Lex > Lex's Quotes

“Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing.'

'Well,' he says, 'I would only go if there was cake.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you're small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you're wrong."

He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at the point of contact, like he's transmitting electricity through his skin.

"My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press." he says, his fingers squeezing at the word break. My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.

His dark eyes lifting to mine, he adds, "But I resist it."

"Why..." I swallow hard. "Why is that your first instinct?"

"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up. I've seen it. It's fascinating." He releases me but doesn't pull away, his hand grazing my jaw, my neck. "Sometimes I just want to see it again. Want to see you awake.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Four flips the gun in this hand, presses the barrel to Peter's forehead, and clicks a bullet into place. Peter freezes with his lips parted, the yawn dead in his mouth. "Wake. Up," Four snaps. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“I am selfish. I am brave.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“...there is power in self-sacrifice.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“People tend to overestimate my character," I say quietly. "They think that because I'm small, or a girl, or a Stiff, I can't possibly be cruel. But they're wrong.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Who is he when he isn't Dauntless, isn't an instructor, isn't Four, isn't anything in particular?

Whoever he is, I like him. It's easier to admit that to myself now, in the dark, after all that just happened. He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong. That is all I need to know.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“What is it with you today?” says Christina on the way to breakfast. Her eyes are still
swollen from sleep and her tangled hair forms a fuzzy halo around her face.
“Oh, you know,” I say. “Sun shining. Birds chirping.”
She raises an eyebrow at me, as if reminding me that we are in an underground
tunnel.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Part of me wonders if this is a suicide mission disguised as a game.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“You know, most boys would enjoy being trapped in close quarters with a girl." I roll my eyes.
"Not claustrophobic people, Tris.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Do the elevators work?" I ask Uriah, as quietly as I can. "Sure they do." says Zeke, rolling his eyes, "You think I'm stupid enough not to come here early and turn on the emergency generator?"
"Yeah," says Uriah. "I kinda do.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Looks like someone had a mood swing.” She rolls her eyes. “Like you don’t want to
know what his fears are. He acts so tough that he’s probably afraid of marshmallows
and really bright sunrises or something.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“You know I'm getting a little tired of waiting for you to catch on.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“I'm going to shoot a muffin off Marlene's head.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“We've all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own. I don't want to do that. I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest." He clears his throat. "I continually struggle with kindness.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Can you be a girl for a few seconds?"
"I'm always a girl" I frown.
"You know what I mean. Like a silly, annoying girl"
I twirl my hair around my finger. "Kay.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Leaving us with Eric is like hiring a babysitter who spends his time sharpening knives.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“You want him to walk?" Caleb demands. "Are you insane?"
"Did I shoot him in the leg?" I say. "No. He walks. Where do we go, Peter?”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free.”
― Veronica Roth, Insurgent

“Cruelty does not make a person dishonest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind.”
― Veronica Roth, Insurgent

“To me there's a difference between not being afraid and acting in spite of fear, as he does.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“Decades ago, our ancestors realized that it is not just political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality - of humankind's inclination towards evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“What?" I ask.
"I'm developing a theory."
"And it is?"
She picks up her hamburger, grins, and says, "That you have a death wish.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“It's when you're acting selflessly that you are at your bravest.”
― Veronica Roth

“Can I ask why you’re throwing knives at cheese?’
‘Caleb came by to discuss something,’ Tobias says, leaning his head against the wall as he looks at me. ‘And knife-throwing just came up somehow.’
‘As it so often does,’ I say, a small smile inching across my face.”
― Veronica Roth, Insurgent

“It is more important for you to be safe than right, for the time being. Understand? (...) But please, when you see an opportunity...ruin them”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent