Sharpe Quotes
Sharpe: Do you have such a thing as an officer of the day?
Carline: Of course!
Sharpe: Who is it?
Carline: Actually, me!
Sharpe: Actually, you?
Carline: Yes! Captain Carline! And you are?
Sharpe: I am Major Richard Sharpe. [Carline is surprised] South Essex. You've heard of me.
Carline: Uh... yes. You... you took the French Eagle at Talavera, sir.
Sharpe: But you haven't heard of a guard detail?
Carline: Sir?
Sharpe: Why wasn't there a guard on the gates?
Carline: Um... I don't know, sir.
Sharpe: You don't know? You're officer of the day! No guard mounted! What are you doing when you're not playing blind man's buff, dancing pomps?
Carline: Of course!
Sharpe: Who is it?
Carline: Actually, me!
Sharpe: Actually, you?
Carline: Yes! Captain Carline! And you are?
Sharpe: I am Major Richard Sharpe. [Carline is surprised] South Essex. You've heard of me.
Carline: Uh... yes. You... you took the French Eagle at Talavera, sir.
Sharpe: But you haven't heard of a guard detail?
Carline: Sir?
Sharpe: Why wasn't there a guard on the gates?
Carline: Um... I don't know, sir.
Sharpe: You don't know? You're officer of the day! No guard mounted! What are you doing when you're not playing blind man's buff, dancing pomps?
TV Show: Sharpe
Harper: Sir, he's got the...
[whispers 'pox' in Sharpe's ear]
Sharpe: Pox! What are you whispering for Harper? I think I've seen plenty of pox in my time!
[whispers 'pox' in Sharpe's ear]
Sharpe: Pox! What are you whispering for Harper? I think I've seen plenty of pox in my time!
TV Show: Sharpe
[after Sharpe has demanded that Colonel Bampfylde act civilly]
Bampfylde: [to Jane] Evening, ma'am. I'm sorry to see you in such company. Sir, as I seem to have given you some offence, I shall be happy to give you satisfaction.
Sharpe: Satisfaction? What does that mean?
Bampfylde: It means I am calling you out, sir. A duel.
Sharpe: Don't be a damn fool, sir. If Wellington catches you duelling, you'll be on the next ship back to England.
Bampfylde: Wellington has his code, I have mine. [Sharpe chuckles] What does it take to make you fight me? Perhaps a glass of wine in the face? Harmer, will you act as my second?
[Harmer and Captain Frederickson join them]
Harmer: Sir. What is your opponent's name?
Frederickson: Sharpe. Of the 95th Rifles. Favoured of the Prince of Wales.
Harmer: Is that the same Sharpe who shot three Dragoons while saving Wellington's life? The same Sharpe who took the Eagle at Talavera?
[Frederickson nods. Bampfylde is nervous. There is a long silence.]
de Maquerre: May I intercede? Colonel Bampfylde is new in Spain. Field Marshall Wellington's views on duelling are very strict.
Bampfylde: Absolutely. Major Sharpe, may I apologise for any offence I have caused you and the Lady?
[Sharpe doesn't answer]
de Maquerre: Doesn't do to duel with your new commanding officer.
Sharpe: Apology accepted. Sir.
Bampfylde: [to Jane] Evening, ma'am. I'm sorry to see you in such company. Sir, as I seem to have given you some offence, I shall be happy to give you satisfaction.
Sharpe: Satisfaction? What does that mean?
Bampfylde: It means I am calling you out, sir. A duel.
Sharpe: Don't be a damn fool, sir. If Wellington catches you duelling, you'll be on the next ship back to England.
Bampfylde: Wellington has his code, I have mine. [Sharpe chuckles] What does it take to make you fight me? Perhaps a glass of wine in the face? Harmer, will you act as my second?
[Harmer and Captain Frederickson join them]
Harmer: Sir. What is your opponent's name?
Frederickson: Sharpe. Of the 95th Rifles. Favoured of the Prince of Wales.
Harmer: Is that the same Sharpe who shot three Dragoons while saving Wellington's life? The same Sharpe who took the Eagle at Talavera?
[Frederickson nods. Bampfylde is nervous. There is a long silence.]
de Maquerre: May I intercede? Colonel Bampfylde is new in Spain. Field Marshall Wellington's views on duelling are very strict.
Bampfylde: Absolutely. Major Sharpe, may I apologise for any offence I have caused you and the Lady?
[Sharpe doesn't answer]
de Maquerre: Doesn't do to duel with your new commanding officer.
Sharpe: Apology accepted. Sir.
TV Show: Sharpe
Ross: From what I hear, sometimes he is outside the law.
Sharpe: Maybe he uses rough methods, but he gets results. So do you.
Ross: Maybe I do, but I don't take pleasure in it.
Sharpe: You're a damn liar.
Sharpe: Maybe he uses rough methods, but he gets results. So do you.
Ross: Maybe I do, but I don't take pleasure in it.
Sharpe: You're a damn liar.
TV Show: Sharpe
[Harris is confined to camp pending a murder inquiry]
Sharpe: Harris, until this matter is resolved, you're my responsibility. Now while I'm on this mission, you will act as manservant to my wife.
Harris: You're letting a suspected murderer look after your wife, sir?
Sharpe: Harris, I'm posting you to my household as I would post you to a position on a battlefield.
Harris: [saluting and smiling] Yes, sir!
Sharpe: Harris, until this matter is resolved, you're my responsibility. Now while I'm on this mission, you will act as manservant to my wife.
Harris: You're letting a suspected murderer look after your wife, sir?
Sharpe: Harris, I'm posting you to my household as I would post you to a position on a battlefield.
Harris: [saluting and smiling] Yes, sir!
TV Show: Sharpe
[Jane and Harris are discussing Sharpe]
Jane: Why would you follow him to the death?
Harris: Loyalty! We're loyal to him and he's loyal to us. In life and in death. We trust him with our lives and he trusts us with his life.
Jane: And with his wife. He trusts you with his wife.
Jane: Why would you follow him to the death?
Harris: Loyalty! We're loyal to him and he's loyal to us. In life and in death. We trust him with our lives and he trusts us with his life.
Jane: And with his wife. He trusts you with his wife.
TV Show: Sharpe
Jane: I hate the bugle because I hate the army. Because I hate the war.
Sharpe: We all hate the war.
Jane: No you don't, you love it!
Sharpe: I'm a soldier.
Jane: What will you do when you get home, Richard? You'll still be a soldier, but there won't be a war. And if there's no war then you won't be happy. What will you do all day?
Sharpe: Well, what every officer does. What every husband does. Whatever that is...
Jane: I'll tell you what they do, Richard. They ride, they hunt, they gamble, they play cards, they look after their gardens, their dogs, their libraries. They wine and dine and make polite conversation. They cut a figure in society.
Sharpe: We all hate the war.
Jane: No you don't, you love it!
Sharpe: I'm a soldier.
Jane: What will you do when you get home, Richard? You'll still be a soldier, but there won't be a war. And if there's no war then you won't be happy. What will you do all day?
Sharpe: Well, what every officer does. What every husband does. Whatever that is...
Jane: I'll tell you what they do, Richard. They ride, they hunt, they gamble, they play cards, they look after their gardens, their dogs, their libraries. They wine and dine and make polite conversation. They cut a figure in society.
TV Show: Sharpe
[Frederickson is unhappy after he saw Sharpe with Lucille, who he wished to marry. He leaves a discussion between the Riflemen (Frederickson, Sharpe and Harper) and Calvet over the commander of their operation over lunch.]
Calvet: How should I divide the cheese, by merit or by rank? Who gets the biggest piece?
Sharpe: You do.
Calvet: Because I am a General?
Sharpe: No, because I bloody 'ate cheese.
Calvet: How should I divide the cheese, by merit or by rank? Who gets the biggest piece?
Sharpe: You do.
Calvet: Because I am a General?
Sharpe: No, because I bloody 'ate cheese.
TV Show: Sharpe
[Sharpe is trapped inside Ducos' Neapolitan Fortress with General Calvet, Harper, Frederickson and some Imperial Guardsmen and Ducos arrives with the local Cardinal's troops]
Ducos: The war is over, Sharpe; apparently not for you.
Ducos: The war is over, Sharpe; apparently not for you.
TV Show: Sharpe
[Sharpe kicks down Lucille's bedroom door]
Sharpe: Begging your pardon, ma'am. Your door was locked.
Sharpe: Begging your pardon, ma'am. Your door was locked.
TV Show: Sharpe
[In a pub, Sharpe and Harper are being billeted]
Scarsdale Yeomanry Officer: And what do you require?
Harper: Bed, board, breakfast and a bit of respect, you piece of English arse.
Scarsdale Yeomanry Officer: And what do you require?
Harper: Bed, board, breakfast and a bit of respect, you piece of English arse.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: [empties wine bottle into his flagon, shakes it] Bloody hell!
Harper: [sets a new bottle down in front of him]
Sharpe: [stands, grabs Harper by the shoulders] Bloody hell! Patrick! Not you!
Harper: Aye, it's me.
Sharpe: Damn me, ye came! Ye came!
Harper: Aye, I did come, I did.
Sharpe: Sit down, Pat, sit down. Make room for Sergeant-Major Harper.
Harper: [Sits, Harris and Hagman make room for him] Actually, it's just Patrick Harper. Mister Patrick Harper, Horse-master to the gentry.
Sharpe: What, not re-enlisting?
Harper: I am not. The King's had more than his shilling out of me, so he has.
Harper: [sets a new bottle down in front of him]
Sharpe: [stands, grabs Harper by the shoulders] Bloody hell! Patrick! Not you!
Harper: Aye, it's me.
Sharpe: Damn me, ye came! Ye came!
Harper: Aye, I did come, I did.
Sharpe: Sit down, Pat, sit down. Make room for Sergeant-Major Harper.
Harper: [Sits, Harris and Hagman make room for him] Actually, it's just Patrick Harper. Mister Patrick Harper, Horse-master to the gentry.
Sharpe: What, not re-enlisting?
Harper: I am not. The King's had more than his shilling out of me, so he has.
TV Show: Sharpe
Harper: For all these years I've been fighting the French, I've become sick and bloody tired of that shit-music they play.
Sharpe: [laughs]
Harper: I am, so I have!
Sharpe: [laughs]
Harper: I am, so I have!
TV Show: Sharpe
Wellesley: Your Regiment, Sharpe!
Sharpe: Prince of... South Essex! ADVANCE!
[The regiment marches towards the French]
Sharpe: South Essex Charge!
Wellesley: Go on, Sharpe! They won't stand!
Sharpe: Prince of... South Essex! ADVANCE!
[The regiment marches towards the French]
Sharpe: South Essex Charge!
Wellesley: Go on, Sharpe! They won't stand!
TV Show: Sharpe
Davi Lal: That would be stealing, sahib! How am I to be a good British soldier if you make me into a thief again?
Sharpe: It ain't thieving when you're hungry, Davi. First thing any soldier learns.
Sharpe: It ain't thieving when you're hungry, Davi. First thing any soldier learns.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: I thought you were dead, Pat!
Harper: I can't be watching your arse if I'm dead, now can I?
Harper: I can't be watching your arse if I'm dead, now can I?
TV Show: Sharpe
Simmerson: You should be wary of this one, McRae. He thinks because Wellington raised him up from the sewer that it somehow makes him a gentleman. Don't know your place, do you, Sharpie?
Sharpe: Maybe not, but I know how to stand before a French column. I know how to face fire without soiling my breeches and turning tail.
Sharpe: Maybe not, but I know how to stand before a French column. I know how to face fire without soiling my breeches and turning tail.
TV Show: Sharpe
[Sharpe and Harper escape a jail cell and run into Bickerstaff and six Jetti]
Harper: Oh, God almighty. Out of the frying pan...
Sharpe: It's just not our bloody night, Pat.
[The Jetti advance]
Harper: Oh, come on now, lads. Three to one? That's not fair odds, now is it?
Sharpe: Ah, they don't want fair odds though, do they? Eh, Shadrach? It's a bloody contest. Come on, Pat. Come on, let's show these buggers.
Harper: Oh, God almighty. Out of the frying pan...
Sharpe: It's just not our bloody night, Pat.
[The Jetti advance]
Harper: Oh, come on now, lads. Three to one? That's not fair odds, now is it?
Sharpe: Ah, they don't want fair odds though, do they? Eh, Shadrach? It's a bloody contest. Come on, Pat. Come on, let's show these buggers.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: There's me thinking, to want all our blood for something more than making rich men richer.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: What do you reckon then, Pat? This Khande Rao can be taken?
Harper: Well he has a reputation of being a real monster.
Mohan Singh: [comes up from behind a tent] If he is a monster, Mr. Harper, then he's one of British making.
Sharpe: How's that, Captain?
Mohan Singh: The Company have only maintained the peace here, by keeping the princes at each other's throats. Khande Rao's father: he feared his neighbours more than he hated the British. And so it was your country that kept him supplied with arms.
Harper: That sounds just like the English: getting someone else to do its dirty work!
Mohan Singh: The son is not the father, however: Khande Rao wants you out of our country; once and for all. It is a view with which I cannot say I do not have some sympathy.
Sharpe: So why are you fighting with us?
Mohan Singh: Khande Rao is... a sworn enemy of my blood. And that makes you my enemy's enemy, and therefore, a necessary evil. Good day to you both.
[He leaves]
Harper: I don't think I like the sound of that. A necessary evil...
Sharpe: Were we ever been else?
Harper: Oh. And there was me thinking we were always on the side of the angels.
Harper: Well he has a reputation of being a real monster.
Mohan Singh: [comes up from behind a tent] If he is a monster, Mr. Harper, then he's one of British making.
Sharpe: How's that, Captain?
Mohan Singh: The Company have only maintained the peace here, by keeping the princes at each other's throats. Khande Rao's father: he feared his neighbours more than he hated the British. And so it was your country that kept him supplied with arms.
Harper: That sounds just like the English: getting someone else to do its dirty work!
Mohan Singh: The son is not the father, however: Khande Rao wants you out of our country; once and for all. It is a view with which I cannot say I do not have some sympathy.
Sharpe: So why are you fighting with us?
Mohan Singh: Khande Rao is... a sworn enemy of my blood. And that makes you my enemy's enemy, and therefore, a necessary evil. Good day to you both.
[He leaves]
Harper: I don't think I like the sound of that. A necessary evil...
Sharpe: Were we ever been else?
Harper: Oh. And there was me thinking we were always on the side of the angels.
TV Show: Sharpe
Simmerson: Sharpe! I see time has done nothing to improve a want of etiquette in you. Still the same, whore-mongering, gutter trash of memory!
Sharpe: Aye, and you're still the same cruel, flogging bastard!
Simmerson: Cruel, sir? I calls it discipline! Sepoys they may be. But this is a Christian army and I will see things done the Christian way!
Harper: [Sarcastically] Oh, ay, there's no doubt about that.
Sharpe: Aye, and you're still the same cruel, flogging bastard!
Simmerson: Cruel, sir? I calls it discipline! Sepoys they may be. But this is a Christian army and I will see things done the Christian way!
Harper: [Sarcastically] Oh, ay, there's no doubt about that.
TV Show: Sharpe
[At the scene of a massacre]
Mohan Singh: Where are you going?
Sharpe: After the bastards that did this, where do you think?
Mohan Singh: Where are you going?
Sharpe: After the bastards that did this, where do you think?
TV Show: Sharpe
Harper: So, you and me are going to stop a rebellion?
Sharpe: Well I don't see no bugger else.
Sharpe: Well I don't see no bugger else.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: I am no longer in the service of His Majesty. My business in India concluded, I am for Calcutta and England.
East India Company Officer: But perhaps then, might at least you be prevailed upon to perform one last duty? In which, I assure you, there is no peril to yourself.
East India Company Officer: But perhaps then, might at least you be prevailed upon to perform one last duty? In which, I assure you, there is no peril to yourself.
TV Show: Sharpe
Marie-Angelique: You mean to leave me here, in the company of common soldiers?
Sharpe: Good practice, I'd have thought. You're set to marry one, aren't you?
Marie-Angelique: Major Joubert is a gentleman.
Sharpe: Good practice, I'd have thought. You're set to marry one, aren't you?
Marie-Angelique: Major Joubert is a gentleman.
TV Show: Sharpe
Sharpe: God knows, I didn't look for this duty. But for better or worse, I'm responsible for your safety.
Marie-Angelique: Unhand me! You are rude, sir. You are rude, and ignorant, and an uncouth brute!
Sharpe: And you, madam, are a spoiled, wilful, petulant and selfish young fool!
Marie-Angelique: Unhand me! You are rude, sir. You are rude, and ignorant, and an uncouth brute!
Sharpe: And you, madam, are a spoiled, wilful, petulant and selfish young fool!
TV Show: Sharpe