“Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy is a dark and powerful novel set in the American Southwest during the mid-19th century. It follows the journey of a teenage runaway known only as “the Kid” as he joins a ruthless gang of scalp hunters led by the enigmatic and violent Judge Holden. Filled with vivid descriptions, philosophical musings, and brutal violence, “Blood Meridian” is a haunting exploration of the darkest aspects of human nature and the American frontier. Here are 50 quotes from this gripping novel:
1. “Whatever exists, he said. Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.”
2. “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”
3. “In the dawn there is a man progressing over the plain by means of holes which he is making in the ground.”
4. “It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here.”
5. “The judge smiled. He took up his book. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence.”
6. “The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible.”
7. “This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination.”
8. “There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.”
9. “In the neuter austerity of that terrain all phenomena were bequeathed a strange equality and no one thing nor spider nor stone nor blade of grass could put forth claim to precedence.”
10. “The way of the world is to bloom and to flower and die but in the affairs of men there is no waning and the noon of his expression signals the onset of night.”
11. “The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear.”
12. “The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I’d have them all in zoos.”
13. “Every man’s a Toscanini and what’s more a Toscanini conducting one of those pieces where the time is all out.”
14. “The tree of lightning flashed across the sky, branched upon the spines of the hills, and nightlong storms fell in violent rain.”
15. “Your heart’s desire is to be told some mystery. The mystery is that there is no mystery.”
16. “War endures. War never changes. There is no war.”
17. “The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible.”
18. “He is a member of a species that has put immense value on a particular set of words.”
19. “The world has no name, he said. The names of the cerros and the sierras and the deserts exist only on maps. We name them that we do not lose our way. Yet it was because the way was lost to us already that we have made those names. The world cannot be lost. We are the ones. And it is because these names and these coordinates are our own naming that they cannot save us. They cannot find for us the way again.”
20. “It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.”
21. “The world is a millstone and it grinds us down.”
22. “They looked at him and saw nothing there.”
23. “When there is no law, there is no opportunity to transgress it.”
24. “His hands were hard and chafed and he could see the blood of them move up out of the small cracks in the skin and again he saw the fingers and felt them like insects running over his face.”
25. “They rode on and the sun in the east flushed pale streaks of light and then a deeper run of color like blood seeping up in sudden reaches flaring planewise and where the earth drained up into the sky at the edge of creation the top of the sun rose out of nothing like the head of a great red phallus until it cleared the unseen rim and sat squat and pulsing and malevolent behind them.”
26. “The judge smiled. He took up his book. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god.”
27. “He said that war was a bid for sanity and that it was only when the bid failed that force could be brought to bear. And that only then was force a reflection of sanity.”
28. “The weakest were always brought to heel by the strongest.”
29. “Only that man who has offered up himself entire to the blood of war, who has been to the floor of the pit and seen horror in the round and learned at last that it speaks to his inmost heart, only that man can dance.”
30. “You go somewhere you don’t know where and then you do something and you go somwhere else and you do something else and you go somewhere else again and you do something else again and so on and you leave something behind everywhere you go.”
31. “In the great world war which now convulses the earth a sucking whirlpool of destruction men flung to death from the churning of great engines or by fire from the heavens above or other men at distances of a mile or more were seen to float on the surface of the water looking up into the faces of those who stood upon the shore and for the first time in the history of the world they were seen to smile.”
32. “A dead man’s brains are the whitest substance in the world.”
33. “In the evening they came over a rise and within a little time saw the lights of the city laid out across the desert plain. They rode on toward it.”
34. “They are men and all men are drawn to the fire like moths.”
35. “A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he don’t want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there.”
36. “In the end we are nothing more or less than what we make of ourselves.”
37. “This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination.”
38. “The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I’d have them all in zoos.”
39. “The truths that we do not regard as mysteries we can never know.”
40. “Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.”
41. “There’s a flawed place in the fabric of your heart. Do you think I could not know?”
42. “Men’s memories are uncertain and the past that was differs little from the past that was not.”
43. “He moves higher and he’s cold. A haggard, kneebone’d man dismounts at the door of a stone hermitage and knocks for admission and does not know whether or not it is inhabited.”
44. “For the judge has claimed him as kin.”
45. “The horse stood dark and gleaming.”
46. “The only way to be truly independent is to be truly alone.”
47. “The good book says that he that lives by the sword shall perish by the sword, said the judge.”
48. “The judge held up the book and said that within its pages was the diabolic intellect of all mankind. That all thought was already a part of the world when it was formed and every human thought was but a repetition of what was before.”
49. “He was like a great ponderous toy made of tin that stood upon a shelf and only did what he was put in motion to do.”
50. “There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.”
Violent Quotes From Blood Meridian
1. “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
2. “The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I’d have them all in zoos.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
3. “The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
4. “He moves higher and he’s cold. A haggard, kneebone’d man dismounts at the door of a stone hermitage and knocks for admission and does not know whether or not it is inhabited.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
5. “In the great world war which now convulses the earth a sucking whirlpool of destruction men flung to death from the churning of great engines or by fire from the heavens above or other men at distances of a mile or more were seen to float on the surface of the water looking up into the faces of those who stood upon the shore and for the first time in the history of the world they were seen to smile.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
6. “A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he don’t want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
7. “There’s a flawed place in the fabric of your heart. Do you think I could not know?” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
8. “The good book says that he that lives by the sword shall perish by the sword, said the judge.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
9. “He was like a great ponderous toy made of tin that stood upon a shelf and only did what he was put in motion to do.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
10. “The judge held up the book and said that within its pages was the diabolic intellect of all mankind. That all thought was already a part of the world when it was formed and every human thought was but a repetition of what was before.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
Judge Holden’s Quotes From Blood Meridian
1. “Whatever exists, he said. Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” – Judge Holden
2. “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” – Judge Holden
3. “The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible.” – Judge Holden
4. “War endures. War never changes. There is no war.” – Judge Holden
5. “The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I’d have them all in zoos.” – Judge Holden
6. “He is a member of a species that has put immense value on a particular set of words.” – Judge Holden
7. “The world is a millstone and it grinds us down.” – Judge Holden
8. “They looked at him and saw nothing there.” – Judge Holden
9. “He said that war was a bid for sanity and that it was only when the bid failed that force could be brought to bear. And that only then was force a reflection of sanity.” – Judge Holden
10. “The judge smiled. He took up his book. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god.” – Judge Holden
War Quotes From Blood Meridian
1. “Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
2. “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
3. “In the great world war which now convulses the earth… men flung to death… were seen to float on the surface of the water looking up into the faces of those who stood upon the shore and for the first time in the history of the world they were seen to smile.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
4. “In the end we are nothing more or less than what we make of ourselves.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
5. “This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
6. “The good book says that he that lives by the sword shall perish by the sword.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
7. “War endures. War never changes.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
8. “The truth about the world… is that anything is possible.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
9. “The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
10. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to make a difference.” – Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
