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But when weapons created to fight nightmares were turned against common soldiers, the lives of men became cheap things indeed.
“Where I come from, slaves who deserve these are simply executed.” “They are fortunate,” Kaladin said.
Don’t dream the small dreams of other men.
“Sometimes,” Dalinar said, “the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”
“It is our duty and our privilege,” the woman said, “to stay vigilant for the Desolation. One kingdom to study the arts of war so that the others might have peace. We die so that you may live. It has ever been our place.”
“You have to learn when to care, son,” Lirin said softly. “And when to let go. You’ll see. I had similar problems when I was younger. You’ll grow calluses.”
To be given loyalty is to be infused like a gemstone, to be granted the frightful license to destroy not only one’s self, but all within one’s care.’ ”
A man’s emotions are what define him, and control is the hallmark of true strength. To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child.”
Hopefully, he hadn’t gotten so drunk that he’d written his observations someplace inconvenient. He’d done that once, and reading the mess had required two mirrors and a very confused bathing attendant.
“But that is the soul of law,” the king said, sounding confused. “If there is no punishment, there can be only chaos.” “If there were no law, some men would do as they wish, yes,” Jasnah said. “But isn’t it remarkable that, given the chance for personal gain at the cost of others, so many people choose what is right?” “Because they fear the Almighty.” “No,” Jasnah said. “I think something innate in us understands that seeking the good of society is usually best for the individual as well. Humankind is noble, when we give it the chance to be. That nobility is something that exists independent
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“That’s just a matter of definition.” “Yes,” Jasnah said, “all words have a tendency to be subject to how they are defined.”
“When we are young,” Jasnah said, “we want simple answers. There is no greater indication of youth, perhaps, than the desire for everything to be as it should. As it has ever been.”
“What in the …” he said. “All three of you? What are you doing up here?” “Feasting,” Kaladin’s mother said nonchalantly. “On what?” “On irregularity, dear,” she said. Lirin sighed. “Dear, you can be very odd, you know.” “And didn’t I just say that?”
“What does the story mean, then?” “It means what you want it to mean,” Hoid said. “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.”
Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.”
Navani eyed him. “There you go again.” “What?” “Feeling guilty. Dalinar, you are a wonderful, honorable man—but you really are quite prone to self-indulgence.” Guilt? As self-indulgence? “I never considered it that way before.”
“You are not a weak man, Dalinar,” Navani said. “I am. But weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee.”
In them, he found what he’d always hoped he would find in the soldiers of the Shattered Plains.
This was a pattern. She often saw patterns in things. In this case, the pattern was that she could never possess anything of value for long. It was always snatched from her just when it began to look promising.
What was a prayer, if not creation?
“A life is priceless,” he said immediately, quoting his father. Dalinar smiled, wrinkle lines extending from the corners of his eyes. “Coincidentally, that is the exact value of a Shardblade. So today, you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. And all I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that a bargain.”
