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

by Brandon Sanderson

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

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.

Bitterness is repaid more often than kindness.

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.

“Authority doesn’t come from a rank,” Kaladin said, fingering the spheres in his pocket. “Where does it come from?” “From the men who give it to you. That’s the only way to get it.”

The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

What did a man do if he didn’t know what he was?

“You can’t put a price on a person’s life,”

men are unreliable in many things. But if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s their greed.”

Dalinar’s Calling was to be a leader, and his chosen Glory was determination.

But neither can I condone mysticism or prophecy in any form.

My personal opinion is that the things he sees are likely more a reflection of his past than any mystical experience.”

“The past is irrelevant. I only look forward.”

“Because some people are frightened of knowledge.

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.”

You were not shocked when a child knew how to breathe. You were not shocked when a skyeel took flight for the first time. You should not be shocked when you hand Kaladin Stormblessed a spear and he knows how to use it.

has it ever struck you that most masculine arts deal with destroying, while feminine arts deal with creation?”

When men perceive the world as being right, we are content. But if we see a hole—a deficiency—we scramble to fill it.”

Could a man both believe, and not believe, at the same time?

Was it possible to do something horrible in the name of accomplishing something wonderful?

there’s a tie between a man’s home and his heart.

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

Strange, how much difference a shave could make.

You see, it has been my experience that no matter where you go, you will find some who abuse their power.”

as with most things in life, the ideal and the reality were two separate things.

It is not the destination that matters, but how one arrives there.”

“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.”

“People see in stories what they’re looking for, my young friend.”

‘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.”

But weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee.”

Never ask of your men a sacrifice you wouldn’t make yourself. Never make them fight in conditions you would refuse to fight in yourself. Never ask a man to perform an act you wouldn’t soil your own hands doing.

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.

have been treating the other highprinces and their lighteyes like adults. 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.

“Sometimes,” Taravangian said, “you must tear down a structure to build a new one with stronger walls.”

“It is better for one man to sin than for a people to be destroyed, wouldn’t you say, Szeth-son-son-Vallano?”

“It strikes me that religion—in its essence—seeks to take natural events and ascribe supernatural causes to them. I, however, seek to take supernatural events and find the natural meanings behind them. Perhaps that is the final dividing line between science and religion. Opposite sides of a card.”