And there were more trust me but I finally narrowed it down to 7. As y’all know I’m a huge of Conan the Barbarian and will certainly be reading for a bedtime story to my sons. While many men see fiction as something that is lesser than nonfiction this isn’t always the case and many times good fiction can be more powerful (in the real world) than good nonfiction. The Conan stories are ones that every man should read. Howard used the Conan stories and the character of Conan to not just entertain but also express his view of the world and the ethos he saw to emulate in his Conan tales. This is already going to be a long essay so we’ll go ahead and get started.
Robert E. Howard Quote #1 – Not All Men
“But not all men seek rest and peace; some are born with the spirit of the storm in their blood.”
I think I had this as one of the weekly roundup quotes at one point or another. This is one of my favorite quotes and has many great lessons contained within it. Here Howard is talking about how not all men are born the same. Not all seek comfort above all else there are those that seek challenge and glory, as he says those that have the spirit of the storm in their blood. I’m guessing if you’re reading this site and not horrified but you’ve read then you have this spirit of the storm within you.
Robert E. Howard Quote #2 – Live Deep
“Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat & stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame crimson, and I am content.”
Here we have Conan talking on what the purpose of life is. Not to drive oneself mad with impossible philosophical questions or meaningless intellectual abstractions but instead to drink deeply from the life that is before us. As he says the juices of red meat, embrace of women, and exultation of battle. With that and that alone he is content. Live your life, breathe deeply, and do not go insane trying to comprehend that which ultimately doesn’t matter.
Robert E. Howard Quote #3 – Crom
“Their chief is Crom. He dwells on a great mountain. What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man’s soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?”
I think Howard had a more accurate view of God/the gods than either modern Christians or heathens. God gave us the gift of spirit, fight, thumos, and pride. These were to bring us through this world and into the next. They were our weapons we’d use to forge ourselves into mighty men. The gods do not care about us and if we wish to do something in this world we must take it with our own two hands. If anything the gods will try thwart and destroy us and then laugh if we allow them to crush us. We must strive, fight, and defy the gods.
Robert E. Howard Quote #4 – The Machine Age
“I think the real reason so many youngsters are clamoring for freedom of some vague sort, is because of unrest and dissatisfaction with present conditions; I don’t believe this machine age gives full satisfaction in a spiritual way, if the term may be allowed. ”
This is a direct quote from Howard as opposed to something he said through one of his characters. Even back in the 20’s Howard saw that the modern world had something rotten with it and did not offer men what they needed. Even then the machine age and modernity sought to crush the spirit of men. It has only become stronger and more perfected in its evil from that time. We must live against it and outside of it in any way that we can.
Robert E. Howard Quote #5 – Oppression & Hardship
“It takes oppression and hardship to stiffen men’s guts and put the fire of hell into their thews.”
Comfort is the enemy and forever the bane of masculinity and strength. A man to be all that he can be must pass through fires that rage hotter and hotter becoming stronger steel with every pass through. As soon as this stops a man will begin to rust and regress. Men need hardship and oppression they must struggle, fight, and either win or die valiantly.
Robert E. Howard Quote #6 – The Barbarians
“When a nation forgets her skill in war, when her religion becomes a mockery, when the whole nation becomes a nation of money-grabbers, then the wild tribes, the barbarians drive in… Who will our invaders be? From whence will they come?”
Howard saw the cycles of civilization and the reality of the straights we were headed into. When men stop training for warfare and the old gods are replaced with diluted and demonic mockeries and capital is the ultimate goal of all man we end up…exactly where we are. Now the only question is which barbarians will cleanse the world? The ones of our tribe or the ones of the tribe of another?
Robert E. Howard Quote #7 – Courage
“For man’s only weapon is courage that flinches not from the gates of Hell itself, and against such not even the legions of hell can stand”
Robert E. Howard Bonus Quotes – Civilization
“The more I see of what you call civilization, the more highly I think of what you call savagery!”
“Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is the whim of circumstance. And barbarism will ultimately triumph”
“What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft, and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadsword swings; Rush in and die, dogs – I was a man before I was a king”
That last one paints a pretty picture doesn’t it? They (the lies and ways of the modern world) fail when the broadsword (force) swings. Howard had a dim view of civilization and while there are many modern conveniences that have undoubtedly improved lives there is also a cancerous malaise that has destroyed the soul. As the Bronze Age Pervert said civilization is very dysgenic thing and often a result of too many beta males being allowed to breed (which destroys the integrity of a species/race/tribe).
Men, tribes, and species need barbarism to come clean out the rottenness of civilization from time to time. Like how fire burns away what is base. As Howard says barbarism is natural, healthy, and true state of mankind. This isn’t to say technology or all civilization in and of itself is evil, simply that we have a problem with the modern world and it’s modern manifestations. Like I’ve mentioned before what’s the point of finding a way to fly to the moon if you can’t rip out the still beating heart of your enemy with a smile on your face?
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.
-Charles Sledge
