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April 24 - October 15, 2019
Words aren’t meant to be kept inside, you see. They are free creatures, and if locked away will unsettle the stomach.”
“Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that it is the natural state of the human mind. There are many who will strive to defend its sanctity and then expect you to be impressed with their efforts.”
One cannot apply logic as an absolute where human beings are concerned. We are not beings of thought only.
“Well, I myself find that respect is like manure. Use it where needed, and growth will flourish. Spread it on too thick, and things just start to smell.”
Sometimes we find it hardest to accept in others that which we cling to in ourselves.
“Too many of us,” she said, “take great pains with what we ingest through our mouths, and far less with what we partake of through our ears and eyes.
One more try. …
The hallmark of insecurity is bravado.
Inside, I’m me. A very different me than I was a year ago, but I can’t worry about that, so I just keep moving and hope my feet take me where I need to go.”
The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”
“People are discord,”
There’s harmony in that. But not in you—it seems that no two of you can agree on anything. All the world does as it is supposed to, except for humans. Maybe that’s why you so often want to kill each other.”
“There’s no profit in peace.”
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.”
Let your actions defend you, not your words.
“Ignorance may reside in a man hiding from intelligence, but scholarship can seem ignorance hidden behind intelligence.” “And what of intelligence without ignorance? Finding truth while not dismissing the possibility of being wrong?”
“Must someone, some unseen thing, declare what is right for it to be right? I believe that my own morality—which answers only to my heart—is more sure and true than the morality of those who do right only because they fear retribution.”
“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 of any god’s decree.”
“Our hearts, Brightness. I believe because I feel something, a closeness to the Almighty, a peace that comes when I live my faith.”
spending my life trying to earn the favor of an unseen, unknown, and unknowable being who watches me from the sky is an exercise in sheer futility.”
Does one deserve to have evil done to her by consequence of putting herself where evil can reach her?
“Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow.
‘Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.’
Death comes, they whispered. Death comes to all. But life comes first. Cherish it. Death is the destination. But the journey, that is life. That is what matters.
as long as he believed that some paths led to places other than darkness, he could hope.
“If I should die,” Dalinar said, “then I would do so having lived my life right. It is not the destination that matters, but how one arrives there.”
“Why are any of us here? That’s a rather deep question for a first meeting, young bridgeman. I generally prefer introductions before theology. Lunch too, if it can be found. Perhaps a nice nap. Actually, practically anything should come before theology. But especially introductions.”
“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.”
“ ‘And so, does the destination matter? Or is it the path we take? I declare 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. “ ‘In the end, 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.
“The finest defense of character is correct action. Acquaint yourself with virtue, and you can expect proper treatment from those around you.”
Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.”
In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.”
“I haven’t faith in people any longer, old friend,” Nohadon said. “Put two men together, and they will find something to argue about. Gather them into groups, and one group will find reason to oppress or attack another.
At times, it seems to me that to be human is to want that which we cannot have. For some, this is power. For me, it is peace.”
weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee.”
Somebody has to start, son. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow.
What was a prayer, if not creation? Making something where nothing existed. Creating a wish out of despair, a plea out of anguish. Bowing one’s back before the Almighty, and forming humility from the empty pride of a human life.
