Henty