Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

“the entire point of life is to find ways to get others to do your work for you. Don’t you know anything about basic economics?”

“The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.”

“Though most expect young men to be fools, I’ve noticed that just a little bit of age can make a man far more foolish than he was as a child.

well, that’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion? You have to shut out that voice that whispers about betrayal, and just hope that your friends aren’t going to hurt you.”

“Belief isn’t simply a thing for fair times and bright days, I think. What is belief—what is faith—if you don’t continue in it after failure?”

“Anyone can believe in someone, or something, that always succeeds, Mistress. But failure…ah, now, that is hard to believe in, certainly and truly. Difficult enough to have value, I think.”