--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They say that nothing can stand against…" description: "\"“They say that nothing can stand against such a man, for the one gun – that marked Mutiny – deals instant death, but the other – the one marked Matelot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/hal-duncan-11149_death_they-say-that-nothing-can-stand-against_843981.png" --- # They say that nothing can stand against such a man, for… ![“They say that nothing can stand against such a man, for the one gun – that marked Mutiny – deals instant death, but the other – the one marked Matelotage – deals instant love, like the very darts of Eros. And who, I ask ye, who can stand up to love?” quote by Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/hal-duncan-11149_death_they-say-that-nothing-can-stand-against_843981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/hal-duncan-11149_death_they-say-that-nothing-can-stand-against_843981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/hal-duncan-11149_death_they-say-that-nothing-can-stand-against_843981.png) > ““They say that nothing can stand against such a man, for the one gun – that marked Mutiny – deals instant death, but the other – the one marked Matelotage – deals instant love, like the very darts of Eros. And who, I ask ye, who can stand up to love?”” [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts two powerful forces—death and love—suggesting love is an unstoppable, overwhelming force that can conquer even the strongest opposition. **In simple terms:** Love is an unstoppable power that can defeat any resistance. Key Takeaway Recognize love’s profound influence. Themes love power conflict human nature Mood passionate reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political struggles - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy emotional dynamics mythology Questions to Reflect On - How does love empower or constrain individuals? - Can love truly overcome all obstacles? A Different Perspective Love may be idealized, overlooking its complexities and potential harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darts Eros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darts-eros-674657/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Eros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eros/) [Gun Marked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-marked-674660/) [Instant Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant-love-411092/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marked Mutiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marked-mutiny-674658/) [Stand Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-love-674659/) ## Related quotes > [“And she was funny and beautiful and she liked the same books, the same music, and she wanted everything I did, was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/and-she-was-funny-and-beautiful-and-she-liked-the-same-books-the-same/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [“It was as if she saw him in a whole new way, as if he had magically been transformed into a new person. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-as-if-she-saw-him-in-a-whole-new-way-as-if-he-had-magically/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [“On the positive side, you are “in love” with your partner. This is at first a deeply satisfying state. You feel intensely alive. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [It all comes down to who is by your side and who is willing to stand up for love even when it seems impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-all-comes-down-to-who-is-by-your-side-and-who-is-willing-to-stand/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“All the beaches of the world, could never amount to, nor implore the one grain of sand that I stand on, which is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/all-the-beaches-of-the-world-could-never-amount-to-nor-implore-the/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“Do not be a "go along, get along" person when it comes to the suffering of others. Integrity is not a popularity contest. 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I can't stand how much I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-t-stand-how-much-i-love-you-boy-i-can-t-stand-how-much-i-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Stand in love don't fall in it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashaad-lee/stand-in-love-don-t-fall-in-it/) [Rashaad Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashaad-lee/) > [Stand-up will always be my first love, and it has been the primary way I've expressed myself since I was 17.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/stand-up-will-always-be-my-first-love-and-it-has-been-the-primary-way/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [“Love only yourself a little bit longer, until you can't stand not to love someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/love-only-yourself-a-little-bit-longer-until-you-can-t-stand-not-to/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [I was not born to fit in, I am born to stand out. How can you love someone if you don't love yourself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apple-homecillo/i-was-not-born-to-fit-in-i-am-born-to-stand-out-how-can-you-love/) [Apple Homecillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apple-homecillo/) ## More by Hal Duncan > [“Welcome to Erehwyna!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/welcome-to-erehwyna/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Susurrus whispers through the grass and gorse, godling of the Martian wind, gene-spliced tyke of Zephyros and Ares. His story needs no Ovid, tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/susurrus-whispers-through-the-grass-and-gorse-godling-of-the-martian/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“But the bigots always see those whom they hate as morally corrupt, as if they confuse their own aesthetics of disgust and fear with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/but-the-bigots-always-see-those-whom-they-hate-as-morally-corrupt-as/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Susurrus is a different kind of flirt though, fickle as a godling of wind can only be but light and warm as one father,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/susurrus-is-a-different-kind-of-flirt-though-fickle-as-a-godling-of/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Where names of people or places would mean little to a contemporary reader, I figured "translation errors" could create interesting new meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/where-names-of-people-or-places-would-mean-little-to-a-contemporary/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“One can revise the rules, shift the goal posts, but to do so is just to conjure a chimera and mask it as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/one-can-revise-the-rules-shift-the-goal-posts-but-to-do-so-is-just-to/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [I'm sort of exploring where pacifism and socialism come into conflict. 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All’s they’ve done is heard our tales and passed em along in a game of Chinese Whispers, getting em…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/cause-what-do-groanhuffs-know-all-s-they-ve-done-is-heard-our-tales/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [The conflict between pacifism and socialism ultimately reflects a greater quandary of how one engages with such a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/the-conflict-between-pacifism-and-socialism-ultimately-reflects-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“I kissed the boys and made them cry ... in ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-kissed-the-boys-and-made-them-cry-in-ecstasy/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“For many readers, writers, editors and agents ... pretty much the working (in)definition: SF is short for So Fuck? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/for-many-readers-writers-editors-and-agents-pretty-much-the-working/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Homophobia's just one form of abjection, and wherever you have a marker of deviance - skin colour, gender, gender identity, disability - you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/homophobia-s-just-one-form-of-abjection-and-wherever-you-have-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Losing maturity in one’s fiction for the sake of marvels and monsters can also mean losing propriety, and that’s not always a bad thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/losing-maturity-in-one-s-fiction-for-the-sake-of-marvels-and-monsters/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“But functional was not an aesthetic criterion that Flashjack, as a faery, had terribly high on his list of priorities; it was well below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/but-functional-was-not-an-aesthetic-criterion-that-flashjack-as-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) [Explore all 61 Hal Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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