47 quotes
Embarrassment was worth escaping suspicion.
The Way of Kings (2010)
“I didn’t say Tvlakv isn’t a bastard. He’s just a likable bastard.” He hesitated, then grimaced. “Those are the worst kind. When you kill them, you end up feeling guilty for it.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
A layer of skin, a layer of fat, a layer of muscle, a layer of bone. That was what men were.
The Way of Kings (2010)
But expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you help them, the more likely they were to crack.
The Way of Kings (2010)
If we had to rely on what we knew, kings would only be of use in creating laws regarding the proper heating of tea and cushioning of thrones.
The Way of Kings (2010)
Kabsal sighed. “Brightness Jasnah, I realize that you are not fond of me. But I am working very hard to be pleasant. Could you at least pretend to do likewise?”
The Way of Kings (2010)
“The purpose of youth is to experience variety while it is still interesting.” She glanced at Dalinar. “It isn’t until we get older that we should be forced to be boring.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
Death comes, they whispered. Death comes to all. But life comes first. Cherish it.
Death is the destination. But the journey, that is life. That is what matters.
The Way of Kings (2010)
“There you go again.”
“What?”
“Feeling guilty. Dalinar, you are a wonderful, honorable man—but you really are quite prone to self-indulgence.”
Guilt? As self-indulgence? “I never considered it that way before.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
I shouldn’t be so hard on our neighbors. They’re petty, yes, but it’s the pettiness of the ignorant. I’m not disgusted by them. I’m disgusted by the one who manipulates them.
The Way of Kings (2010)
“Brightness…I believe you stray into sarcasm.”
“Funny. I thought I’d run straight into it, screaming at the top of my lungs.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
Your feelings, Shallan--however powerful—are your own. Not mine. And what I feel is that spending my life trying to earn the favor of an unseen, unknown, and unknowable being who watches me from the sky is an exercise in sheer futility.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
“I thought you were a believer.”
“I am. But just because I honor the Almighty doesn’t mean I’m going to accept any explanation, Kabsal. It might be religion, but it still has to make sense.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
“Men in power always pretend things like virtue, or divine guidance, some kind of mandate to ‘protect’ the rest of us. If we believe that the Almighty put them were they are, it’s easier for us to swallow what they do to us.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
Iriali were very particular about their chastity laws. They were very particular about a lot of things. Of course, that could be said for most peoples—the only difference were the things they were particular about.
The Way of Kings (2010)
Yes, I could have traveled quickly. But all men have been the same ultimate destination. Whether we find our end in a hallowed sepulcher or a pauper’s ditch, all save the Heralds themselves must dine with the Nightwatcher.
The Way of Kings (2010)
“Then I guess the story is a lie”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, I said it. Fortunately, it’s the best kind of lie.”
“And what kind is that?”
“Why, the kind I tell, of course.”
The Way of Kings (2010)
I have spent too much of my time worrying about what people think, Navani. When I thought my time had arrived, I realized that all my worrying had been wasted. In the end, I was pleased with how I had lived my life.
The Way of Kings (2010)
Art was about creation. That was its soul, its essence. Creation and order. You took something disorganized—a splash of ink, an empty page—and you built something from it. Something from nothing. The soul of creation.
The Way of Kings (2010)
Men were not in command of their own religious paths; the priests control the doctrine, and few members of the Church were allowed to know theology. They were taught to follow the priests. Not the Almighty or the Heralds, but the priests.
The Way of Kings (2010)