A Memorable Quote: Twenty Years After

This prompt is hosted at November'sAutumn. The idea is to share a memorable quote that you find in a book that you are reading, or in my case, the last book that you have finished reading. The last book that I finished is Dumas' Twenty Years After, as you can see from my recent posts.

I'd like to share my favourite quote of the book, which comes from my favourite chapter of the novel and spoken by my favourite character among the Musketeers.

The air is tense, and two of his friends are quarelling, each states that he is right and the other is wrong. Among the four of them, two has drawn their swords, and one is ready to draw any time he needs to defend himself. If they fight, their friendship will be lost forever.

Athos stands, unsheathes his sword, and breaks it. Then he says these lines:

"Never!" exclaimed Athos, raising his right hand to Heaven, "never! I swear before God, who seeth us, and who, in the darkness of this night heareth us, never shall my sword cross yours, never my eye express a glance of anger, nor my heart a throb of hatred, at you. We lived together, we loved, we hated together; we shed, we mingled our blood together, and too probably, I may still add, that there may be yet a bond between us closer even than that of friendship... 

D'Artagnan, I have always loved you as my son; Porthos, we slept six years side by side; Aramis is your brother as well as mine, and Aramis has once loved you, as I love you now and as I have ever loved you. What can Cardinal Mazarin be to us, to four men who compelled such a man as Richelieu to act as we pleased? What is such or such a prince to us, who fixed the diadem upon a great queen's head? 

D'Artagnan, I ask your pardon for having yesterday crossed swords with you; Aramis does the same to Porthos; now hate me if you can; but for my own part, I shall ever, even if you do hate me, retain esteem and friendship for you."

Athos always speaks with such intensity and tranquility that cools his friends down. These words save them all from what might be an 'unevitable fight among ex-friends'. Certainly a quote I will remember.