Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

by Robin Hobb

“Don’t do what you can’t undo, until you’ve considered what you can’t do once you’ve done it.’

All events, no matter how earthshaking or bizarre, are diluted within moments of their occurrence by the continuance of the necessary routines of day-to-day living.

I have since come to know that many men always see another’s good fortune as a slight to themselves.

“There is this, boy. And you should remember it in every situation, not just this one. Learning is never wrong. Even learning how to kill isn’t wrong. Or right. It’s just a thing to learn, a thing I can teach you. That’s all. For now, do you think you could learn how to do it, and later decide if you want to do it?”

“When you cut pieces out of the truth to avoid looking like a fool, you end up sounding like a moron instead.

Nothing takes the heart out of a man more than the expectation of failure.