The Pillars of the Earth quotes

Lord Stephen

There's Gloucester.

The king's bastard? He will never inherit.

Lord Stephen

There's the king's legitimate daughter, Maud.

A child. And female.

Lord Stephen

Then, I suppose, there's me. But I'm only the king's nephew.

And... grandson of William the Conqueror. This shipwreck puts you in direct line to the throne, my good Stephen, which we will support when the time comes. Since, unlike the king, you hold the Church in high esteem.

There are whispers. The shipwreck was quite convenient.

Waleran

Rumours born of jealousy, Your Eminence. What happened was ordained by God. It's to the Church's benefit that no one survived.

Lord Stephen

The grandson of William the Conqueror takes precedence over a bastard.

The king's bastard, whom he loves as much as the son who drowned. How fortunate you weren't on that ship, Stephen.

Lord Stephen

[Unsheathes his sword] I have no pretensions to the throne.

[Unsheathes his sword] Ah, but the Church behind you does.

And with you and the Pope in power, think how the people will suffer!

Maud, supported by Gloucester and Earl Bartholomew, is secretly raising an army against Stephen to regain the throne. Stephen must know of their treachery. But if word came from me, Gloucester would have me hanged.

You're asking me to do this? I'd never get an audience.

Your bishop would. If Maud wins, the Church will be the loser. Politically, we must back Stephen.

But I don't believe in politics, Francis. I believe in the will of God.

It's the Church's will, Philip. Second to God, remember?

Waleran

So becoming Prior of Kingsbridge would satisfy your ambition? Well, be direct, Philip. As the bishop's representative I can sway the election. If that's what you want from me, say so.

[Chuckles] Yes.

Waleran

Good, good. But politics is a bargain between beggars. When the bishop dies here, the monks here elect the new one.

So if you make me prior, I, when the time comes, make you bishop?

It's gone, smashed. We're finished. You can't rebuild a cathedral without its relic.

A skull's a skull, Philip. We don't even know it was his.

What about the miracles?

I've been praying to that skull for years to save my poor sister from the street. Useless!

It does take belief, too.

Yes, but what if people believe another skull is his? One from the ossuary. There's thousands. And who's to say the monk whose head we choose isn't a saint?

Because that would be a lie!

Not a lie, a... a leavening, a means to an end. And the end is God's glory.

What makes you think there'll even be a new church?

Tom Builder

Because I will build it. You house us, you feed us and I will defer payment. This may be the Devil's work, but it was God that sent you a master builder.

Tom Builder

I want you to make a statue of St. Adolphus.

Jack

Me? I've never worked in stone.

Tom Builder

That's not true. I saw the carvings you did in the cave. I think you'll manage.

Jack

I wouldn't know where to start.

Tom Builder

Take your time. Experiment. Listen.

Jack

To what?

Tom Builder

To the stone.

Waleran

You really want to rebuild your church, huh?

Yes, Father, I do. The cathedral is God's shadow over history, Father. We... we live in a world that is striving for order, which is art, which is learning, which is people creating something that will bring God's heart into their community, that will survive wars and famine, that will survive history.

Waleran

I thought I was ambitious.

My freedom is not for sale.

King Stephen

My loyal subject, Percy Hamleigh, is the Earl of Shiring. He shall have the castle and all arable lands and low-lying pastures. All other farmlands, I give to... the Priory of Kingsbridge for the building of the new cathedral.

And the quarry?

King Stephen

Goes to the Hamleighs. But you may take what stones you need.

[Surprised that the terms he agreed on with Regan Hamleigh are altered] But... but that's not...

King Stephen

Enough. My decision stands.

King Stephen

We are pleased to announce that with the events of this day, all opposition to our rightful rule is extinguished. Maud and Gloucester's army has been put to flight and there are now only loyal men in England!

I didn't know they were defeated. Is this recent?

Regan Hamleigh

He tells the peasants what they need to hear.

I won't fight for Stephen. He's our father's worst enemy!

Aliena

And the only man who can give you back your title.

I won't ride into battle alongside William and his henchmen! I'll kill them first!

Aliena

It's easier to kill someone if you're standing beside them rather than against them. Look at me, Richard. Our enemies have made us strong.

Remigius

He should be using skilled labor, not monks stolen from prayer.

Work is prayer, Brother. In the meantime, I am going to Winchester Market to sell the fleece from our flock. This will bring in money which will allow us to hire workers. Tom is going to Shiring quarry to make arrangements for harvesting the stone. This will serve as our true beginning and our schedule shall be counted from then. Anything else?

Remigius

Forgive me. I was expressing...

You were expressing your own prideful ignorance.

Waleran

God is on your side.

King Stephen

Then why hasn't He put Maud and her bastard brother down? They're approaching Lincoln now. If they take that city, they'll effectively cut my kingdom in half. Why does God continually turn His back upon my cause?

Waleran

I cannot answer for God, but perhaps it is not you who displeases Him. There are others in your kingdom.

King Stephen

Others? Name them.

Waleran

There is a prior in Kingsbridge. You met him once.