Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

New tastes are like new ideas, young man—the older you get, the more difficult they are for you to stomach.”

Everyone received a cut of earnings in proportion to their status in the group. While it was sometimes tempting to kill the crewleader and take his money for yourself, a successful leader created more wealth for everyone. Kill him prematurely, and you would cut off future earnings—not to mention earn the wrath of the other crewmembers.

“But you weren’t born an aristocrat. You’re not noble, Vin. You don’t have to play by their rules—and that makes you even more powerful.”

“The rebellion condemns people like us because of our greed, but for all their high morals—which, by the way, I respect—they never get anything done.

the ability to afford, even squander, lamp oil and candles meant that the wealthy didn’t have to bow before the whims of season or sun.

“Don’t use his name as an oath, Vin,” Kelsier said. “Even blasphemy honors him—when you curse by that creature’s name, you acknowledge him as your god.”

“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 servants were happy. They went about their duties with a businesslike professionalism, no sense of drudgery about their efforts. She heard laughter in the outer hallway. These were not mistreated skaa; whether they had been included in Kelsier’s plans or not was irrelevant.

I need to make certain he sends me to learn from the others, Vin thought. They’ll be masters at their own powers.

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

do you stop loving someone just because they betray you?

I think given the choice between loving Mare—betrayal included—and never knowing her, I’d choose love.

I’d rather trust my men than worry about what will happen if they turn on me.”

Sometimes we have to be what the job requires.

That was what he fought against. Not just the Lord Ruler, not just the nobility. He fought against a thousand years of conditioning, a thousand years of life in a society that would label the deaths of five thousand men as a “great victory.” Life was so hopeless for the skaa that they’d been reduced to finding comfort in expected defeats.

“If you’re always on time, it implies that you never have anything better you should be doing.

Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.”