"Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three)

"Child, child, do you not see? For each of us comes a time when we must be more than what we are."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Castle of Llyr)

"Neither refuse to give help when it is needed,... nor refuse to accept it when it is offered."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three)

"'Evil conquered?' said Gwydion. 'You have learned much, but learn this last and hardest of lessons. You have conquered only the enchantments of evil. That was the easiest of your tasks, only a beginning, not an ending. Do you believe evil itself to be so quickly overcome? Not so long as men still hate and slay each other, when greed and anger goad them. Against these even a flaming sword cannot prevail, but only that portion of good in all men's hearts whose flame can never be quenched.'"
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"Long ago I yearned to be a hero without knowing, in truth, what a hero was. Now, perhaps, I understand it a little better. A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Commot farmer or a king--every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone.
Once you told me that the seeking counts more than the finding. So, too, must the striving count more than the gain."
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"For each of us comes a time when we must be more than what we are."
— Lloyd Alexander

"Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron)

"Life's a forge -

Yes, and hammer and anvil, too. You'll
be roasted, smelted, and pounded, and
you'll scarce know what's happening to
you. But stand proudly to it. Metal's
worthless till it is shaped and
tempered. More labor than luck. Face
the pounding, don't fear the proving;
and you'll stand well against any
hammer and anvil."
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"What seems to be love beyond any question is usually a simple case of indegestion."
— Lloyd Alexander

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself."
— Lloyd Alexander

"In some cases...we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself."
— Lloyd Alexander

"...alas, raising a young lady is a mystery even beyond an enchanter's skill."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Castle of Llyr)

"'By all means,' cried the bard, his eyes lighting up. 'A Fflam to the rescue! Storm the castle! Carry it by assault! Batter down the gates!'

'There's not much of it left to storm,' said Eilonwy.

'Oh?' said Fflewddur, with disappointment. 'Very well, we shall do the best we can.'"
— Lloyd Alexander

"You must know nothing before you can learn something, and be empty before you can be filled. Is not the emptiness of the bowl what makes it useful? As for laws, a parrot can repeat them word for word. Their spirit is something else again. As for governing, one must first be lowest before being highest.""
— Lloyd Alexander (The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen)

" "Morgant?" Taran asked, turning a puzzled glance to Gwydion. "How can there be honor for such a man?"
"It is easy to judge evil unmixed," replied Gwydion. "But, alas, in most of us good and bad are closely woven as the threads on a loom; greater wisdom than mine is needed for the judging.""
— Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron)

"A shade of sorrow passed over Taliesin's face. 'There are those,' he said gently, 'who must first learn loss, despair, and grief. Of all paths to wisdom, this is the cruelest and longest. Are you one who must follow such a way? This even I cannot know. If you are, take heart nonetheless. Those who reach the end do more than gain wisdom. As rough wool becomes cloth, and crude clay a vessel, so do they change and fashion wisdom for others, and what they give back is greater than what they won.' "
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"I only suggest to you: Will you dwell on killing this man? You wish for revenge? If you do, he has already killed you by slow poison. So, let it go. Why waste your time? His life will see to his death."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio)

"-I'm trying to make myself invisible.
-That's an odd thing to attempt."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three)

"For the deeds of a man, not the words of a prophecy, are what shape his destiny."
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"The journey is the treasure."
— Lloyd Alexander

"All that writers can do is keep trying to say what is deepest in their hearts. "
— Lloyd Alexander

"'Llonio said life was a net for luck; to Hevydd the Smith life was a forge; and to Dwyvach the Weaver-Woman a loom. They spoke truly, for it is all of these. But you,' Taran said, his eyes meeting the potter's, 'you have shown me life is one thing more. It is clay to be shaped, as raw clay on a potter's wheel.'"
— Lloyd Alexander (Taran Wanderer)

""No matter what happens, you're not a pig boy, you're an Assistant Pig Keeper!" -Eilonway"
— Lloyd Alexander

"Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts. (Adaon, p28)"
— Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron)

"A shade of sorrow passed over Taliesin's face. "There are those," he said gently, "who must first learn loss, despair, and grief. Of all paths to wisdom, this is the cruelest and longest. Are you one who must follow such a way? This even I cannot know. If you are, take heart nonetheless. Those who reach the end do more than gain wisdom. As rough wool becomes cloth, and crude clay a vessel, so do they change and fashion wisdom for others, and what they give back is greater than what they won.""
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

"Behind one truth there is always yet another."
— Lloyd Alexander (The Iron Ring)

"Find what you want. I will find you."
— Lloyd Alexander (Westmark)

"'Perhaps,' Taran said quietly, watching the moon-white riverbank slip past them, 'perhaps you have the truth of it. At first I felt as you did. Then I remember thinking of Eilonwy, only of her; and the bauble showed its light. Prince Rhun was ready to lay down his life; his thoughts were for our safety, not at all for his own. And because he offered the greatest sacrifice, the bauble glowed brightest for him. Can that be its secret? To think more for others than ourselves?'

'That would seem to be one of its secrets, at least,' replied Fflewddur. 'Once you've discovered that, you've discovered a great secret indeed--with or without the bauble.'"
— Lloyd Alexander (The Castle of Llyr)

""He was a great poet" They lamented.

"No, he was not a great poet," said Theo, "He was a good poet, he could have been better. That's the real loss don't you see?""
— Lloyd Alexander (The Kestrel)

"So be it. Long ago I yearned to be a hero without knowing, in truth, what a hero was. Now, perhaps, I understand it a little better. A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Commot farmer or a king - every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone. Once you told me that the seeking counts more than the finding. So, too, must the striving count more than the gain."
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)

""I saw myself. . . in the time I watched, I saw strength and frailty, pride and vanity, courage and fear. Of wisdom, a little. Of folly much. Of intentions many good ones; but many more left undone. On this alas, I saw myself a man like any other.

But this too I saw . . . Alike as men may seem, each is different as flakes of snow, no two the same.You told me you had no need to seek the Mirror, knowing you were Annlaw Clay-Shaper. Now I know who I am: myself and none other. I am Taran.""
— Lloyd Alexander

""Dealing with the impossible, fantasy can show us what may be really possible. If there is grief, there is the possibility of consolation; if hurt, the possibility of healing; and above all, the curative power of hope. If fantasy speaks to us as we are, it also speaks to us as we might be" "
— Lloyd Alexander

"He will not succeed in this," Taran said. "Somehow, we must find a way to escape. We dare not lose hope."
"I agree absolutely," Fflewddur answered. "Your general idea is excellent; it's only the details that are lacking..."
— Lloyd Alexander

"Since no one has mentioned it, said Eilonwy, it seems I'm not being asked to come along. Very well, I shan't insist.
You, too, have gained wisdom, Princess, said Dallben. Your days on Mona were not ill-spent.
Of course, Eilonwy went on, after you leave, the thought may strike me that it's a pleasent day for a short ride to go picking wildflowers which might be hard to find, especially since it's almost winter. Not that I'd be following you, you understand. But I might, by accident, lose my way, and mistakenly happen to catch up with you. By then, it would be too late for me to come home, through no fault of my own."
— Lloyd Alexander (The High King)