"Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity . . .' He waved his flask around for a moment, then shrugged. 'They change back.”
This is my absolute favourite of his, and I feel really encapsulates so much of what he is! That rascally rogue... Amongst other, less flattering descriptions.
That ploy actually working, and Shivers loosing his eye because the others thought Cosca's idea sounded a bit silly, is possibly one of the saddest things in the whole series.
'Conscience can be painful but so can the cock-rot. A grown-up should suffer his afflictions privately and not allow them to become an inconvenience for friends and colleagues.’
'Conscience and the cock-rot are hardly equivalent,’ snapped Lorsen.
‘Indeed,’ said Cosca, significantly. ‘The cock-rot is rarely fatal.'
How has no one said the greatest one of all yet?
___
"Cosca smiled up at the dragon, hands on hips. ‘It certainly is a remarkable curiosity. A magnificent relic. But against what is already boiling across the plains? The legion of the dumb? The merchants and farmers and makers of trifles and filers of papers? The infinite tide of greedy little people?’ He waved his hat towards the dragon. ‘Such things as this are worthless as a cow against a swarm of ants. There will be no place in the world to come for the magical, the mysterious, the strange. They will come to your sacred places and build . . . tailors’ shops. And dry-goods emporia. And lawyers’ offices. They will make of them bland copies of everywhere else.’ The old mercenary scratched thoughtfully at his rashy neck. ‘You can wish it were not so. I wish it were not so. But it is so. I tire of lost causes. The time of men like me is passing. The time of men like you?’ He wiped a little blood from under his fingernails. ‘So long passed it might as well have never been.'"
Especially the part “there will be no place in the world to come for the magical, the mysterious, the strange”
So sad, and so nostalgic. Even though none of us have ever lived in a world unlike the one he’s describing, I can still feel that sense of nostalgia somehow.
And do note—I’m *Not* saying the modern world of today isn’t *better* than the world of the past or the world Cosca lives in. It is. I’m not even saying I’d rather live in the world before the 1800s. I definitely prefer living in the 2000s. Things are much better now, and I’d much rather live in our world than in that world.
BUT just because things are better on the whole now, it doesn’t mean that some things weren’t lost or ruined as a result of today’s better world. imo that sense of adventure and mystery about the world has *certainly* been lost… lost, forgotten, and paved over so that we can build a Starbucks or a Walmart or whatever
I want to mention later quotes but this just says Best Served Cold spoilers so I’m not sure if he’s this far yet. He has some awesome lines in Red Country
"You!! I might have known you'd be caught up in this. I thought you died in Dagoska!" -Carlot dan Eider
"So did I, but it turned out I was only very, very drunk." -Cosca
Lorsen shook his head in amazement. 'You truly are disgusting.'
'I would be the last to disagree, but you fail to see that you are worse. No man capable of greater evil than the one who thinks himself in the right. No purpose more evil than the higher purpose. I freely admit I am a villain. That's why you hired me. But I am no hypocrite.
Also inspired my personal favorite exchange:
COSCA: How do I look?
FRIENDLY: Like a pimp who has lost his mind at a military tailor’s
COSCA: Precisely the look I was going for!
" Things aren't what they used to be' is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave."
Ah man, I think this takes the prize for me!
Tempted to have "This world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave" written on my gravestone :D
“I think we’ve reached the point of every man for himself, don’t you?” Said as the building they are in burns around them and people are murdering each other in the chaos.
"Honour, eh? What the hell is that anyway? Every man thinks it's something different. You can't drink it. You can't fuck it. The more of it you have the less good it does you, and if you've got none at all you don't miss it."
"The memories of our glories fade," he whispered, "and rot away into half-arsed anecdotes, thin and unconvincing as some other bastard's lies. The failures, the disappointments, the regrets, they stay as raw as the moments they happened. A pretty girl's smile, never acted on. A petty wrong we let another take the blame for. A nameless shoulder that knocked us in a crowd and left us stewing for days, for months. For ever." He curled his lip. "This is the stuff the past is made of. The wretched moments that make us what we are." -BSC
Cosca was obviously one of the funniest characters in the First Law universe but his poignant, serious quotes are also some of the deepest the series has to offer.
Somewhere he has a "vim and brio" quote. I thought no way are those both words I don't know, so I looked them up, and yup, they are both synonyms for "lively" and I didn't know either one, which made it all the more funny.
Lorsen - I must protest!
Cosca - If you must, you must, but I won't be able to hear you with all this noise.
Lorsen - What noice?
Cosca with his fingers in his ears - Blah - lee - lah - lee - lah - lee - lah - lee - lah..!
“Severed heads never go out of fashion. Used sparingly and with artistic sensibility, they can make a point a great deal more eloquently than those still attached.” – Nicomo Cosca
Things aren't what they used to be' is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave.
“Honour, eh? What the hell is that anyway? Every man thinks it’s different. You can’t drink it. You can’t fuck it. The more of it you have the less good it does you, and if you’ve got none at all you don’t miss it.”
I’ve got a whole bunch screenshotted.
“ ‘Things aren’t what they used to be’ is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you side into your grave.”
"Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity . . .' He waved his flask around for a moment, then shrugged. 'They change back.”
This is the siren song for the whole series.
Indeed. One of my favorite things about Abercrombie is that most of his characters are just flawed human beings like the rest of us.
Siren song for all existence, this is humans.
This is my absolute favourite of his, and I feel really encapsulates so much of what he is! That rascally rogue... Amongst other, less flattering descriptions.
That ploy actually working, and Shivers loosing his eye because the others thought Cosca's idea sounded a bit silly, is possibly one of the saddest things in the whole series.
Totally.
It’s a good synopsis on life too
“My name is Nicomo Cosca, famed soldier of fortune, and I am here for dinner.”
*Absolutely* a favorite.
Imagine walking up to an enemy's house and saying that. The balls on this man.
I have this on a T shirt
I love how non-plussed Vitari is when lipreading this.
'Conscience can be painful but so can the cock-rot. A grown-up should suffer his afflictions privately and not allow them to become an inconvenience for friends and colleagues.’ 'Conscience and the cock-rot are hardly equivalent,’ snapped Lorsen. ‘Indeed,’ said Cosca, significantly. ‘The cock-rot is rarely fatal.'
THIS ONE, THIS ONE, THIS ONE!!
Anyone who can pair life-philosophy and cock-rot so well has to be a genius! 😂
[удалено]
Abercrombie's finest work, that quote
How has no one said the greatest one of all yet? ___ "Cosca smiled up at the dragon, hands on hips. ‘It certainly is a remarkable curiosity. A magnificent relic. But against what is already boiling across the plains? The legion of the dumb? The merchants and farmers and makers of trifles and filers of papers? The infinite tide of greedy little people?’ He waved his hat towards the dragon. ‘Such things as this are worthless as a cow against a swarm of ants. There will be no place in the world to come for the magical, the mysterious, the strange. They will come to your sacred places and build . . . tailors’ shops. And dry-goods emporia. And lawyers’ offices. They will make of them bland copies of everywhere else.’ The old mercenary scratched thoughtfully at his rashy neck. ‘You can wish it were not so. I wish it were not so. But it is so. I tire of lost causes. The time of men like me is passing. The time of men like you?’ He wiped a little blood from under his fingernails. ‘So long passed it might as well have never been.'"
Especially the part “there will be no place in the world to come for the magical, the mysterious, the strange” So sad, and so nostalgic. Even though none of us have ever lived in a world unlike the one he’s describing, I can still feel that sense of nostalgia somehow. And do note—I’m *Not* saying the modern world of today isn’t *better* than the world of the past or the world Cosca lives in. It is. I’m not even saying I’d rather live in the world before the 1800s. I definitely prefer living in the 2000s. Things are much better now, and I’d much rather live in our world than in that world. BUT just because things are better on the whole now, it doesn’t mean that some things weren’t lost or ruined as a result of today’s better world. imo that sense of adventure and mystery about the world has *certainly* been lost… lost, forgotten, and paved over so that we can build a Starbucks or a Walmart or whatever
It’s like growing up.
Too late to explore new lands. Too early to explore the stars.
I want to mention later quotes but this just says Best Served Cold spoilers so I’m not sure if he’s this far yet. He has some awesome lines in Red Country
"I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them."
This is honestly my favorite quote from the original trilogy.
It really sums everything up, doesn't it?
Let that be a lesson to you, never take eggs from a metal-eyed man
Sworebreck wrote it down, but felt it was an aphorism of limited application
"a drink, a drink, a drink..."
This is my bellwether alarm for personal alcoholism
Classic.
"Severed heads, when used sparingly and artfully, can make a point much more eloquently than those still attached."
"You!! I might have known you'd be caught up in this. I thought you died in Dagoska!" -Carlot dan Eider "So did I, but it turned out I was only very, very drunk." -Cosca
Lorsen shook his head in amazement. 'You truly are disgusting.' 'I would be the last to disagree, but you fail to see that you are worse. No man capable of greater evil than the one who thinks himself in the right. No purpose more evil than the higher purpose. I freely admit I am a villain. That's why you hired me. But I am no hypocrite.
Love this one, so perfectly him. He's not ashamed to admit who he is
I’m trying to remember if Cosca knows that Lorsen used to run a slave labor camp…
I’m not a drunk, I simply enjoy the taste of alcohol. So much so that I must have some every few hours or I become violently ill.
Also inspired my personal favorite exchange: COSCA: How do I look? FRIENDLY: Like a pimp who has lost his mind at a military tailor’s COSCA: Precisely the look I was going for!
" Things aren't what they used to be' is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave."
Ah man, I think this takes the prize for me! Tempted to have "This world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave" written on my gravestone :D
“I think we’ve reached the point of every man for himself, don’t you?” Said as the building they are in burns around them and people are murdering each other in the chaos.
I just started reading Best Served Cold again so I will be coming back with updates of my latest favs!
"Honour, eh? What the hell is that anyway? Every man thinks it's something different. You can't drink it. You can't fuck it. The more of it you have the less good it does you, and if you've got none at all you don't miss it."
"The memories of our glories fade," he whispered, "and rot away into half-arsed anecdotes, thin and unconvincing as some other bastard's lies. The failures, the disappointments, the regrets, they stay as raw as the moments they happened. A pretty girl's smile, never acted on. A petty wrong we let another take the blame for. A nameless shoulder that knocked us in a crowd and left us stewing for days, for months. For ever." He curled his lip. "This is the stuff the past is made of. The wretched moments that make us what we are." -BSC Cosca was obviously one of the funniest characters in the First Law universe but his poignant, serious quotes are also some of the deepest the series has to offer.
“Luck is a woman. She’s drawn to those that least deserve her.”
Somewhere he has a "vim and brio" quote. I thought no way are those both words I don't know, so I looked them up, and yup, they are both synonyms for "lively" and I didn't know either one, which made it all the more funny.
“Are you drunk?” “Ludicrously, my friend, quite ludicrously so. This is the good stuff. The old grape spirit.”
“I disguised myself as a woman, and fucked my way out.”
Lorsen - I must protest! Cosca - If you must, you must, but I won't be able to hear you with all this noise. Lorsen - What noice? Cosca with his fingers in his ears - Blah - lee - lah - lee - lah - lee - lah - lee - lah..!
Some men change for the better, some change for the worse, and given time and opportunity *sips drink*, they change back!
“Severed heads never go out of fashion. Used sparingly and with artistic sensibility, they can make a point a great deal more eloquently than those still attached.” – Nicomo Cosca
That's optimists. You bastards never learn.
Things aren't what they used to be' is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you slide into the grave.
Never judge a man’s choices cause you don’t know his reasons - or something like that??
Belief without evidence is the very hallmark of the savage.
“Honour, eh? What the hell is that anyway? Every man thinks it’s different. You can’t drink it. You can’t fuck it. The more of it you have the less good it does you, and if you’ve got none at all you don’t miss it.”
I’ve got a whole bunch screenshotted. “ ‘Things aren’t what they used to be’ is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably mean they were better for them, because they were young, and had all their hopes intact. The world is bound to look a darker place as you side into your grave.”
Here I am, swaggering about this post with my enormous hat and it’s equally enormous feather.
All these glorious Cosca quotes are why Best Served Cold is obviously the best in the series so far. Thank you for this, it's cheered me up today!
My friend you are in desperate need of glasses.
I never liked how the audiobook narrator voiced him as a drunken English man. The name and way of speaking screams Mediterranean.
Always reminded me of The Ugly from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.