“I can bear pain myself, he said softly, but I couldna bear yours. That would take more strength than I have.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Oh, aye, Sassenach. I am your master . . . and you're mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone,I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I had one last try."Does it bother you that I'm not a virgin?" He hesitated a moment before answering."Well, no," he said slowly, "so long as it doesna bother you that I am." He grinned at my drop-jawed expression, and backed toward the door."Reckon one of us should know what they're doing," he said. The door closed softly behind him; clearly the courtship was over.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Because I wanted you." He turned from the window to face me. "More than I ever wanted anything in my life," he added softly.

I continued staring at him, dumbstruck. Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't this. Seeing my openmouthed expression, he continued lightly. "When I asked my da how ye knew which was the right woman, he told me when the time came, I'd have no doubt. And I didn't. When I woke in the dark under that tree on the road to Leoch, with you sitting on my chest, cursing me for bleeding to death, I said to myself, 'Jamie Fraser, for all ye canna see what she looks like, and for all she weighs as much as a good draft horse, this is the woman'"

I started toward him, and he backed away, talking rapidly. "I said to myself, 'She's mended ye twice in as many hours, me lad; life amongst the MacKenzies being what it is, it might be as well to wed a woman as can stanch a wound and set broken bones.' And I said to myself, 'Jamie, lad, if her touch feels so bonny on your collarbone, imagine what it might feel like lower down...'"

He dodged around a chair. "Of course, I thought it might ha' just been the effects of spending four months in a monastery, without benefit of female companionship, but then that ride through the dark together"--he paused to sigh theatrically, neatly evading my grab at his sleeve--"with that lovely broad arse wedged between my thighs"--he ducked a blow aimed at his left ear and sidestepped, getting a low table between us--"and that rock-solid head thumping me in the chest"--a small metal ornament bounced off his own head and went clanging to the floor--"I said to myself..."

He was laughing so hard at this point that he had to gasp for breath between phrases. "Jamie...I said...for all she's a Sassenach bitch...with a tongue like an adder's ...with a bum like that...what does it matter if she's a f-face like a sh-sh-eep?"

I tripped him neatly and landed on his stomach with both knees as he hit the floor with a crash that shook the house. 

"You mean to tell me that you married me out of love?" I demanded. He raised his eyebrows, struggling to draw in breath.

"Have I not...just been...saying so?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It is all. It is undying. And it is enough.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“There are things that I canna tell you, at least not yet. And I'll ask nothing of ye that ye canna give me. But what I would ask of ye---when you do tell me something, let it be the truth. And I'll promise ye the same. We have nothing now between us, save---respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies. Do ye agree?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“And I mean to hear ye groan like that again. And to moan and sob, even though you dinna wish to, for ye canna help it. I mean to make you sigh as though your heart would break, and scream with the wanting, and at last to cry out in my arms, and I shall know that I've served ye well.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Murtagh was right about women. Sassenach, I risked my life for ye, committing theft, arson, assault, and murder into the bargain. In return for which ye call me names, insult my manhood, kick me in the ballocks and claw my face. Then I beat you half to death and tell ye all the most humiliating things have ever happened to me, and ye say ye love me." He laid his head on his knees and laughed some more. Finally he rose and held out a hand to me, wiping his eyes with the other. "You're no verra sensible, Sassenach, but I like ye fine. Let's go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“When I asked my da how ye knew which was the right woman, he told me when the time came, I'd have no doubt. And I didn't. When I woke in the dark under that tree on the road to Leoch, with you sitting on my chest, cursing me for bleeding to death, I said to myself 'Jamie Fraser, for all ye canna see what she looks like, and for all she weights as much as a good draft horse, this is the woman.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“A hedgehog? And just how does a hedgehog make love?" he demanded. 

No, I thought. I won't. I will not. But I did. "Very carefully," I replied, giggling helplessly. So now we know just how old that one is, I thought. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Ye werena the first lass I kissed," he said softly. "But I swear you'll be the last.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Don't be afraid. There's the two of us now.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” I said, a little breathless. He grinned and pulled me close again.

“I said I was a virgin, not a monk,” he said, kissing me again. “If I find I need guidance, I’ll ask.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I wept bitterly, surrendering momentarily to my fear and heartbroken confusion, but slowly I began to quiet a bit, as Jamie stroked my neck and back, offering me the comfort of his broad, warm chest. My sobs lessened and I began to calm myself, leaning tiredly into the curve of his shoulder. No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I'd let him ride me anywhere.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“You are safe," he said firmly. "You have my name and my family, my clan, and if necessary, the protection of my body as well. The man willna lay hands on ye again,

while I live.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Does it ever stop? The wanting you?" "Even when I've just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my fingers ache with wanting to touch ye again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I swore an oath before the altar of God to protect this woman. And if you're tellin' me that ye consider your own authority to be greater than that of the Almighty, then I must inform ye that I'm not of that opinion, myself.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Sometimes our best action result in things that are most regrettable.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I dinna know what's a sadist. And if I forgive you for this afternoon, I reckon you'll forgive me, too, as soon as ye can sit down again." "As for my pleasure..." His lip twitched. "I said I would have to punish you. I did not say I wasna going to enjoy it." He crooked a finger at me. "Come here.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“The rest of the journey passed uneventfully, if you consider it uneventful to ride fifteen miles on horseback through rough country at night, frequently without benefit of roads, in company with kilted men armed to the teeth, and sharing a horse with a wounded man. At least we were not set upon by highwaymen, we encountered no wild beasts, and it didn't rain. By the standards I was becoming used to, it was quite dull.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“But just then, for that fraction of time, it seems as though all things are possible. You can look across the limitations of your own life, and see that they are really nothing. In that moment when time stops, it is as though you know you could undertake any venture, complete it and come back to yourself, to find the world unchanged, and everything just as you left it a moment before. And it's as though knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I’d let him ride me anywhere.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I was crying for joy, my Sassenach,' he said softly. He reached out slowly and took my face between his hands. "And thanking God that I have two hands. That I have two hands to hold you with. To serve you with, to love you with. Thanking God that I am a whole man still, because of you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“You're tearin' my guts out, Claire.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“And if your life is a suitable exchange for my honor, why is my honor not a suitable exchange for your life?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“That's what marriage is good for; it makes a sacrament out of things ye'd otherwise have to confess. Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Not for the first time, I reflected that intimacy and romance are not synonymous.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“No wonder men got impervious to superficial pain, I thought. It came from this habit of hammering each other incessantly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“Why, what's the matter wi' the poor child?" she demanded of Jamie. "Has she had an accident o' some sort?"

"No, it's only she's married me," he said, "though if ye care to call it an accident, ye may.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I gave you justice, it said, as I was taught it. And I gave you mercy , too, so far as I could. While I could not spare you pain and humiliation, I make you a gift of my own pains and humiliations, that yours might be easier to bear. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander36 likes

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“There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resource, ignoring the costs until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; men in battle.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander35 likes

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“Gentle he would be, denied he would not.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance, time-travel

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“Overall, the library held a hushed exultation, as though the cherished volumes were all singing soundlessly within their covers.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: books, library

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“I want to hold you hard to me and kiss you, and never let you go. I want to take you to my bed and use you like a whore, 'til I forget that I exist. And I want to put my head in your lap and weep like a child."The mouth turned up at one corner, and a blue eye opened slitwise."Unfortunately," he said, "I can't do any but the last of those without fainting or being sick again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander30 likes

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“I meant it, Claire,' he said quietly. 'My life is yours. And it's yours to decide what we shall do, where we go next. To France, to Italy, even back to Scotland. My heart has been yours since first I saw ye, and you've held my soul and body between your two hands here, and kept them safe. We shall go as ye say.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander29 likes

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“He [Brian Fraser] told me that a man must be responsible for any see he sows, for it's his duty to take care of a woman and protect her. And if I wasna prepared to do that, then I'd no right to burden a woman with the consequences of my own actions.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander27 likes

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“All right you bloody Scottish bastard, lets see how stubborn you really are.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: diana-gabaldon, outlander

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“What are you doing with the child?" I inquired cautiously."I'm teachin' young James here the fine art of not pissing on his feet," he explained.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor

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“My father liked me, when I wasna being an idiot. And he loved me, too -- enough to beat the daylights out of me when I was being an idiot. Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: discipline, parenting, spanking

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“I'll scream!" "Likely. If not before, certainly during. I expect they'll hear ye at the next farm; you've got good lungs.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“Good," I said, completely provoked. "You deserve it. Maybe that will teach you to go haring round the countryside kidnapping young women and k-killing people, and…" I felt myself ridiculously close to tears and stopped, fighting for control. Dougal was growing impatient with this conversation. "Well, can ye keep one foot on each side of the horse, man?" "He can't go anywhere!" I protested indignantly. "He ought to be in hospital! Certainly he can't---" My protests, as usual, went completely ignored. "Can ye ride?" Dougal repeated. "Aye, if ye'll take the lassie off my chest and fetch me a clean shirt.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander23 likes

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“We have nothing now between us, save - respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander22 likes

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“There were moments, of course. Those small spaces in time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on a perfect point, like the moment of change between the dark and the light, and when both and neither surround you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: awareness

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“People are gregarious by necessity. Since the days of the first cave dwellers, humans -- hairless, weak, and helpless save for cunning -- have survived by joining together in groups; knowing, as so many other edible creatures have found, that there is protection in numbers. And that knowledge, bred in the bone, is what lies behind mob rule. Because to step outside the group, let alone to stand against it was for uncounted thousands of years death to the creature who dared it. To stand against a crowd would take something more than ordinary courage; something that went beyond human instinct. And I feared I did not have it, and fearing, was ashamed.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander19 likes

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“So remember it, lad. If your head thinks up mischief, your backside's going to pay for it. Brian Fraser to young Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander18 likes

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“That's not precisely what I had in mind." Jamie, I had found out by accident a few days previously, had never mastered the art of

winking one eye. Instead, he blinked solemnly, like a large red owl.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“If ye loved him, he must ha' been a good man.''Yes, he...was.''Then I shall do my best to honor his spirit by serving his wife.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander15 likes

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“I'm afraid that my wife picked up a number of colorful expressions from the Yanks and such, Frank offered, with a nervous smile.True, I said, gritting my teeth as I wrapped a water-soaked napkin about my hand. Men tend to be very colorful when you're picking shrapnel out of them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander14 likes

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“Boldness in battle is nothing out of the way... but to face down fear in cold blood is rare in any man.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander13 likes

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“Do ye dare to draw arms against the justice of God?" snapped the tubby little judge. Jamie drew the sword completely, with a flash of steel, then thrust it point-first into the ground, leaving the hilt quivering with the force of the blow."I draw it in defense of this women, and the truth," he said "If any here be against those two they'll answer to me, and then God, in that order.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: love

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“There was a feeling, not sudden, but complete, as though I had been given a small object to hold unseen in my hands. Precious as opal, smooth as jade, weighty as a river stone, more fragile than a bird's egg. Infinitely still, live as the root of Creation. Not a gift, but a trust. Fiercely to cherish, softly to guard. The words spoke themselves and disappeared into the groined shadows of the roof.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander13 likes

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“Where are you going?" I asked, as Frank swung his feet off the bed.

"I'd hate the dear old thing to be disappointed in us," he answered. Sitting up on the side of the ancient bed, he bounced gently up and down, creating a piercing rhythmic squeak. The Hoovering in the hall stopped abruptly. After a minute or two of bouncing, he gave a loud, theatrical groan and collapsed backward with a twang of protesting springs. I giggled helplessly into a pillow, so as not to disturb the breathless silence outside.

Frank waggled his eyebrows at me. "You're supposed to moan ecstatically, not giggle," he admonished in a whisper. "She'll think I'm not a good lover."

"You'll have to keep it up for longer than that, if you expect ecstatic moans," I answered. "Two minutes doesn't deserve any more than a giggle."

"Inconsiderate little wench. I came here for a rest, remember?"

"Lazybones. You'll never manage the next branch on your family tree unless you show a bit more industry than that.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, frank

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“There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resources, ignoring the cost until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; Men in Battle. Past a certain point, you lose all fear of pain or injury. Life becomes very simple at that point; you will do what you are trying to do, or die in the attempt...” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander12 likes

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“It was in a way a comforting idea; if there was all the time in the world, then the happenings of a given moment became less important.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander12 likes

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“Are you alright?""No, I bumped my head." Rubbing the spot, I looked dazedly around the bare hallway. "What did I bang it on?" I demanded ungrammatically. "My head." he said, rather grumpily, I thought.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-cassie

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“Really love him, I mean," Geilie persisted. "Not just to bed him; I know you want that, and he does too. They all do. But do you love him?"Did I love him? Beyond the urges of the flesh? The hole had the dark anonymity of the confessional, and a soul on the verge of death had no time for lies."Yes," I said, and laid my head back on my knees.It was silent in the hole for some time, and I hovered once more on the verge of sleep, when I heard her speak once more, as though to herself."So it's possible," she said thoughtfully.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, geilie, love

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“He leaned close, rubbing his bearded cheek against my ear. 'And how about a sweet kiss, now, for the brave lads of the clan MacKenzie? Tulach Ard!'Erin go bragh,' I said rudely, and pushed with all my strength.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor, outlander

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“Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander9 likes

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“He shook his head, absorbed in one of his feats of memory, those brief periods of scholastic rapture where he lost touch with the world around him, absorbed completely in conjuring up knowledge from all its sources.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander8 likes

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“The colors of living things begin to fade with the last breath, and the soft, springy skin and supple muscle rot within weeks. But the bones sometimes remain, faithful echoes of the shape, to bear some last faint witness to the glory of what was.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: glory, life, memory

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“That's for calling your father a fool. It may be true, but it's disrespectful. Brian Fraser to teenage Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander7 likes

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“I had kissed my share of men, particularly during the war years, when flirtation and instant romance were the light-minded companions of death and uncertainty. Jamie, thought, was something different. His extreme gentleness was in no way tentative; rather it was a promise of power known and held in leash; a challenge and a provocation the more remarkable for its lack of demand. I am yours, it said. And if you will have me, then...” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance

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“Really rather fascinating, you know,' he confided, and I recognized, with an internal sigh, the song of the scholar, as identifying a sound as the terr-whit! of a thrush.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander6 likes

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“Ma chère, I serve a man who multiplied the loaves and fishes”—he smiled, nodding at the pool, where the swirls of the carps’ feeding were still subsiding—“who healed the sick and raised the dead. Shall I be astonished that the master of eternity has brought a young woman through the stones of the earth to do His will?” Well, I reflected, it was better than being denounced as the whore of Babylon.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: believing

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“It's a good country for myths. Things seem to take root here.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: country, myth, root

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“No matter how ugly the manner in which a man dies, it’s only the presence of a suffering human soul that is horrifying, once gone, what is left is only an object.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: death, dies, soul, suffering

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“Despair dragged at me like an anchor, pulling me down. I closed my eyes and retreated to some dim place within, where there was nothing but an aching grey blankness…” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: ache, anchor, blankness, despair, retreat

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“Eres sangre de mi sangre y huesos de mis huesos.Te doy mi cuerpo para que los dos seamos uno.Te doy mi espíritu para que los dos seamos uno.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance-novels

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“Aye, I believe ye, Sassenach. But it would ha’ been a good deal easier if you’d only been a witch.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander5 likes

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“There was a smell about the place, which I imagined as the smell of misery and fear, though I supposed it was no more than the niff of ancient squalor and an absence of drains.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander5 likes

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“I had not slept with many men other than my husband, but I had noticed that before to sleep, actually sleep with someone did give this sense of intimacy, as though your dreams had flowed out of you to mingle with his and fold you both in a blanket of unconscious knowing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander5 likes

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“Ian, man, I didna tell ye because I didna wish to lose you too. My brother was gone, and my father. I didna mean to lose my own heart's blood as well. For you are dearer to me even than home and family, love.'She cast a lopsided smile at Jamie. 'And that's saying quite a bit.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: family, family-relationships, romance

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“Many of the lost will be found, eventually, dead or alive. Disappearances, after all, have explanations.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander4 likes

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“People disappear all the time. Ask any policeman. Better yet, ask a journalist. Disappearances are bread-and-butter to journalists.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander4 likes

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“Getting up once in the dark to go adventuring is a lark. Twice in two days smacks of masochism.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: adventures

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“And once I got old enough for such a thing to be a possibility, he told me that a man must be responsible for any seed he sows, for it's his duty to take care of a woman and protect her. And if I wasna prepared to do that, then I'd no right to burden a woman with the consequences of my own actions.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: consequences-life-lessons

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“The woman crosses the room, and it is only when she is directly in front of us that I am certain about who she is. She is dressed in a pelisse fashionable among women half her age, and the feather in her hat is an extraordinary shade of blue. Outside, a young man is waiting at her coach. Passersby will suspect that he is her son, but anyone who has ever been acquainted with her will know better.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander3 likes

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“A tall, straight-bodied, and by no means ill-favored young Highlander at close range is breath-taking.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“I leaned back on my elbows and basked in the warming spring sun. There was a curious peace in this day, a sense of things working quietly in their proper courses, nothing minding the upsets and turmoils of human concerns. Perhaps it was the peace that one always finds outdoors, far enough away from buildings and clatter. Maybe it was the result of gardening, that quiet sense of pleasure in touching growing things, the satisfaction of helping them thrive. Perhaps just the relief of finally having found work to do, rather than rattling around the castle feeling out of place, conspicuous as an inkblot on parchment.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“I could feel the hair rising on my forearms, as though with cold, and rubbed them uneasily. Two hundred years. From 1945 to 1743; yes, near enough. And women who traveled through the rocks. Was it always women? I wondered suddenly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Involuntarily, I reached out, as though I might heal him with a touch and erase the marks with my fingers.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“I’ve said often enough, and the good Lord kens weel enough that boys were meant to be smacked, or he’d not ha’ filled ’em sae full o’ the de’il.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“I only said I felt like God, Sassenach," he murmured. "I never said I was.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Careful!” I said. “Don’t twist like that, or your dressing will come off! What are you trying to do?” “Get my plaid loose to cover you,” he replied. “You’re shivering. But I canna do it one-handed. Can ye reach the clasp of my brooch for me?” With a good deal of tugging and awkward shifting, we got the plaid loosened. With a surprisingly dexterous swirl, he twirled the cloth out and let it settle, shawllike, around his shoulders. He then put the ends over my shoulders and tucked them neatly under the saddle edge, so that we were both warmly wrapped. “There!” he said. “We dinna want ye to freeze before we get there.” “Thank you,” I said, grateful for the shelter. “But where are we going?” I couldn’t see his face, behind and above me, but he paused a moment before answering. At last he laughed shortly. “Tell ye the truth, lassie, I don’t know. Reckon we’ll both find out when we get there, eh?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Then let amorous kisses dwell On our lips, begin and tell A Thousand and a Hundred score A Hundred, and a Thousand more.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“He felt me wake, and drew me close, as though to preserve a moment longer the union we had reached in those last seconds of our perilous joining. I curled beside him, putting my arms around him. He opened his eyes then and sighed, the long mouth curling in a faint smile as his glance met mine. I raised my brows in silent question. “Oh, aye, Sassenach,” he answered a bit ruefully. “I am your master … and you’re mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Black Jack. A common name for rogues and scoundrels in the eighteenth century. A staple of romantic fiction, the name conjured up charming highwaymen, dashing blades in plumed hats. The reality waled at my side.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“As though, knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“You’re mine, mo duinne,” he said softly, pressing himself into my depths. “Mine alone, now and forever. Mine, whether ye will it or no.” I pulled against his grip, and sucked in my breath with a faint “ah” as he pressed even deeper. “Aye, I mean to use ye hard, my Sassenach,” he whispered. “I want to own you, to possess you, body and soul.” I struggled slightly and he pressed me down, hammering me, a solid, inexorable pounding that reached my womb with each stroke. “I mean to make ye call me ‘Master,’ Sassenach.” His soft voice was a threat of revenge for the agonies of the last minutes. “I mean to make you mine.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“İnsan hayatın ve sonsuz varlığın getirdiği bitmez düşüncelere bazen ara vermek istiyordu, varlığının doğası nasıl planlanmış olursa olsun, oradan kaçmak istiyordu.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“Jamie, I had found out by accident a few days previously, had never mastered the art of winking one eye. Instead, he blinked solemnly, like a large red owl.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“Ye werena the first lass I kissed,” he said softly. “But I swear you’ll be the last.” And he bent his head to my upturned face.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“I could feel his heart beating against my ribs, and wanted nothing more than to stay there forever, not moving, not making love, just breathing the same air.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“It was in a way a comforting idea; if there was all the time in the world, then the happening of a given moment became less important. I could see, perhaps, how one could draw back a little, seek some respite in the contemplation of an endless Being, whatever one conceived its nature to be.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“At the best of times, Father Bain's face resembled a clenched fist.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humorous-quotes

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“She was a very old lady indeed, or at least she looked it. She leaned on a hawthorn stick, enveloped in garments she must have” ― Diana Gabaldon, Cross Stitch0 likes

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“Those small spaces of time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on a perfect point, like the moment of change between the dark and the light, when both and neither surround you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“If you’ll not let me be spiritual about it, you’ll have to put up wi’ my baser nature. I’m going to be a beast.” He bit my neck. “Do ye want me to be a horse, a bear, or a dog?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Flies round a honeypot would be nothin’ to it, lad! Penniless and nameless as ye are now, the lasses still sigh after ye—I’ve seen ’em!” More snorting. “Even this Sassenach wench can no keep away from ye, and her a new widow!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Dawn was coming up in streaks and slashes over the foggy moor.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“In older, more primitive times (like these? asked another part of my mind), it was an act of trust to sleep in the presence of another person. If the trust was mutual, simple

sleep could bring you closer together than the joining of bodies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“That’s simple. You reason with them, and when you’re through, I’ll take them out and thrash them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“A brown, rocklike fist rose out of the mass and descended with considerable force, meeting decisively with some bony protuberance, by the sound of the resultant crack.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Some hae meat that canna eat, And some could eat that want it. We hae meat, and we can eat, And so may God be thankit. Amen.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“But then, I didn’t think I’d tell them you were here.” “What makes you think they don’t know?” I asked, beginning to feel rather hollow, despite my earlier resolve to brazen it out. I cast a quick glance at the window, but” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usyally better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Then let amorous kisses dwellOn our lips, begin and tellA Thousand and a Hundred scoreA Hundred, and a Thousand more” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“There was nothing frightening about the dead man; there never is. No matter how ugly the manner in which a man dies, it's only the presence of a suffering human soul that is horrifying; once gone, what is left is only an object” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Blood of my blood and bone of my bone. You carry me within ye, Claire, and ye canna leave me now, no matter what happens. You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I wilna let ye go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It us all. It is undying. And it is enough” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Once I told him I thought beating your son was a most uncivilized method of getting your own way. He said I’d about as much sense as the post I was standing next to, if as much. He said respect for your elders was one of the cornerstones of civilized behavior, and until I learned that, I’d better get used to looking at my toes while one of

my barbaric elders thrashed my arse off.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I stood still, vision blurring, and in that moment, I heard my heart break. It was a small, clean sound, like the snapping of a flower's stem.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: claire-fraser, historical-fiction, romance, scotland, time-travel

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“When the day shall come that we do part," he said softly, and turned to look at me, "if my last words are not 'I love you'-ye'll ken it was because I didna have time.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: fiery-cross, jamie-fraser, outlander

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“I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you - then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest."

His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me.

Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: love, outlander

713 likes

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“I can bear pain myself, he said softly, but I couldna bear yours. That would take more strength than I have.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander473 likes

In my quotes

 

“Oh, aye, Sassenach. I am your master . . . and you're mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance

432 likes

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“Blood of my Blood," he whispered, "and bone of my bone. You carry me within ye, Claire, and ye canna leave me now, no matter what happens, You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I wilna let ye go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: love, marriage, romance, vows

343 likes

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“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: love

320 likes

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“Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone,I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: love, marriage, romance

316 likes

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“I talk to you as I talk to my own soul," he said, turning me to face him. He reached up and cupped my cheek, fingers light on my temple. "And Sassenach," he whispered, "Your face is my heart.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber311 likes

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“I had one last try."Does it bother you that I'm not a virgin?" He hesitated a moment before answering."Well, no," he said slowly, "so long as it doesna bother you that I am." He grinned at my drop-jawed expression, and backed toward the door."Reckon one of us should know what they're doing," he said. The door closed softly behind him; clearly the courtship was over.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

278 likes

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“forgiveness is not a single act, but a matter of constant practice” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn276 likes

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“Because I wanted you." He turned from the window to face me. "More than I ever wanted anything in my life," he added softly.

I continued staring at him, dumbstruck. Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't this. Seeing my openmouthed expression, he continued lightly. "When I asked my da how ye knew which was the right woman, he told me when the time came, I'd have no doubt. And I didn't. When I woke in the dark under that tree on the road to Leoch, with you sitting on my chest, cursing me for bleeding to death, I said to myself, 'Jamie Fraser, for all ye canna see what she looks like, and for all she weighs as much as a good draft horse, this is the woman'"

I started toward him, and he backed away, talking rapidly. "I said to myself, 'She's mended ye twice in as many hours, me lad; life amongst the MacKenzies being what it is, it might be as well to wed a woman as can stanch a wound and set broken bones.' And I said to myself, 'Jamie, lad, if her touch feels so bonny on your collarbone, imagine what it might feel like lower down...'"

He dodged around a chair. "Of course, I thought it might ha' just been the effects of spending four months in a monastery, without benefit of female companionship, but then that ride through the dark together"--he paused to sigh theatrically, neatly evading my grab at his sleeve--"with that lovely broad arse wedged between my thighs"--he ducked a blow aimed at his left ear and sidestepped, getting a low table between us--"and that rock-solid head thumping me in the chest"--a small metal ornament bounced off his own head and went clanging to the floor--"I said to myself..."

He was laughing so hard at this point that he had to gasp for breath between phrases. "Jamie...I said...for all she's a Sassenach bitch...with a tongue like an adder's ...with a bum like that...what does it matter if she's a f-face like a sh-sh-eep?"

I tripped him neatly and landed on his stomach with both knees as he hit the floor with a crash that shook the house. 

"You mean to tell me that you married me out of love?" I demanded. He raised his eyebrows, struggling to draw in breath.

"Have I not...just been...saying so?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“You are my courage, as I am your conscience," he whispered. "You are my heart---and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone. Do ye not know that, Sassenach?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: jamie-fraser

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“Babies are soft. Anyone looking at them can see the tender, fragile skin and know it for the rose-leaf softness that invites a finger's touch. But when you live with them and

love them, you feel the softness going inward, the round-cheeked flesh wobbly as custard, the boneless splay of the tiny hands. Their joints are melted rubber, and even when you kiss them hard, in the passion of loving their existence, your lips sink down and seem never to find bone. Holding them against you, they melt and mold, as though they might at any moment flow back into your body.

But from the very start, there is that small streak of steel within each child. That thing that says "I am," and forms the core of personality.

In the second year, the bone hardens and the child stands upright, skull wide and solid, a helmet protecting the softness within. And "I am" grows, too. Looking at them, you can almost see it, sturdy as heartwood, glowing through the translucent flesh.

The bones of the face emerge at six, and the soul within is fixed at seven. The process of encapsulation goes on, to reach its peak in the glossy shell of adolescence, when all softness then is hidden under the nacreous layers of the multiple new personalities that teenagers try on to guard themselves.

In the next years, the hardening spreads from the center, as one finds and fixes the facets of the soul, until "I am" is set, delicate and detailed as an insect in amber.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: babies, children, motherhood, parenting, vulnerability

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“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It is all. It is undying. And it is enough.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: outlander

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“I prayed all the way up that hill yesterday, he said softly. Not for you to stay; I didna think that would be right. I prayed I'd be strong enough to send ye away. He shook his head, still gazing up the hill, a faraway look in his eyes. I said 'Lord, if I've never had courage in my life before, let me have it now. Let me be brave enough not to fall on my knees and beg her to stay.' He pulled his eyes away from the cottage and smiled briefly at me. Hardest thing I ever did, Sassenach.” ― Diana Gabaldon220 likes

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“There are things that I canna tell you, at least not yet. And I'll ask nothing of ye that ye canna give me. But what I would ask of ye---when you do tell me something, let it be the truth. And I'll promise ye the same. We have nothing now between us, save---respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies. Do ye agree?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander215 likes

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“You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I willna let ye go” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber199 likes

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“D'ye think I don't know?" he asked softly. "It's me that has the easy part now. For if ye feel for me as I do for you-then I'm asking you to tear out your heart and live without it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber194 likes

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“And I mean to hear ye groan like that again. And to moan and sob, even though you dinna wish to, for ye canna help it. I mean to make you sigh as though your heart would break, and scream with the wanting, and at last to cry out in my arms, and I shall know that I've served ye well.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

tags: romance

191 likes

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“Murtagh was right about women. Sassenach, I risked my life for ye, committing theft, arson, assault, and murder into the bargain. In return for which ye call me names, insult my manhood, kick me in the ballocks and claw my face. Then I beat you half to death and tell ye all the most humiliating things have ever happened to me, and ye say ye love me." He laid his head on his knees and laughed some more. Finally he rose and held out a hand to me, wiping his eyes with the other. "You're no verra sensible, Sassenach, but I like ye fine. Let's go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: outlander

182 likes

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“Oh, Claire, ye do break my heart wi' loving you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber181 likes

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“Lying on the floor, with the carved panels of the ceiling flickering dimly above, I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to the idiocy of eighteenth-century men. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: historical-romance

170 likes

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“When I asked my da how ye knew which was the right woman, he told me when the time came, I'd have no doubt. And I didn't. When I woke in the dark under that tree on the road to Leoch, with you sitting on my chest, cursing me for bleeding to death, I said to myself 'Jamie Fraser, for all ye canna see what she looks like, and for all she weights as much as a good draft horse, this is the woman.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor, love

163 likes

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“It has always been forever, for me, Sassenach” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: jamie-from-outlander

162 likes

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“Catholics don't believe in divorce. We do believe in murder. There's always Confession, after all.--Brianna Fraser to Roger MacKenzie” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: cynical, marriage

162 likes

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“Do ye not understand?"he said, in near desparation. "I would lay the world at your feet, Claire-and I have nothing to give ye!"He honestly thought it mattered.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager157 likes

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“If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him for tempting ye to it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber155 likes

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“...sitting and waiting is one of the most miserable occupations known to man - not that it usually is known to men; women do it much more often.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: gender-stereotypes, men-and-women, waiting

146 likes

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“A hedgehog? And just how does a hedgehog make love?" he demanded. 

No, I thought. I won't. I will not. But I did. "Very carefully," I replied, giggling helplessly. So now we know just how old that one is, I thought. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“I shook so that it was some time before I realized that he was shaking too, and for the same reason. I don't know how long we sat there on the dusty floor, crying in each others arms with the longing of twenty years spilling down our faces.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager132 likes

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“Then let amourous kisses dwellOn our lips, begin and tellA Thousand and a Hundred scoreA Hundred and a Thousand more” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber119 likes

Like

“Don't be afraid. There's the two of us now.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-fraser

116 likes

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“I do know it, my own. Let me tell ye in your sleep how much I love you. For there's no so much I can be saying to ye while ye wake, but the same poor words, again and again. While ye sleep in my arms, I can say things to ye that would be daft and silly waking, and your dreams will know the truth of them. Go back to sleep, mo duinne.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: endearing, love

113 likes

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“To see the years touch ye gives me joy", he whispered, "for it means that ye live.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: highlander, historical-fiction, romance, scotland

110 likes

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“It wasn't a thing I had consciously missed, but having it now reminded me of the joy of it; that drowsy intimacy in which a man's body is accessible to you as your own, the strange shapes and textures of it like a sudden extension of your own limbs.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: intimacy, love, romance

103 likes

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“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” I said, a little breathless. He grinned and pulled me close again.

“I said I was a virgin, not a monk,” he said, kissing me again. “If I find I need guidance, I’ll ask.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

96 likes

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“I wept bitterly, surrendering momentarily to my fear and heartbroken confusion, but slowly I began to quiet a bit, as Jamie stroked my neck and back, offering me the comfort of his broad, warm chest. My sobs lessened and I began to calm myself, leaning tiredly into the curve of his shoulder. No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I'd let him ride me anywhere.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander93 likes

Like

“You are safe," he said firmly. "You have my name and my family, my clan, and if necessary, the protection of my body as well. The man willna lay hands on ye again,

while I live.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-fraser

90 likes

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“Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber87 likes

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“Character, I think, is the single most important thing in fiction. You might read a book once for its interesting plot—but not twice.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: diana-gabaldon, gabaldon

87 likes

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“This is our time. Until that time stops - for one of us, for both – it is our time. Now. Will you waste it, because you are afraid?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn84 likes

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“Time does not really exist for mothers, with regard to their children. It does not matter greatly how old the child is-in the blink of an eye, a mother can see the child again as they were when they were born, when they learned how to walk, as they were at any age-at any time, even when the child is fully grown or a parent themselves.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: kids

84 likes

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“Does it ever stop? The wanting you?" "Even when I've just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my fingers ache with wanting to touch ye again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander79 likes

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“Time is a lot of the things people say that God is. There's always preexisting, and having no end. There's the notion of being all powerful-because nothing can stand against time, can it? Not mountains, not armies. And time is, of course, all-healing. Give anything enough time, and everything is taken care of: all pain encompassed, all hardship erased, all loss subsumed. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Remember, man, that thou art dust; and unto dust thou shalt return. 

And if time is anything akin to God, I suppose that memory must be the devil.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes77 likes

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“I swore an oath before the altar of God to protect this woman. And if you're tellin' me that ye consider your own authority to be greater than that of the Almighty, then I must inform ye that I'm not of that opinion, myself.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-fraser

76 likes

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“Sometimes our best action result in things that are most regrettable.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander76 likes

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“Aye, well, he'll be wed a long time," he said callously. "Do him no harm to keep his breeches on for one night. And they do say that abstinence makes the heart grow firmer, no?"

"Absence," I said, dodging the spoon for a moment. "AND fonder. If anything's growing firmer from abstinence, it wouldn't be his heart.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: claire-fraser, humor, jamie-fraser

75 likes

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“The most irritating thing about cliches, I decided, was how frequently they were true.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager71 likes

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“Once you've chosen a man, don't try to change him', I wrote with more confidence. 'It can't be done. More important-don't let him try to change you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager69 likes

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“You dinna need to understand me, Sassenach," he said quietly. "So long as you love me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber68 likes

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“I dinna know what's a sadist. And if I forgive you for this afternoon, I reckon you'll forgive me, too, as soon as ye can sit down again." "As for my pleasure..." His lip twitched. "I said I would have to punish you. I did not say I wasna going to enjoy it." He crooked a finger at me. "Come here.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander66 likes

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“If I die," he whispered in the dark, "dinna follow me. The bairns will need ye. Stay for them. I can wait.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: historical-romance, love, outlander

65 likes

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“Your face is my heart Sassenach, and the love of you is my soul” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: jamie-fraser

65 likes

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“Mo Nighean donn," he whispered," mo chridhe. My brown lass, my heart."Come to me. Cover me. Shelter me. a bhean, heal me. Burn with me, as I burn for you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: romantic

65 likes

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“The dog would run a few steps toward the house, circle once or twice as though unable to decide what to do next, then run back into the wood, turn, and run again toward the house, all the while whining with agitation, tail low and wavering."Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ," I said. "Bloody Timmy's in the well!” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes63 likes

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“We are bound, you and I, and nothing on this earth shall part me from you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber59 likes

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“Damn right I begrudge! I grudge every memory of yours that doesna hold me, and every tear ye've shed for another, and every second you've spent in another man's bed!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: jamie-fraser

59 likes

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“While the Lord might insist that vengeance was His, no male Highlander of my acquaintance had ever thought it right that the Lord should be left to handle such things without assistance.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross58 likes

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“For I had come back, and I dreamed once more in the cool air of the Highlands. And the voice of my dream still echoed through ears and heart, repeated with the sound of Brianna's sleeping breath. "You are mine," it had said. "Mine. And I will not let you go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber57 likes

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“The rest of the journey passed uneventfully, if you consider it uneventful to ride fifteen miles on horseback through rough country at night, frequently without benefit of roads, in company with kilted men armed to the teeth, and sharing a horse with a wounded man. At least we were not set upon by highwaymen, we encountered no wild beasts, and it didn't rain. By the standards I was becoming used to, it was quite dull.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander57 likes

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“...well, if women's work was never done, why trouble about how much of it wasn't being accomplished at any given moment?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: claire-fraser, fiery-cross

56 likes

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“For if you feel for me as i do for you - then I am asking you to tear out your heart and live without it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber54 likes

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“But just then, for that fraction of time, it seems as though all things are possible. You can look across the limitations of your own life, and see that they are really nothing. In that moment when time stops, it is as though you know you could undertake any venture, complete it and come back to yourself, to find the world unchanged, and everything just as you left it a moment before. And it's as though knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: fiction, historical-fiction

51 likes

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“No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I’d let him ride me anywhere.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: outlander

51 likes

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“An Englishman thinks a hundred miles is a long way; and American thinks a hundred years is a long time” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn50 likes

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“His hand rested on my hair, and without knowing quite how it happened, I found myself curled against him, my head just fitting in the hollow of his shoulder.

For so many years," he said, "for so long, I have been so many things, so many different men." I felt him swallow, and he shifted slightly, the linen of his nightshirt rustling with starch.

I was Uncle to Jenny's children, and Brother to her and Ian. 'Milord' to Fergus, and 'Sir' to my tenants. 'Mac Dubh' to the men of Ardsmuir and 'MacKenzie' to the other servants at Helwater. 'Malcolm the printer,' then, and 'Jamie Roy' at the docks." The hand stroked my hair, slowly, with a whispering sound like the wind outside. "But here," he said, so softly I could barely hear him, "here in the dark, with you...I have no name.” ― Diana Gabaldon50 likes

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“I was crying for joy, my Sassenach,' he said softly. He reached out slowly and took my face between his hands. "And thanking God that I have two hands. That I have two hands to hold you with. To serve you with, to love you with. Thanking God that I am a whole man still, because of you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander49 likes

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“You're tearin' my guts out, Claire.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander49 likes

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“And if your life is a suitable exchange for my honor, why is my honor not a suitable exchange for your life?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander48 likes

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“…but Sassenach—I am the true home of your heart, and I know that.” 

He lifted my hands to his mouth and kissed my upturned palms, one and then the other, his breath warm and his beard-stubble soft on my fingers.

“I have loved others, and I do love many, Sassenach—but you alone hold all my heart, whole in your hands,” he said softly. “And you know that.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood48 likes

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“That's what marriage is good for; it makes a sacrament out of things ye'd otherwise have to confess. Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander47 likes

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“Harmless as a setting dove," he agreed. "I'm too hungry to be a threat to anything but breakfast. Let a stray bannock come within reach, though, and I'll no answer for the consequences.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: jamie-fraser, outlander

47 likes

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“Not for the first time, I reflected that intimacy and romance are not synonymous.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander47 likes

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“When you took me from the witch trial at Cranesmuir--you said then that you would have died with me, you would have gone to the stake with me, had it come to that!"

He grasped my hands, fixing me with a steady blue gaze.

"Aye, I would," he said. "But I wasna carrying your child."

The wind had frozen me; it was the cold that made me shake, I told myself. The cold that took my breath away.

"You can't tell," I said, at last. "It's much too soon to be sure."

He snorted briefly, and a tiny flicker of amusement lit his eyes.

"And me a farmer, too! Sassenach, ye havena been a day late in your courses, in all the time since ye first took me to your bed. Ye havena bled now in forty-six days."

"You bastard!" I said, outraged. "You counted! In the middle of a bloody war, you counted!"

"Didn't you?"

"No!" I hadn't; I had been much too afraid to acknowledge the possibility of the thing I had hoped and prayed for so long, come now so horribly too late.

"Besides," I went on, trying still to deny the possibility, "that doesn't mean anything. Starvation could cause that; it often does."

He lifted one brow, and cupped a broad hand gently beneath my breast.

"Aye, you're thin enough; but scrawny as ye are, your breasts are full--and the nipples of them gone the color of Champagne grapes. You forget," he said, "I've seen ye so before. I have no doubt--and neither have you."

I tried to fight down the waves of nausea--so easily attributable to fright and starvation--but I felt the small heaviness, suddenly burning in my womb. I bit my lip hard, but the sickness washed over me.

Jamie let go of my hands, and stood before me, hands at his sides, stark in silhouette against the fading sky.

"Claire," he said quietly. "Tomorrow I will die. This child...is all that will be left of me--ever. I ask ye, Claire--I beg you--see it safe.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser, pregnancy

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“Sassenach, I've been stabbed, bitten, slapped, and whipped since supper - which I didna get to finish. I dinna like to scare children an I dinna like to flog men, and I've had to do both. I've two hundred English camped three miles away, and no idea what to do about them. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm sore. If you've anything like womanly sympathy about ye, I could use a bit!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber44 likes

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“No wonder men got impervious to superficial pain, I thought. It came from this habit of hammering each other incessantly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor

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“All I want, is for you to love me. Not because of what I can do or what I look like, or because I love you - just because I am.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: love

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“And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours, Claire? I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you."The wind stirred the leaves of the chestnut trees nearby, and the scents of late summer rose up rich around us; pine and grass and strawberries, sun-warmed stone and cool water, and the sharp, musky smell of his body next to mine."Nothing is lost, Sassenach; only changed.""That's the first law of thermodynamics," I said, wiping my nose."No," he said. "That's faith.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn42 likes

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“Could I but lay my head in your lap, lass. Feel your hand on me, and sleep wi' the scent of you in my bed. 

Christ, Sassenach. I need ye.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: jamie-fraser

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“Roger speaking to Brianna: It's too important. You don't forget having a dad."You do remember your father?"No. I remember yours.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: historical-fiction

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“I thought the force of my wanting must wake ye, surely. And then ye did come. . ." He stopped, looking at me with eyes gone soft and dark. "Christ, Claire, ye were so beautiful, there on the stair, wi' your hair down and the shadow of your body with the light behind ye…." He shook his head slowly. "I did think I should die, if I didna have ye," he said softly. "Just then.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: highlander, historical-fiction, romance, scotland

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“Why, what's the matter wi' the poor child?" she demanded of Jamie. "Has she had an accident o' some sort?"

"No, it's only she's married me," he said, "though if ye care to call it an accident, ye may.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie, mrs-fitzgibbons

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“Do you really think we'll ever--"

"I do," he said with certainty, not letting me finish. He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I know it, Sassenach, and so do you. You were meant to be a mother, and I surely dinna intend to let anyone else father your children.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: children, claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“Torn between the impulse to stroke his head, and the urge to cave it in with a rock, I did neither.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber37 likes

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“Do you know,' he said again softly, addressing his hands, 'what it is to love someone, and never - never! - be able to give them peace, or joy, or happiness?'

He looked up then, eyes filled with pain. 'To know that you cannot give them happiness, not through any fault of yours or theirs, but only because you were not born the right person for them?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: love, right-person

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“I gave you justice, it said, as I was taught it. And I gave you mercy , too, so far as I could. While I could not spare you pain and humiliation, I make you a gift of my own pains and humiliations, that yours might be easier to bear. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander36 likes

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“I didn't want to tell the story of what makes two people come together, although that's a theme of great power and universality. I wanted to find out what it takes for two people to stay together for fifty years -- or more. I wanted to tell not the story of courtship, but the story of marriage.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Outlandish Companion35 likes

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“Bedding her could be anything from tenderness to riot, but to take her when she was a bit the worse for drink was always a particular delight.Intoxicated, she took less care for him than usual; abandoned and oblivious to all but her own pleasure, she would rake him, bite him - and beg him to serve her so, as well. He loved the feeling of power in it, the tantalizing choice between joining her at once in animal lust, or of holding himself-for a time- in check, so as to drive her at his whim.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

“There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resource, ignoring the costs until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; men in battle.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander35 likes

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“Gentle he would be, denied he would not.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance, time-travel

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“Why?" I shrieked, hitting him again and again, and again, the sound of the blows thudding against his chest. "Why, why why!".Because I was afraid!" He got hold of my wrists and threw me backward so I fell across the bed. He stood over me, fists clenched, breathing hard.I am a coward, damn you! I couldna tell ye, for fear ye would leave me, and unmanly thing that I am, I thought I couldna bear that!"~~~~~~~~~You should have told me!"And if I had?, You'd have turned on your heel and gone without a word. And having seen ye again--I tell ye, I would ha' done far worse than lie to keep you!"Voyager” ― Diana Gabaldontags: passion, romance

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“You'll lie wi' me now," he said quietly. "And I shall use ye as I must. And if you'll have your revenge for it, then take it and welcome, for my soul is yours, in all the black corners of it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: jamie-fraser

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“Overall, the library held a hushed exultation, as though the cherished volumes were all singing soundlessly within their covers.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: books, library

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“Only you," he said, so softly I could barely hear him. "To worship ye with my body, give ye all the service of my hands. To give ye my name, and all my heart and soul with it. Only you. Because ye will not let me lie--and yet ye love me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager31 likes

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“He gave you to me," she said, so low I could hardly hear her. "Now I have to give you back to him, Mama.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager30 likes

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“Then kiss me, Claire," he whispered, "And know that you are more to me than life, and I have no regret.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager30 likes

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“Jamie," I said, "how, exactly, do you decide whether you're drunk?"

Aroused by my voice, he swayed alarmingly to one side, but caught himself on the edge of the mantelpiece. His eyes drifted around the room, then fixed on my face. For an instant, they blazed clear and pellucid with intelligence.

"och, easy, Sassenach, If ye can stand up, you're not drunk." He let go of the mantelpiece, took a step toward me, and crumpled slowly onto the hearth, eyes blank, and a wide, sweet smile on his dreaming face.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: claire-fraser, drunk, jamie-fraser

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“I want to hold you hard to me and kiss you, and never let you go. I want to take you to my bed and use you like a whore, 'til I forget that I exist. And I want to put my head in your lap and weep like a child."The mouth turned up at one corner, and a blue eye opened slitwise."Unfortunately," he said, "I can't do any but the last of those without fainting or being sick again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander30 likes

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“I meant it, Claire,' he said quietly. 'My life is yours. And it's yours to decide what we shall do, where we go next. To France, to Italy, even back to Scotland. My heart has been yours since first I saw ye, and you've held my soul and body between your two hands here, and kept them safe. We shall go as ye say.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander29 likes

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“Look back, hold a torch to light the recesses of the dark. Listen to the footsteps that echo behind, when you walk alone.All the time the ghosts flit past and through us, hiding in the future. We look in the mirror and see the shades of other faces looking back through the years; we see the shape of memory, standing solid in an empty doorway. By blood and by choice, we make our ghosts; we haunt ourselves.Each ghost comes unbidden from the misty grounds of dream and silence.Our rational minds say, "No, it isn't."But another part, an older part, echoes always softly in the dark, "Yes, but it could be.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: jamie-fraser, outlander

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“Sassenach." He had called me that from the first; the Gaelic word for outlander, a stranger. An Englishman. First in jest, then in affection.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber29 likes

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“He [Brian Fraser] told me that a man must be responsible for any see he sows, for it's his duty to take care of a woman and protect her. And if I wasna prepared to do that, then I'd no right to burden a woman with the consequences of my own actions.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander27 likes

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“Jaime," I said softly, "are you happy about it? About the baby?" Outlawed in Scotland, barred from his own home, and with only vague prospects in France, he could pardonably have been less than enthused about acquiring an additional obligation.

He was silent for a moment, only hugging me harder, then sighed briefly before answering.

"Aye, Sassenach," His hand stayed downward, gently rubbing my belly. "I'm happy. And proud as a stallion. But I am most awfully afraid too."

"About the birth? I'll be all right." I could hardly blame him for apprehension; his own mother had died in childbirth, and birth and its complications were the leading cause of death for women in these times. Still, I knew a thing or two myself, and I had no intention whatever of exposing myself to what passed for medical care here.

"Aye, that--and everything," he said softly. "I want to protect ye like a cloak and shield you and the child wi' my body." His voice was soft and husky, with a slight catch in it. "I would do anything for ye...and yet...there's nothing I can do. It doesna matter how strong I am, or how willing; I canna go with you where ye must go...nor even help ye at all. And to think of the things that might happen, and me helpless to stop them...aye, I'm afraid, Sassenach.

"And yet"--he turned me toward him, hand closing gently over one breast--"yet when I think of you wi' my child at your breast...then I feel as though I've gone hollow as a soap bubble, and perhaps I shall burst with joy.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: baby, claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“All right you bloody Scottish bastard, lets see how stubborn you really are.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: diana-gabaldon, outlander

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“What are you doing with the child?" I inquired cautiously."I'm teachin' young James here the fine art of not pissing on his feet," he explained.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor

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“My father liked me, when I wasna being an idiot. And he loved me, too -- enough to beat the daylights out of me when I was being an idiot. Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: discipline, parenting, spanking

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“Any piece of good music is in essence a love song.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber26 likes

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“For so many years, for so long, I have been so many things, so many different men. But here," he said, so softly I could barely hear him, "here in the dark, with you… I have no name.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: claire-fraser, identity, jamie-fraser, love

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“Lord that she might be safe. She and my children.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: jamie-fraser

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“If I die before I say 'I love you' it's because I didn't have the time.” ― Diana Gabaldon25 likes

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“You're mine, damn ye, Claire Fraser! Mine, and I wilna share ye, with a man or a memory, or anything whatever, so long as both shall live.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber25 likes

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“Scots have long memories, and they're not the most forgiving of people.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber25 likes

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“For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest."His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me.Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.” ― Diana Gabaldon24 likes

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“I'll tell ye, Sassenach; if ever I feel the need to change my manner of employment, I dinna think I'll take up attacking women - it's a bloody hard way to make a living.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: jamie-fraser, women

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“I hated him for as long as I could. But then I realized that loving him...that was a part of me, and one of the best parts. It didn't matter that he couldn't love me, that had nothing to do with it. But if I couldn't forgive him, then I could not love him, and that part of me was gone. And I found eventually that I wanted it back."

({Lord John, Drums of Autumn}” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn24 likes

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“I'll scream!" "Likely. If not before, certainly during. I expect they'll hear ye at the next farm; you've got good lungs.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“It's only that ye looked so beautiful, wi' the fire on your face, and your hair waving in the wind. I wanted to remember it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber23 likes

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“Good," I said, completely provoked. "You deserve it. Maybe that will teach you to go haring round the countryside kidnapping young women and k-killing people, and…" I felt myself ridiculously close to tears and stopped, fighting for control. Dougal was growing impatient with this conversation. "Well, can ye keep one foot on each side of the horse, man?" "He can't go anywhere!" I protested indignantly. "He ought to be in hospital! Certainly he can't---" My protests, as usual, went completely ignored. "Can ye ride?" Dougal repeated. "Aye, if ye'll take the lassie off my chest and fetch me a clean shirt.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“When God closes a door, he opens a window. Yeah. The problem was that this particular window opened off the tenth story, and he wasn't so sure God supplied parachutes.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone22 likes

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“Has he come armed, then?” she asked anxiously. “Has he brought a pistol or a sword?”

Ian shook his head, his dark hair lifting wildly in the wind.

“Oh, no, Mam!” he said. “It’s worse. He’s brought a lawyer!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: humor, lawyers

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“Well I am still not drunk" I straightened up against the pillows as best I could. "You told me once that if you could still stand up, you weren't drunk." You aren't standing up." he point out. You are.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: claire-jamie-humor

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“We have nothing now between us, save - respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander22 likes

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“It isn't necessarily easier if you know what it is you're meant to do-- but at least you don't waste time in questioning or doubting. If you're honest--well, that isn't necessarily easier, either. Though I suppose if you're honest with yourself and know what you are, at least you're less likely to feel that you've wasted your life, doing the wrong thing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager21 likes

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“I want to hold you like a kitten in my shirt, and still I want to spread your thighs and plow ye like a rotting bull. I dinna understand myself.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: jamie-fraser, romantic

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“This wife you have, Bird said at last, deeply contemplative, did you pay a great deal for her?

She cost me almost everything I had, he said, with a wry tone that made the others laugh. But worth it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes20 likes

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“For a long time," he said at last, "when I was small, I pretended to myself that I was the bastard of some great man. All orphans do this, I think," he added dispassionately."It makes life easier to bear, to pretend that it will not always be as it is, that someone will come and restore you to your rightful place in the world."He shrugged."Then I grew older, and knew that this was not true. No one would come to rescue me. But then-" he turned his head and gave Jamie a smile of surpassing sweetness."Then I grew older still, and discovered that after all, it was true. I am the son of a great man."The hook touched Jamie's hand, hard and capable."I wish for nothing more.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: fergus, jamie-fraser

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“Men go where they will, they do as they must; it is not a woman's part to bid them to stay, nor yet to reproach them for being what they are-or for not coming back.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross19 likes

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“There were moments, of course. Those small spaces in time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on a perfect point, like the moment of change between the dark and the light, and when both and neither surround you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: awareness

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“People are gregarious by necessity. Since the days of the first cave dwellers, humans -- hairless, weak, and helpless save for cunning -- have survived by joining together in groups; knowing, as so many other edible creatures have found, that there is protection in numbers. And that knowledge, bred in the bone, is what lies behind mob rule. Because to step outside the group, let alone to stand against it was for uncounted thousands of years death to the creature who dared it. To stand against a crowd would take something more than ordinary courage; something that went beyond human instinct. And I feared I did not have it, and fearing, was ashamed.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander19 likes

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“I love you, a nighean donn. I have loved ye from the moment I saw ye, I will love ye ’til time itself is done, and so long as you are by my side, I am well pleased wi’ the world.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross18 likes

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“He splayed a hand out over the photographs, trembling fingers not quite touching the shiny surface, and then he turned and leaned toward me, slowly, with the improbable grace of a tall tree falling. He buried his face in my shoulder and went very quietly and thoroughly to pieces.” ― Diana Gabaldon18 likes

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“So remember it, lad. If your head thinks up mischief, your backside's going to pay for it. Brian Fraser to young Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander18 likes

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“You're the best man I ever met," I said. "I only meant...it's such a strain, to try and live for two people. To try to make them fit your ideas of what's right...You do it for a child, of course, you have to, but even then, it's dreadfully hard work. I couldn't do it for you - it would be wrong even to try."I'd taken him back more than a little. He sat for some moments, his face turned half away. Do ye really think me a good man?" he said at last. There was a queer note in his voice, that I couldn't quite decipher.Yes," I said, with no hesitation. Then added, half jokingly, "Don't you?"After a long pause, he said, quite seriously, "No, I shouldna think so."I looked at him speechless, no doubt with my mouth hanging open.I am a violent man, and I ken it well," he said quietly. He spread his hands out on his knees; big hands, which could wield a sword and dagger with ease, or choke the life from a man. " So do you - or ye should."You've never done anything you weren't forced to do!"No?"I don't think so." I said, but even as I spoke, a shadow of doubt clouded my words. Even when done from the most urgent necessity, did such things not leave a mark on the soul? 

{Claire Fraser & Jamie Fraser. Drums of Autumn}” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn18 likes

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“There is an oath upon her," he said to Arch, and I realized dimly that he was still speaking in Gaelic, though I understood him clearly. "She may not kill, save it is for mercy or her life. It is myself who kills for her.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes18 likes

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“Hodie mihi cras tibi, said the inscription. Sic transit gloria mundi. My turn today, yours tomorrow. And thus passes away the glory of the world.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber17 likes

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“I'll leave it to you, Sassenach," he said dryly, "to imagine what it feels like to arrive unexpectedly in the midst of a brothel, in possession of a verra large sausage.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: diana-gabaldon, dragonfly-in-amber

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“I thought I could make out Jamie's Highland screech, but that was likely imagination; they all sounded equally demented.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone17 likes

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“Sometimes,' he whispered at last, 'sometimes, I dream I am singing, and I wake from it with my throat aching.' He couldn't see her face, or the tears that prickled at the corners of her eyes.'What do you sing?' she whispered back. She heard the shush of the linen pillow as he shook his head.'No song I've ever heard, or know,' he said softly. 'But I know I'm singing it for you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: love, singing

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“I always thought it would be a simple matter to lie wi' a woman, he said softly. And yet... I want to fall on my face at your feet and worship you"-he dropped the towel and reached out, taking me by the shoulders-"and still I want to force ye to your knees before me, and hold ye there wi' me hands tangled in your hair, and your mouth at my service...and I want both things at the same time, Sassenach.” ― Diana Gabaldon16 likes

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“Jaime, you must be half-dead"

He laughed tiredly, holding me close with one large warm hand on the small of my back.

"A lot more than half, Sassenach. I'm knackered, and my cock's the only thing too stupid to know it. I canna lie wi' ye without wanting you, but wanting's all I'm like to do.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser

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“That dog is a wolf, is he not?'

'Aye, well, mostly.'

A small flash of hazel told him not to quibble.

'And yet he is thy boon companion, a creature of rare courage and affection, and altogether a worthy being?;

'Oh, aye,' he said with more confidence. 'He is."

She gave him an even look.

'Thee is a wolf, too, and I know it. But thee is my wolf, and best thee know that.'

He'd started to burn when she spoke, an ignition swift and fierce as the lighting of one of his cousin's matches. He put out his hand, palm forward, to her, still cautious lest she too, burst into flame.

'What I said to ye, before . . . that I kent ye loved me-'

She stepped forward and pressed her palm to his, her small, cool fingers linking tight.

'What I say to thee now is that I do love thee. And if thee hunts at night, thee will come home.'

Under the sycamore, the dog yawned and laid his muzzle on his paws.

'And sleep at they feet,' Ian whispered, and gathered her in with his one good arm, both of them blazing bright as day.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: love, romance, shipping

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“That's not precisely what I had in mind." Jamie, I had found out by accident a few days previously, had never mastered the art of winking one eye. Instead, he blinked solemnly, like a large red owl.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“It was one of those strange moments that came to him rarely, but never left. A moment that stamped itself on heart and brain, instantly recallable in every detail, for all of his life. There was no telling what made these moments different from any other, though he knew them when they came. He had seen sights more gruesome and more beautiful by far, and been left with no more than a fleeting muddle of their memory. But these-- the still moments, as he called them to himself-- they came with no warning, to print a random image of the most common things inside his brain, indelible.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: memory

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“Between hell now, and hell later, Sassenach," he said, his speech measured and precise, "I will take later, every time.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber16 likes

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“What's that you're doing, Sassenach?"

"Making out little Gizmo's birth certificate--so far as I can," I added.

"Gizmo?" he said doubtfully. "That will be a saint's name?"

"I shouldn't think so, though you never know, what with people named Pantaleon and Onuphrius. Or Ferreolus."

"Ferreolus? I dinna think I ken that one." He leaned back, hands linked over his knee.

"One of my favorites," I told him, carefully filling in the birthdate and time of birth--even that was an estimate, poor thing. There were precisely two bits of unequivocal information on this birth certificate--the date and the name of the doctor who's delivered him.

"Ferreolus," I went on with some new enjoyment, "is the patron saint of sick poultry. Christian martyr. He was a Roman tribune and a secret Christian. Having been found out, he was chained up in the prison cesspool to await trial--I suppose the cells must have been full. Sounds rather daredevil; he slipped his chains and escaped through the sewer. They caught up with him, though, dragged him back and beheaded him."

Jamie looked blank.

"What has that got to do wi' chickens?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. Take it up with the Vatican," I advised him.

"Mmphm. Aye, well, I've always been fond of Saint Guignole, myself." I could see the

glint in his eye, but couldn't resist.

"And what's he the patron of?"

"He's involved against impotence." The glint got stronger. "I saw a statue of him in Brest once; they did say it had been there for a thousand years. 'Twas a miraculous statue--it had a cock like a gun muzzle, and--"

"A what?"

"Well, the size wasna the miraculous bit," he said, waving me to silence. "Or not quite. The townsfolk say that for a thousand years, folk have whittled away bits of it as holy relics, and yet the cock is still as big as ever." He grinned at me. "They do say that a man w' a bit of St. Guignole in his pocket can last a night and a day without tiring."

"Not with the same woman, I don't imagine," I said dryly. "It does rather make you wonder what he did to merit sainthood, though, doesn't it?"

He laughed.

"Any man who's had his prayer answered could tell yet that, Sassenach."(PP. 841-842)” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: claire-fraser, humor, jamie-fraser, outlander, saints

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“Your face is my heart” ― Diana Gabaldon16 likes

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“If ye loved him, he must ha' been a good man.''Yes, he...was.''Then I shall do my best to honor his spirit by serving his wife.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander15 likes

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“But I talk to you as I talk to my own soul," he said, turning me to face him. He reached up and cupped my cheek, fingers light on my temple.

"And, Sassenach," he whispered, "your face is my heart.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber

“So long as my body lives, and yours -- we are one flesh," he whispered, "And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. Claire -- I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you.” ― Diana Gabaldon15 likes

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“Then the room relaxed in cheers and babbling, and she turned in his arms to kiss him hard and cling to him, and he thought perhaps it didn't matter that they faced in opposite directions - so long as they faced each other.'

Roger Wakefield {Drums Of Autumn}” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn14 likes

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“To this point, he could not really have said that he loved William. Feel the terror of responsibility for him, yes. Carry thought of him like a gem in his pocket, certainly, reaching now and then to touch it, marveling. But now he felt the perfection of the tiny bones of William’s spine through his clothes, smooth as marbles under his fingers, smelled the scent of him, rich with the incense of innocence and the faint tang of shit and clean linen. And thought his heart would break with love.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisoner

tags: jamie-fraser

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“I have lived through war, and lost much. I know what's worth the fight, and what is not. Honor and courage are matters of the bone, and what a man will kill for, he will sometimes die for, too. And that, O kinsman, is why a woman has broad hips; that bony basin will harbor a man and his child alike. A man's life springs from his woman's bones, and in her blood is his honor christened. For the sake of love alone, I would walk through fire again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: diana-gabaldon, fiery-cross, outlander

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“Home is the place where they have to take you in” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager14 likes

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“Are some people destined for a great fate, or to do great things? Or is it only that they're born somehow with that great passion -- and if they find themselves in the right circumstances, then things happen? It's the sort of thing you wonder...” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager14 likes

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“It would ha' been a good deal easier, if ye'd only been a witch.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Noveltags: diana-gabaldon, epic, fraser, graphic-novel, outlander, romance, scottish, scottish-fiction, scottish-men

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“I'm afraid that my wife picked up a number of colorful expressions from the Yanks and such, Frank offered, with a nervous smile.True, I said, gritting my teeth as I wrapped a water-soaked napkin about my hand. Men tend to be very colorful when you're picking shrapnel out of them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander14 likes

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“Boldness in battle is nothing out of the way... but to face down fear in cold blood is rare in any man.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander13 likes

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“Do ye dare to draw arms against the justice of God?" snapped the tubby little judge. Jamie drew the sword completely, with a flash of steel, then thrust it point-first into the ground, leaving the hilt quivering with the force of the blow."I draw it in defense of this women, and the truth," he said "If any here be against those two they'll answer to me, and then God, in that order.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: love

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“There was a feeling, not sudden, but complete, as though I had been given a small object to hold unseen in my hands. Precious as opal, smooth as jade, weighty as a river stone, more fragile than a bird's egg. Infinitely still, live as the root of Creation. Not a gift, but a trust. Fiercely to cherish, softly to guard. The words spoke themselves and disappeared into the groined shadows of the roof.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander13 likes

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“One dictum I had learned on the battlefields of France in a far distant war: You cannot save the world, but you might save the man in front of you, if you work fast enough.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: claire-fraser, medicine, outlander, war

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“But we are here, all of us. And we're here because I love you, more than the life that was mine. Because I believed you loved me the same way...will you tell me that's not

true?

No, he said after a moment, so softly I could barely hear him. His hand tightened harder on mine. No, I willna tell ye that. Not ever, Claire.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes13 likes

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“Where are you going?" I asked, as Frank swung his feet off the bed.

"I'd hate the dear old thing to be disappointed in us," he answered. Sitting up on the side of the ancient bed, he bounced gently up and down, creating a piercing rhythmic squeak. The Hoovering in the hall stopped abruptly. After a minute or two of bouncing, he gave a loud, theatrical groan and collapsed backward with a twang of protesting springs. I giggled helplessly into a pillow, so as not to disturb the breathless silence outside.

Frank waggled his eyebrows at me. "You're supposed to moan ecstatically, not giggle," he admonished in a whisper. "She'll think I'm not a good lover."

"You'll have to keep it up for longer than that, if you expect ecstatic moans," I answered. "Two minutes doesn't deserve any more than a giggle."

"Inconsiderate little wench. I came here for a rest, remember?"

"Lazybones. You'll never manage the next branch on your family tree unless you show a bit more industry than that.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, frank

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“Do ye want me?" he whispered. "Sassenach, will ye take me - and risk the man that I am, for the sake of the man ye knew?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager12 likes

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“There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resources, ignoring the cost until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; Men in Battle. Past a certain point, you lose all fear of pain or injury. Life becomes very simple at that point; you will do what you are trying to do, or die in the attempt...” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander12 likes

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“Am I a man? To want you so badly that nothing else matters? To see you, and know I would sacrifice honor or family or life itself to lie wi' you, even though ye'd left me?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager12 likes

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“How did you keep this by you?" Grey demanded abruptly. "You were searched to the skin when you were brought back."

The wide mouth curved slightly in the first genuine smile Grey had seen. 

"I swallowed it," Fraser said.

Grey's hand closed convulsively on the sapphire. He opened his hand and rather gingerly set the gleaming blue thing on the table by the chess piece.

"I see," he said.

"I'm sure you do, Major," said Fraser, with a gravity that merely made the glint of amusement in his eyes more pronounced. "A diet of rough parritch has its advantages, now and again.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager

tags: jamie-fraser, john-grey, sapphire, swallowed

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“It was in a way a comforting idea; if there was all the time in the world, then the happenings of a given moment became less important.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander12 likes

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“I would not piss on him was he burning in the flames of hell," Grey said politely.

One of Hal's brows flicked upward, but only momentarily.

"Just so," he said dryly. "The question, though, is whether Fraser might be inclined to perform a similar service for you."

Grey placed his cup carefully in the center of the desk.

"Only if he thought I might drown," he said, and went out.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: jamie-fraser, lord-john-grey, pardloe

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“What a mystery blood was -- how did a tiny gesture, a tome of voice, endure through generations like the harder verities of flesh? He had seen it again and again, watching his nieces and nephews grow, and accepted without thought the ehoes of parent and grandparent that appeared for brief moments. the shadow of a face looking back through the years -- that vanished again into the face that was now.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn12 likes

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“Through eons of living in a land so poor there was little to eat but oats, they had as usual converted necessity into a virtue, and insisted that they liked the stuff.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber12 likes

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“I've thought that perhaps that's why women are so often sad, once the child's born," she said meditatively, as though thinking aloud. "Ye think of them while ye talk, and you have a knowledge of them as they are inside ye, the way you think they are. And then they're born, and they're different - not the way ye thought of them inside, at all. And ye love them, o' course, and get to know them they way they are...but still, there's the thought of the child ye once talked to in your heart, and that child is gone. So I think it's the grievin' for the child unborn that ye feel, even as ye hold the born one in your arms.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber12 likes

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“Oh, womanly sympathy, love AND food?" I said, laughing. "Don't want a lot, do you?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber12 likes

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“I was born for you" -Claire Fraser, Outlander” ― Diana Gabaldon12 likes

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“He was dead. However, his nose throbbed painfully, which he thought odd in the circumstances.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: time-travel

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“Are you alright?""No, I bumped my head." Rubbing the spot, I looked dazedly around the bare hallway. "What did I bang it on?" I demanded ungrammatically. 

"My head." he said, rather grumpily, I thought.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: jamie-cassie

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“He touched the rough crucifix that lay against his chest and whispered to the moving air, "Lord, that she might be safe, she and my children." Then turned his cheek to her reaching hand and touched her throught the veils of time.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisoner12 likes

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“......what I was born does not matter, only what I will make of myself, only what I will become.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross12 likes

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“I wouldna cross the road to see a scrawny woman if she was stark naked and dripping wet. ~Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon

“Really love him, I mean," Geilie persisted. "Not just to bed him; I know you want that, and he does too. They all do. But do you love him?"Did I love him? Beyond the urges of the flesh? The hole had the dark anonymity of the confessional, and a soul on the verge of death had no time for lies."Yes," I said, and laid my head back on my knees.It was silent in the hole for some time, and I hovered once more on the verge of sleep, when I heard her speak once more, as though to herself."So it's possible," she said thoughtfully.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: claire-fraser, geilie, love

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“Oh, Lord!" This must be what it's like to make love in Hell," he whispered. "With a burning she-devil.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager11 likes

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“Why d'ye talk to yourself?''It assures me of a good listener.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes11 likes

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“Perhaps it was only that the sense of reaching out to something larger than yourself gives you some feeling that there is something larger - and there really has to be, because plainly you aren't sufficient to the situation.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone11 likes

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“Thy life’s journey lies along its own path, Ian,” she said, “and I cannot share thy journey—but I can walk beside thee. And I will.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood11 likes

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“Healing comes from the healed; not from the physician.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber11 likes

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“He blinked , and his eyes moved at last from her face, slowly taking in her appearance, and- with what seemed to her a new and horrified awareness- her height. 

"My God," he croaked. "You're huge.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: brianna-jamie-fraser

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“Yes. Just now, I was actually trying to rank 'I love you, I like you, I worship you, I have to have my cock inside you,' in terms of relative sincerity.

Did I day that? he said sounding slightly startled.

Yes. Weren't you listening?

No, he admitted. I meant every word of it though. His hand cupped one buttock, weighing it appreciatively. Still do come to that.

What, even that last one? I laughed and rubbed my forehead gently against his chest, feeling his jaw rest snugly on top of my head.

Oh, aye, he said gathering me firmly against him with a sigh. I will say the flesh requires a bit of supper and a wee rest before I think of doin' it again, but the spirit is always willing. God, ye have the sweetest fat wee bum. Only seeing it makes me want to give it yea again directly. It's lucky ye're wed to a decrepit auld man, Sessenach, or ye'd be on your knees with your arse in the air this minute.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes11 likes

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“Some enterprising rabbit had dug its way under the stakes of my garden again. One voracious rabbit could eat a cabbage down to the roots, and from the looks of things, he'd brought friends. I sighed and squatted to repair the damage, packing rocks and earth back into the hole. The loss of Ian was a constant ache; at such moments as this, I missed his horrible dog as well.

I had brought a large collection of cuttings and seeds from River Run, most of which had survived the journey. It was mid-June, still time--barely--to put in a fresh crop of carrots. The small patch of potato vines was all right, so were the peanut bushes; rabbits wouldn't touch those, and didn't care for the aromatic herbs either, except the fennel, which they gobbled like licorice.

I wanted cabbages, though, to preserve a sauerkraut; come winter, we would want food with some taste to it, as well as some vitamin C. I had enough seed left, and could raise a couple of decent crops before the weather turned cold, if I could keep the bloody rabbits off. I drummed my fingers on the handle of my basket, thinking. The Indians scattered clippings of their hair around the edges of the fields, but that was more protection against deer than rabbits.

Jamie was the best repellent, I decided. Nayawenne had told me that the scent of carnivore urine would keep rabbits away--and a man who ate meat was nearly as good as a mountain lion, to say nothing of being more biddable. Yes, that would do; he'd shot a deer only two days ago; it was still hanging. I should brew a fresh bucket of spruce beer to go with the roast venison, though . . . (Page 844)” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: claire-fraser, humor, jamie-fraser, nature, outlander

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“But a man is not forgotten, as long as there are two people left under the sky. One, to tell the story; the other, to hear it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn11 likes

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“Ye always carry your women wi ye into battle, Ian Og. They're the root of your strength, man.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: jamie-fraser

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“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!" -Claire” ― Diana Gabaldon

tags: outlander

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“If she was broken, she would slash him with her jagged edges, reckless as a drunkard with a shattered bottle.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: tragedy

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“We got half the doggone MIT college of engineering here, and nobody who can fix a doggone /television/?" Dr. Joseph Abernathy glared accusingly at the clusters of young people scattered around his living room.

That's /electrical/ engineering, Pop," his son told him loftily. "We're all mechanical engineers. Ask a mechanical engineer to fix your color TV, that's like asking an Ob-Gyn to look at the sore on your di-ow!"

Oh, sorry," said his father, peering blandly over gold-rimmed glasses. "That your foot, Lenny?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: analogy, humor

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“Jem made the little Scottish noise again, and Brianna looked sideways at him."Are you doing that on purpose?"He looked up at her, surprised. "Doing what?""Never mind. When you are fifteen, I'm locking you in the cellar.""What? Why?" he demanded indignantly."Because that's when your father and grandfather started getting into real trouble, and evidently you're going to be just like them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: heredity, jamie-fraser, jem-mackenzie, roger-mackenzie, scottish-noises, trouble

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“...still I dinna expect anything to happen to me. But if it should...If it does, then I want there to be a place for you; I want someone for you to go to if I am...not there to care for you. If it canna be me, then I would have it be a man who loves you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber10 likes

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“A cold supper, were you thinking? I asked dubiously.

I was not, he said firmly, I mean to light a roaring fire in the kitchen hearth, fry up a dozen eggs in butter, and eat them all, then lay ye down on the hearth rug and roger ye 'till you - is that all right? he inquired, noticing my look.

'Til I what? I asked fascinated by his description of the evening's program.

'Til ye burst into flame and take me with ye, I suppose, he said, and stooping, swooped me up into his arms and carried me across the darkened threshold.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes10 likes

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“And Finally I put down the last and the best advice I knew, on growing older. 'Stand up straight and try not to get fat.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: humor

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“At last I took one big, callused hand and slid forward so I knelt on the boards between his knees. I laid my head against his chest, and felt his breath stir my hair. I had no words, but I had made my choice."'Whither thou goest,'" I said. "'I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.' Be it Scottish hill or southern forest. You do what you have to; I'll be

there.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn10 likes

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“He leaned close, rubbing his bearded cheek against my ear. 'And how about a sweet kiss, now, for the brave lads of the clan MacKenzie? Tulach Ard!'Erin go bragh,' I said rudely, and pushed with all my strength.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humor, outlander

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“Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander9 likes

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“I know why the Jews and Muslims have nine hundred names for God; one small word is not enough for love.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: love

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“As usual, the note occupied less than a page and included neither salutation nor closing, Uncle Hal's opinion being that since the letter had a direction upon it, the intended recipient was obvious, the seal indicated plainly who had written it, and he did not waste his time in writing to fools.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: literarycrushes, pragmatism

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“I am a coward, damn you! I couldna tell ye, for fear ye would leave me, and unmanly thing that I am, I thought I couldna bear that!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager9 likes

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“Tell him I hate him to his guts and the marrow of his bones!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber9 likes

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“Men would eat horse droppings, if ye served them wi' butter.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber9 likes

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“Everyone can lie, young Roger, given cause enough. Even me. It's only that it's harder for those of us who live in glass faces; we have to think up our lies ahead of time.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: lies-claire

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“Roger, listening intently, couldn't keep from asking a question at this point.

Is it true Colonel Stark said 'Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes?'

Lee coughed discreetly.

Well sir. I couldn't say for sure as no one said that, but I didn't hear it myself. Mind, I DID hear one colonel call out, 'Any whoreson fool wastes his powder afore the bastards are close enough to kill is gonna get his musket shoved up his arse butt-first!” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes9 likes

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“He reached forward then took me in his arms, held me close for a moment, the breath of snow and ashes cold around us. Then he kissed me, released me, and I took a deep

breath of cold air, harsh with the scent of burning.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes9 likes

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“You could tell from the books whether a library was meant for show or not. Books that were used had an open, interested feel to them, even if closed and neatly lined up on a shelf in strict order with their fellows. You felt as though the book took as much interest in you as you did in it and was willing to help when you reached for it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisoner

“There aren't any answers, only choices” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber8 likes

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“While ye sleep in my arms, I can say things to ye that would be daft and silly waking, and your dreams will know the truth of them.” ― Diana Gabaldon8 likes

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“He shook his head, absorbed in one of his feats of memory, those brief periods of scholastic rapture where he lost touch with the world around him, absorbed completely in conjuring up knowledge from all its sources.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander8 likes

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“He's a man...and that's no small thing to be.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross8 likes

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“D'ye ken that the only time I am without pain is in your bed, Sassenach? When I take ye, when I lie in your arms-my wounds are healed, then, my scars forgotten.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross8 likes

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“Deftly whipping a small tuning fork from his pocket, he struck it smartly against a pillar and held it next to Jamie's left ear. Jamie rolled his eyes heavenward, but shrugged and obligingly sang a note. The little man jerked back as though he'd been shot.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber8 likes

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“I felt the tributaries of his veins, wished to enter into his bloodstream, travel there, dissolved and bodiless, to take refuge in the thick walled chambers of his heart.” ― Diana Gabaldon8 likes

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“Highlanders make the truest friends-if only because they make the worst enemies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes8 likes

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“The overseer wouldna speak to me of Ian, but he told me other things that would curl your hair, if it wasna already curled up like sheep's wool." He glanced at me, and a half-smile lit his face, inspite of his obvious perturbation. 

"Judging by the state of your hair, Sassenach, I should say that it's going to rain verra soon now.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“My own eyes went to Jamie, who had come to join Fergus and Ian by the sideboard. Still here, thank God. Tall and graceful, the soft light making shadows in the folds of his shirt as he moved, a fugitive gleam from the long straight bridge of his nose, the

auburn wave of his hair. Still mine. Thank God.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser, love

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“I didn't say you shouldn't worry, do you think I don't worry? But no, you probably can't do anything about me.' 'Well, maybe no, Sassenach, and maybe so. But I've lived a long enough time now to think it maybe doesna matter so much-- so long as I can love you.' -Claire & Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager8 likes

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“You cannot compel love," he said finally, "nor summon it at will. Still less," he added ruefully, "can you dismiss it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Bladetags: lord-john, love

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“If I'd known I should meet a damn bear, Jamie said, grunting as he lifted another stone into place, I would have taken another path.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross7 likes

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“He reached out a long arm and drew me in, holding me close against him. I put my arms around him and felt the quiver of his muscles, exhausted, and the sheer hard strength still in him, that would hold him up, no matter how tired he might be. We stood quite still for some time, my cheek against his chest and his face against my hair, drawing strength from each other for whatever might come next. Being married.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: embrace, marriage, strength

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“The colors of living things begin to fade with the last breath, and the soft, springy skin and supple muscle rot within weeks. But the bones sometimes remain, faithful echoes of the shape, to bear some last faint witness to the glory of what was.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: glory, life, memory

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“That's for calling your father a fool. It may be true, but it's disrespectful. Brian Fraser to teenage Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander7 likes

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“A general cry of "What book? What book? Let us see this famous book!” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: books

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“With that height, plus a face of an ugliness so transcendant as to be grotesquely beautiful, it was obvious why she had embraced a religious life--Christ was the only man from whom she might expect embrace in return.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber7 likes

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“I was crying and laughing, snuffing tears and blood, bumping at him with my bound hands, trying awkwardly to thrust them at him so that he could cut the rope. He quit grappling, and clutched me so hard against him that I yelped in pain as my face was pressed against his plaid. He was saying something else, urgently, but I couldn’t manage to translate it. Energy pulsed through him, hot and violent, like the current in a live wire, and I vaguely realized that he was still almost berserk; he had no English.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“Alright, all right," I said. "What if I tell you a story, instead?" Highlanders loved stories, and Jamie was no exception. 

"Oh, aye, " he said, sounding much happier. "What sort of story is it?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“I wasn't used to living crowded cheek by jowl with numbers of other people, as was customary here. People ate, slept, and frequently copulated, crammed into tiny, stifling cottages, lit and warmed by smoky peat fires. The only thing they didn't do together was bathe - largely because they didn't bathe.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber7 likes

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“I heard you went to Ireland...I haven't seen it in many years. Is it still green then, and beautiful?

Wet as a bath sponge and mud to the knees but, aye, it was green enough.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: humour, ireland

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“You aren't doing it for the sake of ideals, are you? Not for the sake of...liberty. Freedom, self determination, all that.'He shook his head. 'No,' he said softly.'Why, then? I asked, more gently.'For you,' he said without hesitation. '...For my family. For the future. And if that is not an ideal, I've never heard of one.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes7 likes

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“She sounded as though love were an unfortunate but unavoidable condition.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross7 likes

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“I had kissed my share of men, particularly during the war years, when flirtation and instant romance were the light-minded companions of death and uncertainty. Jamie, thought, was something different. His extreme gentleness was in no way tentative; rather it was a promise of power known and held in leash; a challenge and a provocation the more remarkable for its lack of demand. I am yours, it said. And if you will have me, then...” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance

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“Where d'ye think he is now?" Jenny said suddenly. "Ian, I mean."He glanced at the house, then at the new grave waiting, but of course that wasn't Ian any more. He was panicked for a moment, for his earlier emptiness returning-but then it came to him, and, without surprise, he knew what it was Ian had said to him."On your right, man." On his right. Guarding his weak side."He's just here," he said to Jenny, nodding to the spot between them. "Where he belongs.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone6 likes

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“When I was small, I never wanted to step in puddles. Not because of any fear of drowned worms or wet stockings; I was by and large a grubby child, with a blissful disregard for filth of any kind.It was because I couldn't bring myself believe that that perfect smooth expanse was no more than I thin film of water over solid earth. I believed it was an opening into some fathomless space. Sometimes, seeing the tiny ripples caused by my approach, I thought the puddle impossibly deep, a bottomless sea in which the lazy coil of a tentacle and gleam of scale lay hidden, with the threat of huge bodies and sharp teeth adrift and

silent in the far-down depths.And then, looking down into reflection, I would see my own round face and frizzled hair against a featureless blue sweep, and think instead that the puddle was the entrance to another sky. If I stepped in there, I would drop at once, and keep on falling, on and on, into blue space.The only time I would dare walk though a puddle was at twilight, when the evening stars came out. If I looked in the water and saw one lighted pinprick there, I could slash through unafraid--for if I should fall into the puddle and on into space, I could grab hold of the star as I passed, and be safe.Even now, when I see a puddle in my path, my mind half-halts--though my feet do not--then hurries on, with only the echo of the though left behind.What if, this time, you fall?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: childlike-wonder, fantasy, imagination, science-fiction, time-travel

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“Really rather fascinating, you know,' he confided, and I recognized, with an internal sigh, the song of the scholar, as identifying a sound as the terr-whit! of a thrush.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander6 likes

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“The past is gone-the future is not come. And we are here together, you and I.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross6 likes

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“Money might not buy happiness, I reflected, but it was a useful commodity, nonetheless.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

“You invent yourself...You look at other women-or men; you try on their lives for size. You take what you can use, and you look inside yourself for what you can't find elsewhere. And always...always...you wonder if you're doing it right.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross6 likes

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“I put back my head, looking up at the deep black sky swimming with hot stars. If you knew they were really balls of flaming gas, you could imagine them as Van Gogh saw them, without difficulty . . . and looking into that illuminated void, you understood why people have always looked up into the sky when talking to God. You need to feel the immensity of something very much bigger than yourself, and there it is - immeasurably vast, and always near at hand. Covering you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: god, stars, vast-universe, void

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“Ma chère, I serve a man who multiplied the loaves and fishes”—he smiled, nodding at the pool, where the swirls of the carps’ feeding were still subsiding—“who healed the sick and raised the dead. Shall I be astonished that the master of eternity has brought a young woman through the stones of the earth to do His will?” Well, I reflected, it was better than being denounced as the whore of Babylon.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: believing

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“His Grace woke up in the morning red-eyed as a ferret and in roughly the same temper as a rabid badger. Had I a tranquilizing dart, I would have shot him with it without an instant's hesitation.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: bad-temper, claire-fraser, duke-of-pardloe, humor

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“He turned his head to look full at me, his hair fire-struck with the setting sun, face dark in silhouette. "Twenty-four years ago today, I married ye, Sassenach," he said

softly. "I hope ye willna have cause yet to regret it." -Jamie Fraser” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn6 likes

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“In war, government and their armies were a threat, but it was so often the neighbors who damned or saved you” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes6 likes

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“And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours, Claire--- I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you. --Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn6 likes

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“This was nonsense, he thought. The need of her was a physical thing, like the thirsty of a sailor becalmed for weeks on the sea. He'd felt the need before, often, often, in their years apart. But why now? She was safe; he knew where she was - was it only the exhaustion of the past weeks and days, or perhaps the weakness of creeping age that made his bones ache, as though she had in fact been torn from his body, as God had made Eve from Adam's rib?” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes6 likes

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“You cannot save the world, but you might save the man in front of you, if you work fast enough.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber6 likes

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“It's a good country for myths. Things seem to take root here.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: country, myth, root

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“What possessed ye, woman, to hit me in the heid wi' a fish whilst I was fighting for my life?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn6 likes

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“No matter how ugly the manner in which a man dies, it’s only the presence of a suffering human soul that is horrifying, once gone, what is left is only an object.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: death, dies, soul, suffering

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“Despair dragged at me like an anchor, pulling me down. I closed my eyes and retreated to some dim place within, where there was nothing but an aching grey blankness…” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: ache, anchor, blankness, despair, retreat

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“Eres sangre de mi sangre y huesos de mis huesos.Te doy mi cuerpo para que los dos seamos uno.Te doy mi espíritu para que los dos seamos uno.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: romance-novels

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“Time makes very little difference to the basic realities of life” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: history

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“Aye, I believe ye, Sassenach. But it would ha’ been a good deal easier if you’d only been a witch.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

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“Our lovemaking was always risk and promise-for if he held my life in his hands when he lay with me, I held his soul, and knew it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross5 likes

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“Ye’ve no idea how lovely ye look, stark naked, wi’ the sun behind you. All gold, like ye were dipped in it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes5 likes

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“I have loved others, and I do love many, Sassenach—but you alone hold all my heart, whole in your hands,” he said softly. “And you know that.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood5 likes

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“We've ghosts enough between us, Sassenach. If the evils of the past canna hinder us-neither then shall any fears of the future. We must just must put things behind us and get on. Aye?” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes5 likes

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“He bent and kissed me briefly, then headed for the door. Just short of it, though, he turned back."The, um, sperms ..." he said, a little awkwardly."Yes?""Can ye not take them out and give them decent burial or something?"I hid my smile in my teacup."I'll take good care of them," I promised. "I always do, don't I?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: diana-gabaldon, the-fiery-cross

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“Could it be possible that he really did have enough imagination to be able to grasp the truth?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber5 likes

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“Reading is of course dry work, and further refreshment was called for and consumed.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: books

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“His own eyes were soft and dreamy, cloudy as a trout pool in the rain.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber5 likes

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“It's a bit undignified to get into, but it's verra easy to take off""How do you get into it?" I asked curiously."Well, ye lay it out on the ground, like this" -he knelt, spreading the cloth so that it lined the leaf-strewn hollow- "and then ye pleat it every few inches, lie down on it, and row."I burst out laughing, and sank to my knees, helping to smooth the thick tartan wool.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: jamie-fraser-claire

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“I want to take ye to bed. In my bed. And I mean to spend the rest of the day thinking what to do wit ye once I got ye there. So wee Archie can just go and play at marbleswith his bollucks, aye?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: humor, love, romance

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“He wanted to laugh; the vision of her pounding that wee boy in a fury of berserk rage, hair flying in the wind and a look of blood in her eye, was one he would treasure.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes5 likes

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“That's what he got for neglecting his work to go on wild-goose chases to impress a girl” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber5 likes

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“There was a smell about the place, which I imagined as the smell of misery and fear, though I supposed it was no more than the niff of ancient squalor and an absence of drains.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander5 likes

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“There are things ye maybe canna tell me, he had said. I willna ask ye, or force ye. But when ye do tell me something, let it be the truth. There is nothing between us now but respect, and respect has room for secrets, I think - but not for lies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager

“I've never been afraid of ghosts. I live with them daily, after all. When I look in a mirror, my mother's eyes look back at me; my mouth curls with the smile that lured my great-grandfather to the fate that was me. No, how should I fear the touch of those vanished hands, laid on me in love unknowing? How could I be afraid of those that molded my flesh, leaving their remnants to live long past the grave?...All the time the ghosts flit past and through us, hiding in the future. We look in the mirror and see shades of other faces looking back through the years; we see the shape of memory, standing solid in an empty doorway. By blood and by choice, we make our own ghosts; we haunt ourselves.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn5 likes

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“When you hold a child to your breast to nurse, the curve of the little head echoes exactly the curve of the breast it suckles, as though this new person truly mirrors the flesh from which it sprang.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: breastfeeding, children, motherhood

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“Hodie mihi cras tibi. Sic transit gloria mundi.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber5 likes

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“Ïf ye've ever the privelege of seeing a woman in her skin, gentlemen,"he said, looking over his shoulder toward the door and lowering his voice confidentially, ÿe'll observe that the hair there grows in the shape of an arrow - pointing the way, ye ken, so as a poor ignorant man can find his way safe home.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: sex

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“I know what it felt . . . like when I . . . thought you were dead, and-" A small gasp for breath, and her eyes locked on his. "And I wouldn't do that to you." Her bosom fell and her eyes closed.It was a long moment before he could speak."Thank ye, Sassenach," he whispered, and held her small, cold hand between his own and watched her breathe until the moon rose.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: claire-fraser, jamie-fraser, loss, near-death, vigil

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“Blessed are those who eat greens, for they shall keep their teeth. Blessed are those who wash their hands after wiping their arses, for they shall not sicken. Blessed are those who boil water, for they shall be called saviors of mankind.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Crosstags: healthy-living

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“I had not slept with many men other than my husband, but I had noticed that before to sleep, actually sleep with someone did give this sense of intimacy, as though your dreams had flowed out of you to mingle with his and fold you both in a blanket of unconscious knowing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander5 likes

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“Jamie felt a strong desire to go across and see what the open books were, to go to the shelves and run his knuckles gently over the leather and wood and buckrum of the bindings until a book should speak to him and come willingly into his hand.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: bookshelves

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“Ian, man, I didna tell ye because I didna wish to lose you too. My brother was gone, and my father. I didna mean to lose my own heart's blood as well. For you are dearer to me even than home and family, love.'She cast a lopsided smile at Jamie. 'And that's saying quite a bit.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: family, family-relationships, romance

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“Ahora sé por qué los judíos y los musulmanes tienen novecientos nombres para denominar a Dios; al amor no le basta con una palabra.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager4 likes

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“It gave him the same odd sense of dislocation, though; that sense of losing some valuable part of himself that could not survive the passage back to daily life. Each time, the passage became more difficult.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: relatable

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“I may be out of bed, but I’m in no way equipped to conduct hypothetical conversations before I’ve had a cup of tea.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood4 likes

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“He wished to cover her with his body, possess her-for if he could do that, he could pretend to himself that she was safe. Covering her so...he might protect her. Or so he felt, even knowing how senseless the feeling was.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross4 likes

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“Will you bloody say something?" I demanded at last, in a voice that shook oiliv a little. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He shook his head slowly from side to side. "Jesus," he whispered at last.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: humor-relationships

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“He thought of such places in a way that had no words, only recognizing one when he came to it. He might have called it holy, save that the feel of such a place had nothing to do with church or saint. It was simply a place he belonged to be, and that was sufficient.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

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“-Y cuando mi cuerpo perezca, mi alma todavía será tuya, Claire. Juropor mi esperanza de ganarme el cielo que no seré separado de ti. Nada sepierde, Sassenach; sólo se transforma.-Eso es la primera ley de la termodinámica -dije secándome la nariz.-No -respondió-. Eso es fe.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn4 likes

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“Dorothea is a Grey,” he pointed out. “Any member of her family would pause on the gallows to exchange witty banter with the hangman before graciously putting the noose about his neck with his own hands.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood4 likes

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“I understood very well just then, why it is that men measure time. They wish to fix a moment, in the vain hope that doing so will keep it from departing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross4 likes

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“There were still choices to be made, decisions to reach, actions to take. Many of them. But in one...single declaration of intent, we stepped across the threshold of war.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“And if she had not come back to me...if you had not come...if I had known for sure that both of you were dead...Then I would still have lived...and done what must be done. So will you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross4 likes

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“And, Sassenach," he whispered, "your face is my heart.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber4 likes

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“I canna look at ye asleep without wanting to wake ye, Sassenach.” His hand cupped my breast, gently now. “I suppose I find myself lonely without ye.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“How many 'inventions' are really memories, of the things we once knew?” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“And I don’t recommend murder as a way of settling difficult situations. It tends to lead to complications—but not nearly as many as marriage.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood4 likes

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“I wondered what sort of man - or woman, perhaps? - had lain here, leaving no more than an echo of their bones, so much more fragile than the enduring rocks that sheltered them.” ― Diana Gabaldon4 likes

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“Oh, foisted, is it?" cried Mr. Ormiston in righteous indignation. "Such a word! And if it means what I think it does, young man, you should get down on your knees and thank God for such foistingness!” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone4 likes

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“He shook his head slowly from side to side, as though it were very heavy. I could almost hear the contents sloshing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber4 likes

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“Many of the lost will be found, eventually, dead or alive. Disappearances, after all, have explanations.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander4 likes

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“Of course I can.” He stuck out a rolled tongue and wiggled it, demonstrating, then pulled it back. “Everyone can do that, surely? Ian?”

“Oh, aye, of course.” Ian obligingly demonstrated. “Anyone can.”“I can’t,” said Brianna. Jamie stared at her, taken aback. “What d’ye mean ye can’t?”

“Bleah.” She stuck out a flat tongue and waggled it from side to side. “I can’t.”

“Of course ye can.” Jamie frowned. “Here, it’s simple, lass—anyone can do it!” He stuck out his own tongue again, rolling and unrolling it like a paternal anteater, anxiously encouraging its offspring toward an appetizing mass of insects. He glanced at Roger, brows lifted.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: jamie-fraser-brianna-roger

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“We thought you were dead, you bloody arsehole!” he said, furious. “Both of us! Dead! And we—we—took too much to drink one night—very much too much … We spoke of you … and … Damn you, neither one of us was making love to the other—we were both fucking you!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

“People disappear all the time. Ask any policeman. Better yet, ask a journalist. Disappearances are bread-and-butter to journalists.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander4 likes

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“IN THE LIGHT OF eternity, time casts no shadow. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. But what is it that the old women see? We see necessity, and we do the things that must be done. Young women don’t see—they are, and the spring of life runs through them. Ours is the guarding of the spring, ours the shielding of the light we have lit, the flame that we are. What have I seen? You are the vision of my youth, the constant dream of all my ages.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood4 likes

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“To fight on the winning side was one thing; to survive, quite another.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“For the moment, everything had disappeared: the church, the battle, the screams and shouts and the rumble of limber wheels along the rutted road through Freehold. There wasn't anything but her and him, and he opened his eyes to look on her face, to fix it in his mind forever.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: battle, claire-fraser, fear, jamie-fraser, love, wounded

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“I suppose ye might give him a wee dram that would keep him quiet so ye could tell them he was gone. Or maybe lock him in a closet? Tied up wi’ a gag if it should be he’s got his voice back by then,” he added. Germain was a very logical, thorough-minded sort of person; he got it from Marsali.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

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“More than most men, he valued his name-I only hoped that given time, it would once more have value.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“If one day, a bhailach...ye should meet a verra large mouse named Michael-ye'll tell him your grandsire sends his regards.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“No hay respuestas, sino elecciones.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber4 likes

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“:Go to hell, Jamie," I said at last, wiping my eyes. "Go directly to hell. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. There. Do you feel better now?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: humor

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“and if she wasn’t precisely pretty, she had a force of character that is often more attractive than simple beauty.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes4 likes

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“How shall I tell ye what it is, to feel the need of a place?" he said softly. "The need of snow beneath my shoon. The breath of the mountains, breathing their own breath in my nostrils as God gave breath to Adam. The scrape of rock under my hand, climbing, and the sight of the lichens on it, enduring in the sun and the wind."      His breath was gone and he breathed again, taking mine. His hands were linked behind mv head, holding me, face-to-face.

"If I am to live as a man, I must have a mountain," he said simply.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: jamie

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“You are my courage, as I am your Conscience," he whispered. "You are my hear and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone.” ― Diana Gabaldon3 likes

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“...he found that after prolonged contact with Claire and her opinions, he had much less trust in physicians that heretofore - and he hadn't had much to begin with.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: 18th-century-medicine, claire-fraser, humor, lord-john-grey

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“A trained surgeon is also a potential killer, and an important bit of the training lies in accepting the fact. Your intent is entirely benign - or at least you hope so - but your are laying violent hands on someone, and you must be ruthless in order to do it effectively. And sometimes the person under your hands will die, and knowing that . . . you do it anyway.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: claire-fraser, surgeon, surgical-training

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“He had crossed the room with no notion what he might say or do - he had no knowledge of the language of condolence, no skill at social small talk; his metier was business and politics. And yet, when his hostess had introduced them and left, he found himself still holding the hand he had kissed, looking into soft brown eyes that

drowned his soul. And without further thought or hesitation had said, 'God help me, I am in love with you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John and the Private Mattertags: love-at-first-sight, trevelyan

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“He had learned early on the trick of living separately in a crowd, private in his mind when his body could not be. But he was born a mountain-dweller, and had learned early, too, the enchantment of solitude, and the healing of quiet places.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross3 likes

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“Some kinds of hunger were sweet in themselves, the anticipation of satisfaction as keen a pleasure as the slaking.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross3 likes

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“There is a great difference between those phenomena which are accepted on faith, and those which are proved by objective determination, though the cause of both may be equally ‘rational’ once known. And the chief difference is this: that people will treat with disdain such phenomena as are proved by the evidence of the senses, and commonly experienced—while they will defend to the death the reality of a phenomenon which they have neither seen nor experienced. “Faith is as powerful a force as science,” he concluded, voice soft in the darkness, “—but far more dangerous.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager3 likes

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“-¿Cómo andan? -preguntó, pretendiendo demostrar cierta despreocupación.-¿Quiénes? ¿Te refieres a Brianna y Roger?.-¿A qué otros, si no? -dijo, dejando a un lado sus pretensiones-. ¿Vatodo bien entre ellos?.-Creo que sí. Se están acostumbrando de nuevo el uno al otro.-¿ Lo hacen?.-Sí -dije, mirando de reojo a la cabaña--Roger acaba de vomitar en la falda de Brianna.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn3 likes

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“Roger became aware, in a subliminally marital way, that his wife was disgruntled at the thought of being left behind to organize the harvest-a filthy, exhausting job at the best of times-whilst he frolicked with a squad of his co-religionists in the romantically exciting metropolis of Cross Creek, population two hundred.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes3 likes

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“Fat-heided creatures, the Carmichaels," she said judiciously. "Loyal enough, but stubborn as rocks."

"Thus sayeth a Fraser," I remarked. "The Carmichaels must be something special in that line.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: claire-fraser, humor, jenny-murray, stubbornness

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“I put a hand up to cup his cheek, warm and lightly stubbled. I didn't fool myself that this was paradise or even a refuge from the war - wars tended not to stay in one place but moved around, much in the manner of cyclones and even more destructive where they touched down. But for however long it lasted, this was home, and now was peace.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: peace, temporary-refuge, war

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“Soldiers manage by dividing themselves. They're one man in the killing, another at home, and the man that dandles his bairn on his knee has nothing to do wi' the man who crushed his enemy's throat with his boot, so he tells himself, sometimes successfully.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: survival, war, warriors

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“Will this be the end of it?''There is never an end to such things,' he said quietly. 'But we are alive. And that is good.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes3 likes

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“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop. The line from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland drifted through my mind, and I smiled. Good advice, I supposed – but only if you happened to know where the beginning was, and I didn’t quite.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone3 likes

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“Come to think, perhaps being nearly killed wasn't always a misfortune-so long as you didn't actually die of it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes3 likes

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“I chose my way when I wed ye, though I kent it not at the time. But I chose, and cannot now turn back, even if I would.''Would you?' I looked into his eyes as I asked, and read the answer there. He shook his head.'Would you? For you have chosen, as much as I.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes3 likes

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“Yes. It doesn't matter what happens; no matter where a child goes - how far or how long. Even if it's forever. You never lose them. You can't.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn3 likes

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“Brave' covers everything from complete insanity and bloody disregard of other people's lives - generals tend to go in for that sort - to drunkenness, foolhardiness, and outright idiocy - to the sort of thing that will make a man sweat and tremble and throw up . . . and go and do what he thinks he has to do anyway.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: bravery, claire-fraser, generals, war

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“Getting up once in the dark to go adventuring is a lark. Twice in two days smacks of masochism.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“There is a saying: in the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king. I promptly invented its analogy, based it on experience. When no one knows what to do anyone with a sensible suggestion is going to be listened to.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber3 likes

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“If ye have to ask yourself if you’re in love, laddie—then ye aren’t,” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn3 likes

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“And once I got old enough for such a thing to be a possibility, he told me that a man must be responsible for any seed he sows, for it's his duty to take care of a woman and

protect her. And if I wasna prepared to do that, then I'd no right to burden a woman with the consequences of my own actions.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: consequences-life-lessons

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“Like plumbing, medicine is a profession where you learn early on not to put your fingers in your mouth.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: humor, medicine

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“No. Ye loved him. I canna hold it against either of you that ye mourn him. And it gives me some comfort to know ..." He hesitated, and I reached up to smooth the rumpled hair off his face.

"To know what?"

"That should the need come, you might mourn for me that way," he said softly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: relationship, romance, sad

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“The woman crosses the room, and it is only when she is directly in front of us that I am certain about who she is. She is dressed in a pelisse fashionable among women half her age, and the feather in her hat is an extraordinary shade of blue. Outside, a young man is waiting at her coach. Passersby will suspect that he is her son, but anyone who has ever been acquainted with her will know better.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander3 likes

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“The room was as big as the Duke of Pardloe's library and had at least as many books, and yet the feeling of it was more akin to a small cluttered hole (Pardloe's)You could tell from the books whether a library was meant for show or not, Books that were usedhad an open, interested feel to them, even when closed and neatly lined up on a shelf in strict order. You felt as though the book took on as much interest in you as you did in it and it was willing you to reach for it.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: bookshelves

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“And was there love there? Beyond the limits of flesh and time, was all love possible? Was it necessary? The voice of my thoughts seemed to be Uncle Lamb's. My family, and all I knew of love as a child. A man who had never spoken love to me, who had never needed to, for I knew he loved me, as surely as I knew I loved. For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It is all. It is undying. And it is enough.” ― Diana Gabaldon3 likes

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“We will marry each other.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood2 likes

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“Filial respect caused Grey to hesitate in passing ex post facto opinions on his mother's judgment, but after half an hour in the company of either Paul or Edgar, he could not escape a lurking suspicion that a just Providence, seeing the DeVanes so well endowed with physical beauty, had determined that there was no reason to spoil the work by adding intelligence to the mix.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John And The Hand Of Devilstags: family, humor, lord-john

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“Well, I suppose men can make all the laws they like," he said, "but God made hope. The stars willna burn out." He turned and, cupping my chin, kissed me gently. "And

nor will we.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: hope, jamie-and-claire-fraser, the-universe

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“I can stand a lot! But just because I can, does that mean I must? Do I have to bear everyone’s weakness? Can I not have my own?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber2 likes

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“Advice? You're too old to be given it and too young to take it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood2 likes

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“There's nay shame to ha' fallen in battle, mo caraidh," he said softly. "The greatest of warriors may be overcome.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber2 likes

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“It's a terrible thing, to think it might be me that would be the threat, that I could kill you with my love-but it's true.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“Strength of bone and fire of mind, all wrapped around a core of steel-hard purpose that would make him a deadly projectile, once set on any course.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“A tall, straight-bodied, and by no means ill-favored young Highlander at close range is breath-taking.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“You felt as though the book took as much interest in you as you did in it and was willing to help when you reached for it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisoner2 likes

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“So now it's space and time," he said. "You ever watch Doctor Who on PBS?""All the time," she said dryly, "on the BBC. And don't think I wouldn't sell my soul for a TARDIS.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: brianna-fraser-mackenzie, doctor-who, tardis, time-travel

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“Jamie was a much a sponge as his grandson, I reflected, watching him rootle about, completely naked and totally unconcerned about it. He took in everything, and seemed able to deal with whatever came his way, no matter how familiar or foreign to his experience.Anything he could not defeat, outwit, or alter, he simply accepted-rather like the sponge and its embedded shell.

Pursuing the analogy further, I supposed I was the shell. Snatched out of my own small niche by an unexpected strong current, taken in and surrounded by Jamie and his life. Caught forever among the strange currents that pulsed through this outlandish environment.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“Sometimes a shadow rises, and death lies nameless in the dark.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“I regarded him gently over my own bowl of stew. He was very large, solid, and beautifully formed. And if he was a bit battered by circumstance, that merely added to his charm.

"You're a very hard person to kill, I think," I said. "That's a great comfort to me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: claire, death, jamie

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“...but there came a point when one abandoned hope for faith, and trusted fate for charity.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“He wanted to ask whether she were insane, but he had been married long enough to know the price of injudicious rhetorical questions.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashestags: marriage, roger

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“Did that mean she had not cared deeply for any of her husbands? I wondered. Or only that she was a woman of great strength, capable of overcoming grief, not once, but over and over again?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“The mountains had their own time, and a wise man did not try to hurry them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“Once a man has lived under arms, I suspect he is marked for life.In fact I have heard it remarked that old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“What he felt, though, was the echo of her flesh, and the reverberations of their farewell, with all its doubts and pleasures.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“-¿Es verdad.., que no lo olvidaré?Estaba arrodillado a su lado y esperó un momento antes deresponder.-Sí, es verdad -dijo suavemente-, Pero también es verdad que con eltiempo no te importará.-¿No? -Estaba demasiado cansada para seguir preguntándole. Sesentía extrañamente lejana-. ¿Aunque no sea lo bastante fuerte paramatarlo?-Eres una mujer muy fuerte.-No lo soy. Me lo acabas de demostrar, no soy...Una mano en el hombro la detuvo.-No es eso lo que quería decirte -dijo pensativo-, Jenny tenía diez añoscuando murió nuestra madre. -Y al día siguiente del funeral la encontrécon el delantal de mi madre.Había estado llorando como yo. Pero me dijo: «Ve a lavarte, Jamie, voya hacer la comida para ti y para papá».Cerró los ojos y tragó con fuerza.-Sé lo fuertes que pueden llegar a ser las mujeres. Y tú eres muyfuerte, créeme.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn2 likes

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“Calmar el dolor y el miedo a la muerte servía para atenuar los propios temores.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

«Nadie se muere por eso. Ni tu, ni yo»” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn2 likes

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“It has always been forever, for me, Sassenach,” he said simply.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager2 likes

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“Ye’re mine, Sassenach. And I would do anything I thought I must to make that clear.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“I leaned back on my elbows and basked in the warming spring sun. There was a curious peace in this day, a sense of things working quietly in their proper courses, nothing minding the upsets and turmoils of human concerns. Perhaps it was the peace that one always finds outdoors, far enough away from buildings and clatter. Maybe it was the result of gardening, that quiet sense of pleasure in touching growing things, the satisfaction of helping them thrive. Perhaps just the relief of finally having found work to do, rather than rattling around the castle feeling out of place, conspicuous as an inkblot on parchment.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“We currently enjoy the hospitality of the local smith, a gentleman named Heughan.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood2 likes

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“I could feel the hair rising on my forearms, as though with cold, and rubbed them uneasily. Two hundred years. From 1945 to 1743; yes, near enough. And women who traveled through the rocks. Was it always women? I wondered suddenly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Involuntarily, I reached out, as though I might heal him with a touch and erase the marks with my fingers.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Your mother said that Fraser sent her back to me, knowing that I would protect her--and you. ... And like him, perhaps I send you back, knowing---as he knew of me--that he will protect you with his life. I love you forever, Brianna. I know whose child you truly are. With all my love, Dad.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: children, daughters, fathers, love, protection, safety

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“It was what you did when someone died; turned toward God and at least acknowledge the fact.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“He was pressing himself against the wall as though trying to get through it by osmosis.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Ambertags: humor

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“I tell you what. Pick it up, open it anywhere, and read three pages. If you can put it down again, I’ll pay you a dollar.” ― Diana Gabaldon2 likes

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“I’ve said often enough, and the good Lord kens weel enough that boys were meant to be smacked, or he’d not ha’ filled ’em sae full o’ the de’il.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“I only said I felt like God, Sassenach," he murmured. "I never said I was.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Its appearance was greeted with cries of rapture, and following a brief struggle over possesion of the volume, William rescued it before it should be torn to pieces, but allowed himself to be induced to read some of the passages aloud, his dramatic rendering being greeted by wolflike howls of enthusiasim and hails of live pits.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: books

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“Kaç yaşındasın?" diye sordu birden."Dün yirmi iki yaşındaydım." dedim ruhsuzca. "Bugün yüz bile olabilirim.” ― Diana Gabaldon2 likes

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“Hurley, hurley, round the table,Eat as muckle as ye're able.Eat muckle, pooch nane,Hurley, hurley, Amen.” ― Diana Gabaldon2 likes

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“Careful!” I said. “Don’t twist like that, or your dressing will come off! What are you trying to do?” “Get my plaid loose to cover you,” he replied. “You’re shivering. But I canna do it one-handed. Can ye reach the clasp of my brooch for me?” With a good deal of tugging and awkward shifting, we got the plaid loosened. With a surprisingly dexterous swirl, he twirled the cloth out and let it settle, shawllike, around his shoulders. He then put the ends over my shoulders and tucked them neatly under the saddle edge, so that we were both warmly wrapped. “There!” he said. “We dinna want ye to freeze before we get there.” “Thank you,” I said, grateful for the shelter. “But where are we going?” I couldn’t see his face, behind and above me, but he paused a moment before answering. At last he laughed shortly. “Tell ye the truth, lassie, I don’t know. Reckon we’ll both find out when we get there, eh?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Then let amorous kisses dwell On our lips, begin and tell A Thousand and a Hundred score A Hundred, and a Thousand more.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“El Tiempo es una de las muchas cosas que la gente atribuye a Dios. Siempreestá ahí, preexistente, y no tiene final. Existe la noción de que es todopoderoso,puesto que nada puede oponerse al tiempo, ¿no es cierto? Ni montañas, ni ejércitos.Y el Tiempo, desde luego, lo cura todo. Con tiempo suficiente, todo se resuelve:todos los dolores se engloban, todas las adversidades desaparecen, todas las pérdidasse clasifican.Polvo eres y en polvo te convertirás. Recuérdalo.Y si el Tiempo se parece en algo a Dios, supongo que la Memoria debe de ser elDiablo.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“I hold no evil in my heart...This evil does not touch me. More may come, but not this. Not here. Not now.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“Queen's knight," he said quietly. "To queen two." It was, he knew, a dangerous opening.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisoner2 likes

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“He shook his head and squeezed my hand tight. "You are my courage, as I am your conscience," he whispered, "You are my heart-- I am your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone. Do ye not know that, Sassenach?" --Jamie” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn2 likes

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“Though the Congress will have to approve your appointment,” Washington went on, frowning a little, “and there’s no guarantee as to what those contentious, shopkeeping sons of bitches will do.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood2 likes

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“One had known the care of other men from his earliest years, a part of the duty of his birthright; the other had come to it later, but both felt that burden to be the will of God, she had no doubt at all-both accepted that duty without question, would honor it, or die in trying. She only hoped it wouldn't come to that-for either of them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“If you could do such a thing as that-and I don't mean lying with a woman, I mean doing it and lying to me about it-then everything I've done and everything I've been-my whole life-has been a lie. And I am not prepared to admit such a thing.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“These were people like that. The ones that cared so terribly much - enough to risk everything, enough to change and do things. Most people aren't like that, you know. It isn't that they don't care, but they don't care so greatly.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager2 likes

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“And suddenly it was all simple. He held out his arms to her. She stepped into them and found that she had been wrong; he was as big as she’d imagined—and his arms were as strong about her as she had ever dared to hope.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn2 likes

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“I was sorry that I'd told him, but I had no defenses anymore. I could not lie, even for the best of reasons; there was simply no place to go, nowhere to hide. I felt beset by whispering ghosts, their loss, their need, their desperate love pulling me apart. Apart from Jamie, apart from myself.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes2 likes

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“God, don't laugh!" Jamie said, alarmed. "I didna mean to make ye laugh! Christ, Jenny will kill me if ye cough up a lung and die out here!” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: humor, ian-murray, jamie-fraser, laughter

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“If ye can stand up, you're not drunk.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber

“Here I stand on the brink of war again, a citizen of no place, no time, no country but my own . . . and that a land lapped by no sea but blood, bordered only by the outlines of a face long-loved.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

tags: claire-fraser, james-fraser, love, lyrical, time, uncertainty, war

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“You know historians - can't leave a puzzle alone” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: history

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“IN THE LIGHT OF eternity, time casts no shadow. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. But what is it that the old women see? We see necessity, and we do the things that must be done. Young women don’t see—they are, and the spring of life runs through them. Ours is the guarding of the spring, ours the shielding of the light we have lit, the flame that we are. What have I seen? You are the vision of my youth, the constant dream of all my ages. Here I stand on the brink of war again, a citizen of no place, no time, no country but my own … and that a land lapped by no sea but blood, bordered only by the outlines of a face long-loved.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood2 likes

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“Help us, O Lord, to remember how often men do wrong through want of thought, rather than from lack of love; and how cunning are the snares that trip our feet.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross2 likes

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“She was the sort of girl called “bonny”—not beautiful, but lively and nicely made, with something about her that took the eye.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn2 likes

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“I'll be setting off just after the Angelus bell- at noon, I mean - should that suit your honors.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: angelus-name-of-my-grandson

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“He felt me wake, and drew me close, as though to preserve a moment longer the union we had reached in those last seconds of our perilous joining. I curled beside him, putting my arms around him. He opened his eyes then and sighed, the long mouth curling in a faint smile as his glance met mine. I raised my brows in silent question. “Oh, aye, Sassenach,” he answered a bit ruefully. “I am your master … and you’re mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Fraser stood quite still for a moment, breathing slowly and regarding Woodbine as a tiger might regard a hedgehog: yes, he could eat it, but would the inconvenience of swallowing be worth it?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: humor, james-fraser

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“Black Jack. A common name for rogues and scoundrels in the eighteenth century. A staple of romantic fiction, the name conjured up charming highwaymen, dashing blades in plumed hats. The reality waled at my side.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander2 likes

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“Are ye all right, man?" Ian asked, in the same tone of mild concern he'd heard his da use now and then on his mam or Uncle Jamie. Evidently it was in fact the right tone to take with a Fraser about to go berserk, for William breathed like a grampus for a moment or two, then got himself under control.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: berserk, frasers, humor, james-fraser, temper, william-ransome

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“As though, knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“Go to bed, Tom," he managed to say. "Don't wake me in the morning. I plan to be dead.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John And The Hand Of Devils1 likes

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“Yirmi yılda kaç gece vardır kızım? Kaç saat vardır? Yirmi yıl boyunca karımın hala yaşayıp yaşamadığını ve nasıl yaşadığını düşünüp durdum. Onun ve çocuğumun. Tanrı bu yüzden var. Endişe hiçbir işe yaramaz, dua yarar. Bazen...” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“You’re mine, mo duinne,” he said softly, pressing himself into my depths. “Mine alone, now and forever. Mine, whether ye will it or no.” I pulled against his grip, and sucked in my breath with a faint “ah” as he pressed even deeper. “Aye, I mean to use ye hard, my Sassenach,” he whispered. “I want to own you, to possess you, body and soul.” I struggled slightly and he pressed me down, hammering me, a solid, inexorable pounding that reached my womb with each stroke. “I mean to make ye call me ‘Master,’ Sassenach.” His soft voice was a threat of revenge for the agonies of the last minutes. “I mean to make you mine.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“And then later, at the funeral, members of the family, followed by the tenants and then the servants, had come one by one to add a stone each to the weight of remembrance.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“but, like many ideas, that one was more appealing in concept than in execution” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“Not a hothouse flower, this daughter of Leoch, despite her surroundings.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“I will find you,” he whispered in my ear. “I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you—then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest.” His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me. “Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“In defense of King, country, and family, he would unhesitatingly have sacrificed his virtue to Nessie, had that been required. If it was a question of Olivia marrying a man with syphilis and half the British army being exterminated in battle, versus himself experiencing a "personal interview" with Richard Caswell, though, he rather thought Olivia and the King had best look to their own devices.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John and the Private Mattertags: humor, lord-john

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“You'd forgive me for Claire - but not for killing your . . . men." He glanced at the two Craddocks, spotty as a pair of raisin puddings and - Grey's look implied - likely no brighter.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: humor, jamie-fraser, lord-john, war

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“It hadn't occurred to him that if she had little else, it would be that much more important to Joan Findlay to cling to her one valuable possession-her pride.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“I'd known that, consciously-and yet I had done it anyway, gone right on with my plans, pursuing my routines, as though life were still settled and predictable, as though nothing whatever might threaten the tenor of my days, As though acting might make it true.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“A child was a temptation of the flesh, as well as of the spirit; I knew the bliss of that unbounded oneness, as I knew the bittersweet joy of seeing that oneness fade as the child learned itself and stood alone.But I had crossed some subtle line. Whether it was that I was born myself with some secret quota embodied in my flesh, or only that I knew my sole allegiance must be given elsewhere now...I knew. As a mother, I had the lightness now of effort completed, honor satisfied. Mission accomplished.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“If needs must, she could do those things for herself-or find another man. And yet...she needed him-would mourn his loss if it came. Perhaps forever. In his present vulnerable mood, that knowledge seemed a great gift.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“But Mama--at first I tried to pretend she was only gone, like on a trip. And then when I couldn't do that anymore, I tried to believe she was dead.' Her nose was running, from emotion, whisky, or the heat of the tea. Roger reached for the tea towel hanging by the stove and shoved it across the tabe to her. 'She isn't, though.' She picked up the towel and wiped angrily at her nose. 'That's the trouble! I have to miss her all the time, and know that I'll never see her again, but she isn't even dead! How can I mourn for her, when I think-when I hope-she's happy where she is, when I made her go?” ― Diana Gabaldontags: drums-of-autumn, greiving, outlander

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“But war has a long fuse, and a slow match.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“I hadn't spent so much time in bemused contemplation of a penis since I was sixteen or so, and here I was, preoccupied with three of the things.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“Kalbin sesi, dudaklardan dökülen herhangi bir yeminden çok daha gürültülüdür.” ― Diana Gabaldon1 likes

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“The law's a necessary evil--we canna be doing without it--but do ye not think it a poor substitute for conscience?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: conscience, evil, law

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“And in the end, it does not matter. I am what God has made me, and must deal with the Times in which He has placed me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone

Roger wondered if this was the sort of way you felt after a battle; the sheer relief of finding yourself alive and unwounded made you want to laugh and arse about, just to prove you still could.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“He still didn’t know why the frog hadn’t killed him.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Space Between1 likes

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“...two Protestants, amazingly bound to Catholics and bemused at the strange tides of fate that had washed over them; two men left alone by the misfortunes of life, and now surprised to find themselves the heads of households, holding the lives of strangers in their hands.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“Jamie shook his head at me admiringly. “And here I thought I married you because ye had a fair face and a fine fat arse. To think you’ve a brain as well!” He neatly dodged the blow I aimed at his ear, and grinned at me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“Anybody messes with the girls, we’ll take care of him right smart,” the elder Wurm assured Ian. “It’s not that hard,” the other said honestly. “Break just one of them bastards’ noses with a hoe handle and the rest of ’em settle right down.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“Ye can at least promise me the victory,” he said, but his voice held the whisper of a question.

“Yes,” I said, and touched his face. I sounded choked, and my vision blurred. “Yes, I can promise that. This time.” No mention made of what that promise spared, of the things I could not guarantee. Not life, not safety. Not home, nor family; not law nor legacy. Just the one thing—or maybe two.

“The victory,” I said. “And that I will be with you ’til the end.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. Snowflakes pelted down, melting as they struck his face, sticking for an instant, white on his lashes. 

Then he opened his eyes and looked at me.

“That is enough,” he said softly. “I ask no more.”

He reached forward then and took me in his arms, held me close for a moment, the breath of snow and ashes cold around us. Then he kissed me, released me, and I took a deep breath of cold air, harsh with the scent of burning.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“Mmphm,” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“Not that my watching out was likely to do a lot of good, I thought; every second man on the dock looked like an assassin to me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“A peaceful refuge in which to rediscover each other, we thought,, not realizing that, while golf and fishing are Scotland's most popular outdoor sports, gossip is the most

popular indoor sport.” ― Diana Gabaldontags: gossip, humor, scotland

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“Still, he was pleased to know that he could recall so much of the play and passed the rest of the journey pleasantly in reciting lines to himself, being careful not to snort.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Scottish Prisonertags: lines, memory, play

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“İnsan hayatın ve sonsuz varlığın getirdiği bitmez düşüncelere bazen ara vermek istiyordu, varlığının doğası nasıl planlanmış olursa olsun, oradan kaçmak istiyordu.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“You are beautiful,” he whispered to me. “If you say so.” “Do ye not believe me? Have I ever lied to you?” “That’s not what I mean. I mean—if you say it, then it’s true. You make it true.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“Beni tanıdığın için, bana dokunmadan beni parçalara ayırabilirsin.” ― Diana Gabaldon1 likes

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“I’m not sure that religion was constructed with time travelers in mind.” Buck’s brows rose at that. “Constructed?” he echoed, surprised. “Who builds God?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“...women giving birth seemed very often to lose any sense of fear or misgiving...exhibiting an absorption that amounted to indifference-simply because they had no attention to spare for anything beyond the universe bounded by their bellies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“The Continental army got more generals than they got private soldiers, these days. An officer lives through more 'n two battles, they make him some kind of general on the spot. Now, gettin' any pay for it, that's a different kettle of fish.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: continental-army, dan-morgan, humor, outlander, revolutionary-war

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“But from the very start, there is that small streak of steel within each child. That thing that says “I am,” and forms the core of personality.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“This is the thin time, when the beloved dead draw near. The world turns inward, and the chilling air grows thick with dreams and mystery.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone1 likes

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“Jamie, I had found out by accident a few days previously, had never mastered the art of winking one eye. Instead, he blinked solemnly, like a large red owl.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“Do me the one favor, Sassenach,” he said, draping the heavy velvet over my shoulders. “Take a larger fan.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“Claire knew the flavor of solitude. It was cold as spring water, and not all could drink it; for some it was not refreshment, but mortal chill.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn1 likes

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“Şimdiye kadar 18.yüzyıl leydilerinin bayılmasının korselerinin sıkı olduğundan dolayı düşündüğümü fark ettim ama şimdi nedenini daha iyi görüyordum,bayılma sebepleri 18.yüzyıl erkeklerinin ahmaklığından kaynaklanıyordu.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“He wiped the sweat from his face on his sleeve, squared his shoulders, and strode back into the fray. All there was to do was his duty.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: duty, lord-ellesmere, william-ransome

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“The vivid memory of the woods had blossomed into a visceral longing for the Ridge, so immediate that I felt the ghost of my vanished house rise around me, a cold mountain wind thrumming past its walls, and thought that, if I reached down, I could feel Adso's soft gray fur under my fingers. I swallowed, hard.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: adso, claire-fraser, loss, memory, nostalgia

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“Ian—is that by chance Ian Murray?” Grey asked, but then answered himself. “I suppose it must be; how many Mohawks can there be named Ian?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“IN THE LIGHT OF eternity, time casts no shadow. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. But what is it that the old women see? We see necessity, and we do the things that must be done. Young women don’t see—they are, and the spring of life runs through them. Ours is the guarding of the spring, ours the shielding of the light we have lit, the flame that we are.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“Thee is my wolf,” she’d said to him. “And if thee hunts at night, thee will come home.” “And sleep at thy feet,” he’d replied.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“Thought of blowing your brains out?"William blinked, startled."No.""That's good. Anything else is bound to be an improvement, isn't it?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: duke-of-pardloe, humor, william-ransome

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“She was more like riding a sofa than a horse, with her broad back and sides curved like a hogshead of beer.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

“It was in kindness that the thought came to me now, whether it was truly spoken, or only called forth from my exhausted memory for what comfort the words might hold. Everyone makes choices, and no one knows what may be the end of any of them. If my own was to blame for many things, it was not to blame for everything. Nor was harm

all that had come of it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross1 likes

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“Alive and one. We are one, and while we love, death will never touch us.” ― Diana Gabaldon1 likes

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“And when I'd lost him this time, to the sea, I'd remembered the sense of him beside me, warm and solid in my bed, and the rhythm of his breathing. The light across the bones of his face in moonlight and the flush of his skin in the rising sun. I could hear him breathe when I lay in bed alone in my room at Chestnut Street -- slow, regular, never stopping -- even though I knew it HAD stopped. The sound would comfort me, then drive me mad with the knowledge of loss, so I pulled the pillow hard over my head in a futile attempt to shut it out -- only to emerge into the night of the room, thick with woodsmoke and candle wax and vanished light, and be comforted to hear it once more.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to the idiocy of eighteenth-century men.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber1 likes

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“A friend once told me 'The body has nay conscience.' I dinna ken that that's entirely so-but it is true that the body doesna generally admit the possibility of nonexistence. And if ye exist-well, ye need food, that's all.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“Fighting was an exhausting business, and so was fear.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“If it was killing-and it was- then I thought it not murder, but a justifiable homicide, undertaken in desperate self defense.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: abortion

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“You tell me exactly what happened, ye filthy wee pervert,” Fraser whispered, his breath hot on Grey’s face and smelling of ale. He shook Grey slightly. “Every word. Every motion. Everything.” Grey got just enough breath to answer. “No,” he said defiantly. “Go ahead and kill me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“Ye werena the first lass I kissed,” he said softly. “But I swear you’ll be the last.” And he bent his head to my upturned face.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“By blood and by choice, we make our ghosts; we haunt ourselves.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn1 likes

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“Yoksul insanlar zengin adamın altınları için ölür ve bu her zaman da böyle olacak, değil mi?” ― Diana Gabaldon1 likes

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“solitude was in its own way a balm for loneliness.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“Mama says the Beardsleys follow her around like dogs, but they don’t. They follow her like tame wolves.I thought Ian said it wasn’t possible to tame wolves.It isn’t.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“No,” he said defiantly. “Go ahead and kill me.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood1 likes

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“I could feel his heart beating against my ribs, and wanted nothing more than to stay there forever, not moving, not making love, just breathing the same air.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander1 likes

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“His flesh seemed to melt comfortably into Roger’s own, his trust so complete that it was not necessary even to maintain the boundaries of his body—Daddy would do that.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes1 likes

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“You have lost your mind,"Jamie said coldly, the shock receding slightly. "Or I should think you had, if ye had one to lose.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyagertags: insanity

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“It was very quiet here on the mountainside,but, quiet in the of hills and forests. A quiet that wasn't silent at all, but composed of constant tiny sounds. It was small buzzing in the gorse bush nearby, of bees working the yellow flowers -dusty with pollen, far below was the rushing of the burn, a low note echoing the wind above stirring leaves and rattling twigs sighing past the jutting boulders.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn1 likes

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“I've seen women-and men too, sometimes-as canna bear the sound of their own thoughts, and they maybe dinna make such good matches with those who can.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumntags: introvert, loneliness, marriage, solitude

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“knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Outlander Series 7-Book Bundle: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone0 likes

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“Una dama novelista me dijo una vez, que escribir novelas era arte de caníbales, pues uno mezcla con frecuencia pequeñas porciones de sus amigos y sus enemigos, los sazona con imaginación y permite que todo eso se cocine en un sabroso guiso” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager0 likes

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“make a difference? An instant’s panic, as she tried to visualize” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“It was in a way a comforting idea; if there was all the time in the world, then the happening of a given moment became less important. I could see, perhaps, how one could draw back a little, seek some respite in the contemplation of an endless Being, whatever one conceived its nature to be.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“If God makes man in His image, we all return the favor.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“He stood for a moment, bereavement a sudden, small tear in his soul.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Bladetags: lord-john-grey

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“Do you encounter a great deal of . . . factionalism in your area of the colony?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“At the best of times, Father Bain's face resembled a clenched fist.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlandertags: humorous-quotes

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“intended to repel Evil, which are the constant Accompaniment to their Conversations with myself.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“if women’s work was never done, why trouble about how much of it wasn’t being accomplished at any given moment?” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“a fine coaching inn there—though not much else.” Dougal looked surprised” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

“Man’s sense of Morality tends to decrease as his Power increases,” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“One of the happiest days of my life was when my mother wrote a note to the public librarians saying 'Let her check out anything she wants'...I'd read everything we had at home by the time I was ten. So I read my way through the Flagstaff Public Library.” ― Diana Gabaldon0 likes

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“The room was dark with rainlight, though, and the roof thrummed overhead. The sound of it seemed inside his blood, like the beat of the bodhrana inside the night, like the beat of his heart in the forest.” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“True, the body's easily maimed, and the spirit can be crippled - yet there's that in a man that is never destroyed.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: eternal, healing, nature-of-man, spirit

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“perfectly correct—but no other man in the line was doing it.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“...knowing what o'clock it is gives ye the illusion that ye have some control over your circumstances.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: clock, control, time

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“onto the fabric of her shift; I reached out one-handed and tweaked the cloth up to cover her. She put a hand over her breast and pressed hard to stop the milk. “What does he mean to do, though? If he finds him.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“She was a very old lady indeed, or at least she looked it. She leaned on a hawthorn stick, enveloped in garments she must have” ― Diana Gabaldon, Cross Stitch0 likes

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“Those small spaces of time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on a perfect point, like the moment of change between the dark and the light, when both and neither surround you.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“If you’ll not let me be spiritual about it, you’ll have to put up wi’ my baser nature. I’m going to be a beast.” He bit my neck. “Do ye want me to be a horse, a bear, or a dog?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“punching” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“Flies round a honeypot would be nothin’ to it, lad! Penniless and nameless as ye are now, the lasses still sigh after ye—I’ve seen ’em!” More snorting. “Even this Sassenach wench can no keep away from ye, and her a new widow!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Dawn was coming up in streaks and slashes over the foggy moor.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“fumbling up her” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“In older, more primitive times (like these? asked another part of my mind), it was an act of trust to sleep in the presence of another person. If the trust was mutual, simple sleep could bring you closer together than the joining of bodies.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Love for a child cannot be free; from the first signs of movement in the womb, a devotion springs up as powerful as it is mindless, irresistible as the process of birth itself. But powerful as it is, it is a love always of control; one is in charge, the protector, the watcher, the guardian—there is great passion in it, to be sure, but never abandon.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Voyager0 likes

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“My own heartbeat was slowing under my hand, under the deep rose silk, the color of a baby’s sleep-flushed cheek. When you hold a child to your breast to nurse, the curve of the little head echoes exactly the curve of the breast it suckles, as though this new

person truly mirrors the flesh from which it sprang. Babies are soft. Anyone looking at them can see the tender, fragile skin and know it for the rose-leaf softness that invites a finger’s touch. But when you live with them and love them, you feel the softness going inward, the round-checked flesh wobbly as custard, the boneless splay of the tiny hands. Their joints are melted rubber, and even when you kiss them hard, in the passion of loving their existence, your lips sink down and seem never to find bone. Holding them against you, they melt and mold, as though they might at any moment flow back into your body. But from the very start, there is that small streak of steel within each child. That thing that says “I am,” and forms the core of personality. In the second year, the bone hardens and the child stands upright, skull wide and solid, a helmet protecting the softness within. And “I am” grows, too. Looking at them, you can almost see it, sturdy as heartwood, glowing through the translucent flesh. The bones of the face emerge at six, and the soul within is fixed at seven. The process of encapsulation goes on, to reach its peak in the glossy shell of adolescence, when all softness then is hidden under the nacreous layers of the multiple new personalities that teenagers try on to guard themselves. In the next years, the hardening spreads from the center, as one finds and fixes the facets of the soul, until “I am” is set, delicate and detailed as an insect in amber.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“I hope I don’t,” she said. “But she said—Laoghaire—” She stumbled on the name. “L’heery,” Ian corrected.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn0 likes

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“The law’s a necessary evil—we canna be doing without it—but do ye not think it a poor substitute for conscience?” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“Quite suddenly she understood the impulse that caused men to engage in casual blasphemy.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: blasphemy, wry-humor

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“was remote, even for a Highland farm. No real roads led there, but the post still reached us by messenger, over the crags and the heather-clad slopes, a connection with the world outside. It was a world that sometimes seemed unreal in memory,” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“That’s simple. You reason with them, and when you’re through, I’ll take them out and thrash them.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“I have...an understanding. In England." His understanding with James Fraser was that if he were ever to lay a hand on the man or speak his heart, Fraser would break his neck instantly. It was, however, certainly an understanding, and clear as Waterford crystal.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John And The Hand Of Devilstags: diana-gabaldon, james-fraser, lord-john-grey

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“Last night I dreamed that Roger was leaving. I’ve been dreaming about his going for a week, ever since Da suggested it. Suggested—ha. Like Moses brought down” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“A brown, rocklike fist rose out of the mass and descended with considerable force, meeting decisively with some bony protuberance, by the sound of the resultant crack.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

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“well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“be reassured, but hunched his skinny shoulders, peering closely at Mr. Buchanan. “Josh says Angelina says the ghost was” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“in Paris of any substance over the last months, and they’re united in basic disinterest.” He smiled wryly. “Money’s none so plentiful that anyone wants to back a dicey proposition like the Stuart restoration.” “And that,” I said, stretching my back” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“It was the first breath of the new moon, but the whole of it was visible, a perfect ball of violet and indigo cupped in a sickle of light, luminous among the stars.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Bloodtags: moonlight, new-moon

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“Not loneliness, but solitude. Not suffering, but endurance, the discovery of grim kinship with the rocks and sky. And the finding here of a harsh peace that would transcend bodily discomfort, a healing instead of the wounds of the soul.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

“Some hae meat that canna eat, And some could eat that want it. We hae meat, and we can eat, And so may God be thankit. Amen.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“But then, I didn’t think I’d tell them you were here.” “What makes you think they don’t know?” I asked, beginning to feel rather hollow, despite my earlier resolve to brazen it out. I cast a quick glance at the window, but” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usyally better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Then let amorous kisses dwellOn our lips, begin and tellA Thousand and a Hundred scoreA Hundred, and a Thousand more” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“There was nothing frightening about the dead man; there never is. No matter how ugly the manner in which a man dies, it's only the presence of a suffering human soul that is horrifying; once gone, what is left is only an object” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“Blood of my blood and bone of my bone. You carry me within ye, Claire, and ye canna leave me now, no matter what happens. You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I wilna let ye go.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It us all. It is undying. And it is enough” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“the good man’s only singularity lies in his approving welcome to every experience the looms of fate may weave for him,” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Outlander Series 7-Book Bundle: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone0 likes

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“But the future reaches out to us, as does the past, and all times are the present.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Outlandish Companion0 likes

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“My Son-in-law astutely observes that a Man’s sense of Morality tends to decrease as his Power increases,” ― Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes0 likes

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“people will treat with disdain such phenomena as are proved by the evidence of the senses, and commonly experienced—while they will defend to the death the reality of a phenomenon which they have neither seen nor experienced.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Outlander Series 7-Book Bundle: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone0 likes

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“date of our first anniversary, Jamie had been in the Bastille, and I … I had been in”― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“Once I told him I thought beating your son was a most uncivilized method of getting your own way. He said I’d about as much sense as the post I was standing next to, if as much. He said respect for your elders was one of the cornerstones of civilized behavior, and until I learned that, I’d better get used to looking at my toes while one of my barbaric elders thrashed my arse off.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander0 likes

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“I’ll leave it to you, Sassenach,” he said dryly, “to imagine what it feels like to arrive unexpectedly in the midst of a brothel, in possession of a verra large sausage.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“The general set me down at the ferry; Kingsessing was on the other side of the Schuylkill.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“You’ve not been sleeping proper,” Byrd said accusingly. “I can tell. You’ve been a-wallowing on your pillow; your hair’s a right rat’s nest!” ― Diana Gabaldon, Lord John And The Hand Of Devils0 likes

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“That's how ye do it,' his brother Ian had told him... 'Ye find a way to live for that one more minute. And then another. And another... But after a time, ye find ye're in a different place than ye were. A different person than ye were. And then ye look about and see what's there with ye. Ye'll maybe find a use for yourself. Thathelps.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Space Between0 likes

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“Lying on the floor, with the carved panels of the ceiling flickering dimly above, I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to the idiocy of eighteenth-century men.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber0 likes

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“to dry the damp hem, and the firelight glowed from both my rings. A strong disposition to” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“He had never seen a woman look like that, he thought, fascinated despite his worry for Henry. She had tied back her outrageous hair and wrapped her head carefully in a cloth like a Negro slave woman. With her face so exposed, the delicate bones made stark, the intentness of her expression -- with those yellow eyes darting like a hawk's from one thing to another -- was the most unwomanly thing he had ever seen. It was the look of a general marshaling his troops for battle, and seeing it, he felt the ball of snakes in his belly relax a little. 

She knows what she's doing, he thought.

She looked at him then, and he straightened his shoulders, instinctively awaiting orders -- to his utter amazement.” ― Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bonetags: character-study

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“means of dealing with the Three Furies before they drove her crazy or assassinated each other with rolling pin or knitting needle. ” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“I was hopeful of his answer, or fearful of it. The answer was a slight shrug.” ― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross0 likes

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“got the disks from.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“I’m not sure that religion was constructed with time travelers in mind.” Buck’s brows rose at that. “Constructed?” he echoed, surprised. “Who builds God?” That actually made Roger laugh, which made him feel a little better, if only momentarily. “We all do,” he said dryly. “If God makes man in His image, we all return the favor.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“Great Glen, if heading for the ocean. But no” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood0 likes

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“So now it’s space and time,” he said. “You ever watch Doctor Who on PBS?” “All the time,” she said dryly, “on the BBC. And don’t think I wouldn’t sell my soul for a TARDIS.” ― Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood

All quotes are copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon. Page numbers refer to the older hardcover edition with the blue cover.

1) "A Highlander in full regalia is an impressive sight--any Highlander, no matter how old, ill-favored, or crabbed in appearance. A tall, straight-bodied, and by no means ill-favored young Highlander at close

range is breath-taking." (Chapter 14, "A Marriage Takes Place", p. 190)

2) "You bluffed your way in here with an empty gun?" (Chapter 21, "Une Mauvais Quart d'Heure After Another", p. 278)

3) "Don't be afraid," he whispered into my hair. "There's the two of us now." (Chapter 15, "Revelations of the Bridal Chamber", p. 212)

4) "Seasick?" I said incredulously. "Scotsmen aren't seasick!"

Murtagh was testy. "Then mayhap he's a red-heided Hottentot. All I know is he's green as a rotten fish and pukin' his guts out. Are ye goin' to come down and help me stop him puttin' his ribs out through his chest?"(Chapter 37, "Escape", p. 568)

5) "And if your life is a suitable exchange for my honor, tell me why my honor is not a suitable exchange for your life?" The brows drew together in a scowl, the twin of the one adorning her brother's face. "Or are you telling me that I may not love you as much as you love me? Because if ye are, Jamie Fraser, I'll tell ye right now, it's not true!" (Chapter 26, "The Laird's Return", p. 432)

6) "Aye, I believe ye, Sassenach. But it would ha' been a good deal easier if you'd only been a witch." (Chapter 25, "Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live", p. 406)

7) "Twenty-seven years of propriety were no match for several hundred thousand years of instinct. While my mind might object to being taken on a bare rock next to several sleeping soldiers, my body plainly considered itself the spoils of war and was eager to complete the formalities of surrender." (Chapter 18, "Raiders in the Rocks", p. 251)

8) "Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone,I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done."(Chapter 14, "A Marriage Takes Place", p. 195)

9) "You can't," I whispered. "You can't. I won't let you."

His mouth was warm against my ear. "Claire, I'm to hang in the morning. What happens to me between now and then doesna matter to anyone." I drew back and stared at him.

"It matters to me!" The strained lips quivered in what was almost a smile, and he raised his free hand and laid it against my wet cheek.

"I know it does, mo duinne. And that's why you'll go now." He drew me close again, kissed me gently and whispered in Gaelic, "He will let you go because he thinks you are helpless. I know you are not." Releasing me, he said in English, "I love you. Go now."(Chapter 35, "Wentworth Prison", p. 533)

10) "Go ahead," he said, a moment later. "Open it. It's yours."

The outlines of the little package blurred under my fingers. I blinked and sniffed, but made no move to open it. "I'm sorry," I said.

"Well, so ye should be, Sassenach," he said, but his voice was no longer angry. Reaching, he took the package from my lap and tore away the wrapping, revealing a wide silver band, decorated in the Highland interlace style, a small and delicate Jacobean thistle bloom carved in the center of each link.

So much I saw, and then my eyes blurred again.(Chapter 23, "Return to Leoch", p. 317)

Jamie had come to stand beside me at the window. Staring absently out at the driving rain, he said, "There was another reason. The main one."

"Reason?" I said stupidly.

"Why I married you."

"Which was?" I don't know what I expected him to say, perhaps some further revelation of his family's contorted affairs. What he did say was more of a shock, in its way.

"Because I wanted you." He turned from the window to face me. "More than I ever wanted anything in my life," he added softly. (Outlander, pp. 595-596)

"Cut me," I said urgently. "Deep enought to leave a scar. I want to take away your touch with me, to have something of you that will stay with me always. I don't care if it hurts; nothing could hurt worse than leaving you. At least when I touch it, wherever I am, I can feel your touch on me." ...

He bound the wound, but not before I saw that the cut was in the shape of a small, slightly crooked letter "J." (Dragonfly in Amber, p. 891)

He took both my hands in his then, and kissed them - the left, which still bore the gold ring of my marriage to Frank, and then the right, with his own silver ring.

"Da mi basia mille," he whispered, smiling. Give me a thousand kisses. It was the inscription inside my ring, a brief quotation from a love song by Catullus. I bent and gave him one back. "Dien mille altera," I said. Then a thousand more. (Drums of Autumn, p. 153)

“When the day shall come that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’-ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.”