The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

But wine was the great assassin of both tradition and propriety,

But when weapons created to fight nightmares were turned against common soldiers, the lives of men became cheap things indeed.

It was better not to resist. This was his lot, and he was resigned to it. There was a certain power in that, a freedom. The freedom of not having to care.

But expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.

Wardship to a woman of great renown was the best way to be schooled in the feminine arts: music, painting, writing, logic, and science.

“Past failure does not prove that there is not chance in the future,

But the lives of men and women are more than logical puzzles; the context of their experiences is invaluable in making good decisions.

One cannot apply logic as an absolute where human beings are concerned. We are not beings of thought only.

Because everything I have learned has come by way of great personal struggle. What others were handed, I had to hunt. I believe that because of this, my education—limited though it is—has extra worth and merit.

Was she weak because confrontation unsettled her so? She felt that she was.

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.

The body needs many different foods to remain healthy. And the mind needs many different ideas to remain sharp. Wouldn’t you agree? And so if I were to read only these silly romances you presume that my ambition can handle, my mind would grow sick

I believe you stray into sarcasm.” “Funny. I thought I’d run straight into it, screaming at the top of my lungs.”

Worry just wastes time. It was hard advice to follow.

“It is good to care,” Lirin said. “But caring—like anything else—can be a problem if it interferes with your ability to perform

“Sometimes,” Dalinar said, “the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

the Almighty accepted the excellence of any man or woman, regardless of what they did. You just did your best, picking a profession and an attribute of the Almighty to emulate.

Instead of shadowed prophecies and pretend powers held by a few, we have a population who understand their beliefs and their relationship with their God.”

“You have to learn when to care, son,” Lirin said softly. “And when to let go.

‘Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile. So deadly. Left alone, they lit and warmed. Let run rampant, they would destroy the very things they were meant to illuminate.

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 woman wanting to come to the battlefield was like … well, like a man wanting to read. Unnatural.

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.”

It’s good to care when you fight, so long as you don’t let it consume you. Don’t try to stop yourself from feeling. You’ll hate who you become.

“Too many scholars think of research as purely a cerebral pursuit. If we do nothing with the knowledge we gain, then we have wasted our study. Books can store information better than we can—what we do that books cannot is interpret. So if one is not going to draw conclusions, then one might as well just leave the information in the texts.”

“Euphoria passes. It is usually brief, so we spend more time longing for it than enjoying it.”

“The Almighty gives everyone talents—and when we pick a Calling that capitalizes on them, we are worshipping him in the most fundamental way.

‘Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.’ ”

If you were to overthrow the lighteyes and place yourselves in power, abuses would still happen. They d just happen to other people.

Those who truly seek wisdom are those who will acknowledge the virtue in their adversaries and who will learn from those who disabuse them of error.

“What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn’t live until it is imagined in someone’s mind.”

“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.

The Monarch must understand this; he must not become so focused on what he wishes to accomplish that he diverts his gaze from the path he must take to arrive there.’ ”

“The finest defense of character is correct action.

Nohadon challenged him, in the book, to examine himself. To never become so certain or high that he wasn’t willing to seek truth.

Living is harder than dying. The Radiant’s duty is to live. “Strength before weakness. All men are weak at some time in their lives. The Radiant protects those who are weak, and uses his strength for others. Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.”

“Journey before destination. There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.”

‘Overcome your guilt, Kaladin. Care, but not too much. Take responsibility, but don’t blame yourself.’ Protect, save, help—but know when to give up.

The end is the same. It is the path that separates men. When we taste that end, we will do so with our heads held high, eyes to the sun.”

“Other men may debase themselves to destroy me. Let them have their glory. For I will retain mine!”

An adult can take a principle and adapt it to his needs. But we’re not ready for that yet. We’re children. And when you’re teaching a child, you require him to do what is right until he grows old enough to make his own choices.

Given two works of artistic majesty, otherwise weighted equally, we will give greater acclaim to the one who did it first. It doesn’t matter what you create. It matters what you create before anyone else. “So it’s not the beauty itself we admire. It’s not the force of intellect. It’s not invention, aesthetics, or capacity itself. The greatest talent that we think a man can have?” He plucked one final string. “Seems to me that it must be nothing more than novelty.”