Stephen R. Lawhead Quotes & Sayings

See here, if we can establish an affinity with the eternal, ever-living Creator, then is it not likely that this affinity, this relationship, if you like, will endure beyond the death of the material body? — Stephen R. Lawhead

Shape our reality through the exercise of intention, through the application of our free will as conscious beings. — Stephen R. Lawhead

In my years as a priest and a scientist, I have been guided by two allied principles," Gianni began. "One, that the universe was created for a purpose. And two, that the purpose for which it was created was guided by a loving Creator who desired that its purpose should be fulfilled." He — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

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

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

Streams of consequence flow from every action, and from every conflict there are two paths by which events may go. — 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

The path is revealed in the treading. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

Do not borrow tomorrow's troubles today — Stephen R. Lawhead

Alas, words were but empty things, devoid of power and all too easily broken, discarded, and forgotten. — Stephen R. Lawhead

See here, if a simple act of kindness or generosity, such as buying a loaf of bread for some poor working women, can mean that wholesale death and destruction will be avoided why, a man would be a monster who had it in his power to alleviate all that suffering yet stood by and did nothing. — Stephen R. Lawhead

And the Wise Emrys said that Arthur would yet come again to lead his own. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Humility, if it comes at all, almost always comes too late. — Stephen R. Lawhead

J. R. R. Tolkien, undisputedly a most fluent speaker of this language, was criticized in his day for indulging his juvenile whim of writing fantasy, which was then considered - as it still is in many quarters - an inferior form of literature and disdained as mere "escapism." "Of course it is escapist," he cried. "That is its glory! When a soldier is a prisoner of war it is his duty to escape - and take as many with him as he can." He went on to explain, "The moneylenders, the knownothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as possible. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Only a fool demands proof of what he already knows. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Life is a school of the spirit. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

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

A ley line is what might be called a field of force, a trail of telluric energy. There are hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, all over Britain, and they've been around since the Stone Age. — Stephen R. Lawhead

A king is a king, but a bard is the heart and soul of the people; he is their life in song, and the lamp which guides their steps along the paths of destiny. A bard is the essential spirit of the clan; he is the linking ring, the golden cord which unites the manifold ages of the clan, binding all that is past with all that is yet to come. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Your faith is admirable, Pelleas. But I know nothing of sorcery. As it is, I have not been able to discover how the spell may be broken or how Merlin may be released from it. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Then again, what Cosimo had said was right: he was nothing but an overworked drone in a cube farm, a minor cog in the dreary machinery of a third-rate mortgage mill, overlooked, unloved, a sidelined player in the big game, — Stephen R. Lawhead

And then, just as I begin to raise my sword to cleave a path to Arthur's side, there comes a sound like a tempest wind - the blast of a mighty sea gale. Men fall back, suddenly afraid. They cover their heads with their arms and peer into the darkness above. What is it? Is the roof falling? The sky?
The strange sound subsides and they glance at one another in fear and awe. Merlin is there. The Emrys is standing calmly beside Arthur. His hands are empty and upraised, his face stern in the unnatural silence he has created ... — Stephen R. Lawhead

Over and over again, we see that when anyone willingly gives whatever resources they have to Him - whether it is nothing more than five smooth stones gathered from a dry streambed or five little loaves of bread and two dried sprats - then God's greater purpose can proceed. Small and insignificant? Undoubtedly. But on the day of decision, everything depended on those five smooth stones - with them, David killed Goliath and saved a nation. — Stephen R. Lawhead

And, Lord, does it have to be so blasted hot? — Stephen R. Lawhead

If thou wouldst seek justice, thyself must be just. — Stephen R. Lawhead

The only true source of infallible certainty is divine illumination. — Stephen R. Lawhead

An artist must be pure of heart," said Gerdes, "for true art is the expression of the artist's innermost being. To create beauty, one must be beautiful" - she pressed her hands to her bosom - "in here, in your heart of hearts. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Arthur was simply there in their midst, the sword in his hand. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Unlike the tedious priests of Mithras and Minerva - so careful, so exact, so smug in the enactment of their obscure rituals - old Potitus saw no need to weary heaven with ceaseless ceremony or meaningless repetition. "God knows the cry of our hearts," he would say, "before it ever reaches our lips. So speak it out and have done with it. Then get about your business." My — Stephen R. Lawhead

It would be a great boon to know where we stand in this world, what is, what has been, what will be. And to know it absolutely. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Unbelievers enjoy the security of their unbelief; there is great confidence in ignorance. — Stephen R. Lawhead

True poetry is born of scrutiny, Scrutiny, the son of meditation, Meditation, the son of lore, Lore, the son of inquiry, Inquiry, the son of investigation, Investigation, the son of knowledge, Knowledge, the son of understanding, Understanding, the son of wisdom, Wisdom, the son of Surrender to the Divine Will. The — Stephen R. Lawhead

Jump blind and you might find yourself on the rim of a raging volcano, or smack in the middle of a battlefield during a savage war, or on a swiftly tilting ice floe in a tempest-tossed sea. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Myrddin', I said gently, 'what is she to you?'
His head whipped round and he glared at me. His mouth was a grimace of revulsion, and his eyes were hard, bright points of pain. 'She is my death — Stephen R. Lawhead

How is a man fortunate to live in the darkness, brother?"
"Why do you wonder?" asked Blaise. "For only he who has lived in darkness truly knows and values the light. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Bright-kindled from heavenly flames,
framed of Love's all-consuming fire,
Ignited of purest passion,
Burning in the Creator King's heart,
A splendor of bliss to illuminate Albion! — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

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

It has ever been thus. The way is hard and narrow, it is true. But it is a path beaten smooth by the countless others who have gone before us. And good news! We do not have to walk it alone. God Himself is with us and has blessed us with friends for the journey. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Pray God our aim is true and each arrow finds it's mark. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lately, however, the routine had begun to pall. Coprolites and Jurassic snails no longer held the fascination they once did, and the incessant backbiting and political manoeuvring endemic in upperechelon academia - which she had always known and accepted as part of the scholastic landscape - was proving more and more of an irksome distraction. The further she travelled into darkest PhD territory, the more the fossilised remains of extinct creatures dwindled in fascination; she was rapidly specialising herself beyond caring about her subject. Whether or not the world learned what the latest new megasaurus ate for lunch sixty million years ago, what difference did it make? — Stephen R. Lawhead

It is right to pay heed to the stories of our people, for that is how we learn who we are and what is required of us in this life and the life beyond. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Raising an army of king's men with the king in an enemy prison?" Tuck queried. "What is difficult about that?" "I don't think he even has an army." "Well, that would make it slightly more tricky, I suppose," remarked Tuck. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Arthur stood alone in the centre of the ring of kings. In the flickering light of the Christ Mass candles, holding the sword easily by the hilt, alert, resolute, unafraid, he appeared an avenging angels, eyes alight with the bright fire of righteousness. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Bitter the day of birth, for death is its companion. Yet, though life be cold and cruel, we are not without a last consolation. For to die in one world is to be born into another. Let all men hear and remember! — Stephen R. Lawhead

I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their water graves. — Stephen R. Lawhead

I may speak freely, my lord," began Tuck. "I doubt anything in heaven or earth could prevent you," remarked Bran. "Speak, priest. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Time is the central mystery of our existence. It confines and defines us in many ways. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Kingship wrought of Infinite worship,
Quick-forged by the Swift Sure Hand;
Bold in Righteousness,
Valiant in Justice,
A sword of honor to defend the clans of Albion! — Stephen R. Lawhead

-the future is a most marvellous creation. For in it lies all the mystery of raw potentiality-a boundless reservoir of all that could be-formed by the illimitable interactions of conscious human beings with their individual environments, circumstances, and conditions, and in concert with their fellow humans. — Stephen R. Lawhead

For if there was to be any transformation in the spiritual orientation of the pilgrim's soul, that change would take place not on arrival as if by magic, but in the long, hard work of The Way. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

In short, you have all the social prospects of a garden gnome. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

Truth, they say, is a cold and bitter draught; few drink it undiluted. — Stephen R. Lawhead

To friends! Life belongs to those who love, and where love reigns is man truly king! — Stephen R. Lawhead

Just when I begin to imagine I have achieved some pinnacle of understanding, reached the summit of the highest climb . . . I scramble the last few feet to the top only to see that I have merely gained a foothold on a narrow plateau and that entire new mountain ranges rise before me, serried ranks of peaks, each one higher than the last. — Stephen R. Lawhead

She walked along beneath a sky of bird's-egg blue, — Stephen R. Lawhead

I desperately wanted a chance to prove myself. Not because I cared a fart for druids. No. I had instead conceived a new plan for escape. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Albion was many times larger in every way than the tidily compacted Britain I had left behind. Judging from the distances traveled, Albion was immense; both the land and the world that contained it were far more expansive than anything I could have dreamed. — Stephen R. Lawhead

It does not matter where one starts; it is where one finishes that makes all the difference. — Stephen R. Lawhead

I raised my spear to heaven. 'For God and Britain!' I cried, and my cry was answered in kind. And then I was racing down the hillside, my cloak rippling out behind me, the wind singing from my dark-glinting spearhead. — Stephen R. Lawhead

When iniquity sits in the judgement seat, good men must take their appeals to a higher court. — Stephen R. Lawhead

This is our work in creation: to decide. And what we decide is woven into the thread of time and being forever. Choose wisely, then, but you must choose." Great — Stephen R. Lawhead

Talent without discipline is only an empty promise - the glitter of an unworked crystal. It is nothing of itself. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Young Bran, striving to please and yearning for the approving touch of a father's hand, only ever saw that hand raised in anger. Thus, he learned at an early age that since he could never please his father, he might as well please himself. — Stephen R. Lawhead

The spell is Morgians — Stephen R. Lawhead

Great Light, the Enemy's power is so fragile! The devils can use only what we ourselves will give them. Do you see? Give them nothing and their power fails; it falls like a spent arrow, like a blade broken and blunted. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

In every person there is a soul, In every soul there is intelligence, In every intelligence there is thought, In every thought there is either good or evil, In every evil there is death, In every good there is life, In every life there is God. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Fear arises from uncertainty. Where there is perfect certainty, there is no fear. — Stephen R. Lawhead

She stood watching a ritual she had seen many times before, yet which now seemed odd and extremely archaic; as if everything - the hill, the ox, the Mage, the cauldron, the king, the people looking on - everything belonged to a time so far away, so obscurely ancient that it could no longer be comprehended, only felt in the pulse of blood that flowed through her veins. — Stephen R. Lawhead

None of us ever knows what impact we have on the world around us. — Stephen R. Lawhead

It was Arthur's welcome alone, I believe, which turned the tide of misery for Merlin. — Stephen R. Lawhead

And I wondered if he knew how well, how naturally he led. Was it, in the end, so different leading men? Was it not much the same - picking out the trail, deciding the safest way, strengthening the unsure step with words of encouragement, guiding, going ahead, but not too far ahead - was not trailcraft much the same as kingcraft? — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

You worry too much, Tuck." "And you not enough, Rhi Bran. — Stephen R. Lawhead

All human beings, by virtue of having been born into this world, are immortal beings - not our material bodies; those are sadly quite fragile, inasmuch as they are bound by the laws of matter and time. The spirit, however, is indestructible. It obeys different laws. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

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

I saw Byzantium in a dream and knew that I would die there.. and the golden towers of Byzantium would be my tomb ~ Aidan — Stephen R. Lawhead

Stop, Morgian. Your wiles cannot avail you now.' He turned to the High King and said, 'The hurt this woman has done me, I readily forgive. It is for the harm that she has caused others that she is to be judged. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

Pity." The elder gentleman sniffed. "Sad, really. Names are very important." "It's a matter of taste, surely." "Nothing of the sort," replied the elder Cosimo. "People get named all sorts of things - that I will concede. Whimsy, ignorance, sudden inspiration - all play a part. But if anyone guessed how monumentally important it was, the process would be taken a lot more seriously. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Every religious figure in history achieved enlightenment between the ages of twenty-five and thirtyfive. That seems to be when human consciousness comes fully into its own and acquires a finer spiritual perception. Perhaps it simply takes that long to develop. In any case, it's a well-documented phenomenon. Look it up sometime. — Stephen R. Lawhead

I could not see the unholy creature, but I could feel the bone-aching chill of its presence, and I heard the howl of its mindless hate. I quailed to think of the power that had called it into being and loosed it on the world. — Stephen R. Lawhead

We will journey in hope, and trust the Swift Sure Hand to guide us.'
'A little guidance would not go amiss right now,' I confessed, gazing out at the trackless waste of hills and empty sky.
'Llew,' he said, 'we have ever been led. — Stephen R. Lawhead

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

It had long been an ambition to find the line of force that might lead to the Holy Land in the time of Christ. — Stephen R. Lawhead

Alea iacta est. The die has been cast. — Stephen R. Lawhead

I searched until I panted for breath, but could not find it. The solid stone structure was nowhere to be seen. The house was gone - and Merlin with it. — Stephen R. Lawhead