Chloe Nicola > Chloe's Quotes

“Death comes to all. But life comes first. Cherish it. Death is the destination. But the journey, that is life. That is what matters.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it?
It's the next one. Always the next step, Dalinar.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“The question,’ she replied, ‘is not whether you will love, hurt, dream, and die. It is what you will love, why you will hurt, when you will dream, and how you will die. This is your choice. You cannot pick the destination, only the path.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“You tried to help the people of the market. You mostly failed. This is life. The longer you live, the more you fail. Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone. Trust me, I've practiced”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“The most important words a man can say are, “I will do better.” These are not the most important words any man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say.

The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says “journey before destination.” Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we will hurt those around us.

But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.

I’m certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated. Most will simply feel that it should not exist. I needed to write it anyway.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“I will protect even those I hate,” Kaladin whispered through bloody lips. “So long as it is right.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

“Remember why we live. Remember warmth, remember good food. Remember friends, and song, and evenings spent around the hearth.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“What is a woman's place in this modern world? Jasnah Kholin's words read. I rebel against this question, though so many of my peers ask it. The inherent bias in the inquiry seems invisible to so many of them. They consider themselves progressive because they are willing to challenge many of the assumptions of the past.

They ignore the greater assumption--that a 'place' for women must be defined and set forth to begin with. Half of the population must somehow be reduced to the role arrived at by a single conversation. No matter how broad that role is, it will be--by-nature--a reduction from the infinite variety that is womanhood.

I say that there is no role for women--there is, instead, a role for each woman, and she must make it for herself. For some, it will be the role of scholar; for others, it will be the role of wife. For others, it will be both. For yet others, it will be neither.

Do not mistake me in assuming I value one woman's role above another. My point is not to stratify our society--we have done that far to well already--my point is to diversify our discourse.

A woman's strength should not be in her role, whatever she chooses it to be, but in the power to choose that role. It is amazing to me that I even have to make this point, as I see it as the very foundation of our conversation.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

“We remember the good times and the bad ones, forgetting that most times are neither good nor bad. They just are.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. --Second Ideal of the Knights Radiant”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“A man will find a single coin in the mud and talk about it for days, but when his inheritance comes and is accounted one percent less than he expected, then he will declare himself cheated.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

“Overcome your guilt. Care, but not too much. Take responsibility, but don't blame yourself. Protect, save, help- but know when to give up. They're precarious ledges to walk. How do I do it?”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“I will protect those I hate. Even if the one I hate most is myself.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“To age truly was to suffer the ultimate treason, that of one’s body against oneself.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

“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.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“You should try to understand what they want out of life, and respect that, rather than projecting onto them what you think they should want out of life.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“There are two kinds of people in this world, son. Those who save lives, and those who take lives."
"And what of those who protect and defend? Those who save lives by taking lives?"
"That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“Just because I do not accept the teachings of the devotaries does not mean I've discarded a belief in right and wrong."
"But the Almighty determines what is right!"
"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.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“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.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“People see in stories what they're looking for, my young friend.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“Yet my longing for her was like a bad cold that had hung on for years despite my conviction that I was sure to get over it at any moment.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

“Words aren’t meant to be kept inside, you see. They are free creatures, and if locked away will unsettle the stomach.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“All the world does as it is supposed to, except for humans. Maybe that's why you so often want to kill each other.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“[…] What's wrong with her?"
"Chronic competence, I should guess. She's been so successful in life that she has unrealistic expectations of others.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“I need you, Teft,” Kaladin said.
“I said—”
“Not your food. You. Your loyalty. Your allegiance.”
The older man continued to eat. He didn’t have a slave brand, and neither did Rock. Kaladin didn’t
know their stories. All he knew was that these two had helped when others hadn’t. They weren’t
completely beaten down.
“Teft—” Kaladin began.
“I’ve given my loyalty before,” the man said. “Too many times now. Always works out the same.”
“Your trust gets betrayed?” Kaladin asked softly.
Teft snorted. “Storms, no. I betray it. You can’t depend on me, son. I belong here, as a
bridgeman.”
“I depended on you yesterday, and you impressed me.”
“Fluke.”
“I’ll judge that,” Kaladin said. “Teft, we’re all broken, in one way or another. Otherwise we
wouldn’t be bridgemen. I’ve failed. My own brother died because of me.”
“So why keep caring?”
“It’s either that or give up and die.”
“And if death is better?”
It came back to this problem. This was why the bridgemen didn’t care if he helped the wounded or
not.
“Death isn’t better,” Kaladin said, looking Teft in the eyes. “Oh, it’s easy to say that now. But when
you stand on the ledge and look down into that dark, endless pit, you change your mind. Just like
Hobber did. Just like I’ve done.” He hesitated, seeing something in the older man’s eyes. “I think you’ve
seen it too.”
“Aye,” Teft said softly. “Aye, I have.”
“So, are you with us in this thing?” Rock said, squatting down.
Us? Kaladin thought, smiling faintly.
Teft looked back and forth between the two of them. “I get to keep my food?”
“Yes,” Kaladin said.
Teft shrugged. “All right then, I guess. Can’t be any harder than sitting here and having a staring
contest with mortality.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“At times, it seems to me that to be human is to want that which we cannot have”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“Money is behind every war,” Au-nak continued. “Religion is but an excuse. Or perhaps a justification.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings