More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
He spoke gently, laughed often, and never exercised his wit at the expense of others.
Both had their eyes closed. They seemed so perfectly content. If you can find someone like that, someone who you can hold and close your eyes to the world with, then you’re lucky. Even if it only lasts for a minute or a day.
Together, how can we help but be victorious?”
“There’s no good story that doesn’t touch the truth,”
Once I knew what was bothering me, the greater part of my uneasiness left. Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear.
But old habits die slow deaths.
her eyes wider than the sky, deeper than the water, darker than the night.
But if it burns six more days it will be my best lamp in these ten years.” He watched it for a while, his expression oddly soft. “But I do not hope,” he said resolutely. “I make new lamps and take my measurements. That is the only way to make progress.”
That’s why stories appeal to us. They give us the clarity and simplicity our real lives lack.”
To really fear something you have to dwell on it.
Music is a proud, temperamental mistress. Give her the time and attention she deserves, and she is yours. Slight her and there will come a day when you call and she will not answer.
Excellence is excellence’s only companion.
She was not loud, or vain. We stare at a fire because it flickers, because it glows. The light is what catches our eyes, but what makes a man lean close to a fire has nothing to do with its bright shape. What draws you to a fire is the warmth you feel when you come near. The same was true of Denna.”
“It is a deep red flower that grows on a strong vine. Its leaves are dark and delicate. They grow best in shadowy places, but the flower itself finds stray sunbeams to bloom in.” I looked at her. “That suits you. There is much of you that is both shadow and light. It grows in deep forests, and is rare because only skilled folk can tend one without harming it. It has a wondrous smell and is much sought and seldom found.”
Steal me, she had said. I should have been bolder and kissed her at the end. I should have been more cautious. I had talked too much. I had said too little.
In fact, I began to sense a greater underlying pattern to the way the wind moved through the courtyard. It only looked chaotic because it was vastly, marvelously complex. What’s more, it seemed to be always changing. It was a pattern made of changing patterns.
Lovely as the moon: not flawless, perhaps, but perfect.
We shared an apple, passing it back and forth between bites, which is close to kissing, if you’ve never kissed before.
“There are few things as nauseating as pure obedience,” he said. “Both of you would do well to remember that.”
“I still don’t understand about names.” “I will teach you to understand,” he said easily. “The nature of names cannot be described, only experienced and understood.” “Why can’t it be described?” I asked. “If you understand a thing, you can describe it.” “Can you describe all the things you understand?” He looked sideways at me.
“Of course.” Elodin pointed down the street. “What color is that boy’s shirt?” “Blue.” “What do you mean by blue? Describe it.” I struggled for a moment, failed. “So blue is a name?” “It is a word. Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.”
My head was swimming by this point. “I still don’t understand.” He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating.” He lifted his hands high above his head as if stretching for the sky. “But there are other ways to understanding!” he shouted, laughing like a child. He threw both arms to the clou...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
“Underneath the University, I found what I had wanted most, yet it was not what I expected.” He motioned for Chronicler to pick up his pen. “As is often the case when you gain your heart’s desire.”
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”
She is beautiful, seen.”
