Tai Pan Quotes

If you're a sailor, best not know how to swim. Swimming only prolongs the inevitable—if the sea wants you and your time has come.

Gods are like people. They believe anything if you tell them right way.

If you smile when you lose, then you win in life.

I'm saying that some men are saints. Some are happy being meek and humble and unambitious. Some men are born content to be second-best.

I'll thank you to remember that not so many years ago men were burned at the stake just for saying the earth went round the sun!

Godrot opium, he thought. But he knew that his life was inexorably tied to opium—and that without it neither The Noble House nor the British Empire could exist.

Without trade the world will become what it was once—a hell where only the strongest arm and the heaviest lash was law. The meek will never inherit the earth. Aye, but at least they can be protected by law to live out their lives as they wish.

love is like the sea, sometimes calm and sometimes stormy; it’s dangerous, beautiful, death-dealing, life-giving. But never permanent, everchanging.

So easy now that Elder Sister has explained to her what all young girls in houses are taught—that with care and meticulous acting and tears of pretended pain and fear, and the final modest telltale stains cautiously placed, a girl can, if necessary, be virgin ten times for ten different men.

You live by the lash and you'll die by it.

Let's compete freely. Goddam tariffs! Free trade and free seas—that's what's right!

Empires are built by young men, Culum. They’re lost by old men.

Then you mean that money is everything?" "I'm saying that without power you canna be a saint in this day and age. Power for its own sake is a sin. Money for its own sake is a sin.

only the emperor among three hundred millions is allowed to use vermilion ink. Imagine that. If Queen Victoria said, ‘From now on, only I am allowed to use vermilion,’ as much as we love her, forty thousand Britons would instantly forswear all ink but vermilion. I would mysel’.

The time be gone forever when the like of me’s to suck thy arse ’cause of a poxy title which like as not were gifted first to a king’s whore, a king’s bastard, or buyed by knife in a king’s back.

all the people have a right to vote, and no single man ever controls the destiny of any nation, either by divine right or by right of stupid votes of a stupid electorate.

There can only be one Tai-Pan.

Fallibility in a leader is very trying. Isn’t it? They spill so much of other people’s blood.

The novels of James Clavell’s world-famous Asian Saga (Shōgun, Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, King Rat, Noble House, and Whirlwind) were each critically acclaimed major

Then, alone once more, he split himself into the three persons that all generals of the Church must simultaneously be. First, the anointed Peter, first Bishop of Christ, with all that that spiritually implied. Second, the militant guardian of the Church temporal with all that that implied. And last, just a simple man who believed the teachings of a simple man who was the Son of God.

The Scots knew that the burning of a cross was a summons to the clan, and to all the kinsmen of all kindred clans: a summons to rally to the cross for battle. And the burning cross was raised only by the chief of the clan. By ancient law, once raised, the burning cross committed the clan to defend the land unto the end of the clan.

to me.” The little box contained Brock’s twenty sovereigns now, and Culum felt guilty again that he had never told Tess of their significance. He had put them into the box after he and Tess had come ashore off White Witch the last time: to remind him about Tyler Brock

Если ты улыбаешься, проигрывая, тогда ты выиграешь в жизни.

Only a real man has the right to stand at the pinnacle.

When Brock had caught his breath, he stripped Nagrek and waited until he was conscious. Then he cut away his manhood. And beat him to death.

but I’m convinced this earth will never be at peace until all nations have the English parliamentary system, and all the people have a right to vote, and no single man ever controls the destiny of any nation, either by divine right or by right of stupid votes of a stupid electorate.

Three days after the earthquake in Louisiana there was another geological catastrophe announced, this time in China. The coast of the province of Kiangsu, north of Nanking, about half way between the mouth of the Yangtse and the old bed of the Hwangho, was ripped apart in a powerful, thunderous earthquake; the sea gushed into this fissure and joined up with the great lakes of Pan Yoon and Hungtsu between the cities of Hwaingan and Fugyang. Apparently as a result of the earthquake, the Yangtse left its course below Nanking and flowed down towards Lake Tai and on to Hang-Cho. Loss of human life cannot, so far, even be estimated. Hundred of thousands of refugees are fleeing into the provinces to the north and south. Japanese warships have been given orders to sail to the affected area.

With effort, he concentrated on an editorial. It told of widespread industrial unrest in the Midlands and asserted that it was imperative to pay a fair wage for a fair day’s work. Another article lamented that the huge industrial machine of England was operating at only half capacity and cried that greater new markets must be found for the productive wealth it could spew forth; more production meant cheaper goods, increased employment, higher wages. There were news articles that told of tension and war clouds over France and Spain because of the succession to the Spanish throne; Prussia was spreading its tentacles into all the German states to dominate them and a Franco-Prussian confrontation was imminent; there were war clouds over Russia and the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire; war clouds over the Italian States that wished to throw out the upstart French King of Naples and join together or not to join together, and the Pope, French-supported, was involved in the political arena; there were war clouds over South Africa because the Boers – who had over the last four years trekked out of the Cape Colony to established the Transvaal and the Orange Free State – were now threatening the English colony of Natal and war was expected by the next mail; there were anti-Semitic riots and pogroms throughout Europe; Catholic were fighting against Protestants, Mohammedans against Hindus, against Catholics, against Protestants, and they fighting among themselves; there were Red Indian wars in America, animosity between the Northern and Southern states, animosity between America and Britain over Canada, trouble in Ireland, Sweden, Finland, India, Egypt, the Balkans  . . . ‘Does na matter what you read!’ Struan exploded to no one in particular. ‘The whole world’s mad, by God!

Just try, Tai-Pan, by God,” she said and glared back at him. He grabbed her swiftly and carried her, struggling, to the bed and flung up her robe and petticoats and gave her a smack on her buttocks that stung his hand and tossed her on the bed. He had never struck her before. May-may flew off the bed at him and viciously raked at his face with her long nails. A lantern crashed to the floor as Struan upended her again and resumed the spanking. She fought out of his grip, and her nails slashed at his eyes, missing by a fraction of an inch, and scoring his face. He caught her wrists and turned her over and tore off her robe and underclothes and smashed her bare buttocks with the flat of his hand. She fought back fiercely, shoving an elbow in his groin and clawing at his face again. Mustering all his strength, he pinned her to the bed, but she slipped her head free and sank her teeth into his forearm. He gasped from the pain and slashed her buttocks again with the flat of his free hand. She bit harder. “By God, you’ll never bite me again,” he said through clenched teeth. Her teeth sank deeper, but he deliberately did not pull his arm away. The pain made his eyes water, but he smashed May-may harder and harder and harder, always on her buttocks, until his hand hurt. At last she released her teeth. “Don’t—no more—please—please,” she whimpered, and wept into the pillow, defenseless. Struan caught his breath. “Now say you’re sorry for going out without permission.

Se um pai disciplina o filho corretamente, é óbvio que está a interferir na liberdade do filho, particularmente no aqui-e-agora. O pai estabelece limites à expressão do Ser do filho, forçando-o a aceitar a sua posição no mundo socializado. Um pai assim exige que todo esse potencial infantil seja dirigido para um único caminho. Ao impor tais limitações ao filho, o pai pode ser considerado uma força destrutiva, agindo de maneira a substituir a milagrosa pluralidade da infância com uma única realidade limitada. Mas se o pai não agir, limita-se a deixar o filho ser como o Peter Pan, o eterno Menino, Rei dos Meninos Perdidos, Governante da inexistente Terra do Nunca. Essa não é uma alternativa moralmente aceitável.

Noriu dar kartą pasakyti, kad Evangelija kalba apie gyvenimą. Evangelija yra pats gyvenimas. Kai skaitau Evangeliją celėje, kyla asociacijos iš nugyvento gyvenimo, prisimenu žmones, kuriuos sutikau, kurie padarė man bloga ar kuriems padariau bloga aš, kurie mane mylėjo ir kuriuos myliu aš – visur Evangelija, visa ji apie tai. Tačiau kai neturiu tos knygos prieš save, kai važiuoju troleibusu, vaikštau universitete ar einu Laisvės alėjai žiūrėdamas į veidus, aš matau, kad tai irgi yra Evangelija. Kai Raštas prieš mane – visos mintys krypsta į gyvenimą, kai gyvenimas prieš mane – visos mintys – į šventąją Knygą. Tik taip mes tampame evangeliniais žmonėmis. Koks atpildas už tai? Atpildas – pats gyvenimas. Nekalbu apie uždarbį, pelną, magiją, tai, kad pradės sektis, imsime išlošinėti loterijoje ar pan. Ne, gyvenimas liks toks pat. Sunkumų, problemų nesumažės, o gal net padaugės. Bet… aš jau mokėsiu tą gyvenimą su visais sunkumais, problemomis nugyventi ir, nepaisant visų sunkumų, nesusipratimų, gal net žiaurumų, džiaugtis, būti linksmu, giedraminčiu, jaustis laimingu. Laimingo gyvenimo prasmė nėra sėkmė, bet veikiau tai, kad net kai sunku, jeigu nesiseka, aš vis tiek sakau: šitą gyvenimą verta gyventi. Aš moku išlaikyti viltį, tai yra būti laimingu. Sėkmė ne visada sutampa su laime.