The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

Bitterness is repaid more often than kindness.

Never fight other men except when forced to in war.

Let your actions defend you, not your words.

Expect honor from those you meet, and give them the chance live up to it.

Rule as you would be ruled.

“An excuse is what you make after the deed is done, while a justification is what you offer before.”

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.”

no accomplishment has substance nearly as great as the road used to achieve it. We are not creatures of destinations. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experiences lived.

I must proclaim that no good can be achieved of false means. For the substance of our existence is not in the achievement, but in the method.

Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.”

But weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee.”