Witcher Quotes

“People," Geralt turned his head, "like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

“Dandelion spoke first; elaborately, fluently, colourfully and volubly, embellishing his tale with ornaments so beautiful and fanciful they almost obscured the fibs and confabulations. Then the Witcher spoke. He spoke the same truth, and spoke so dryly, boringly and flatly that Dandelion couldn’t bare it and kept butting in, for which the dwarves reprimanded him.
And then the story was over and a lengthy silence fell.
'To the archer Milva!' Zoltan Chivay cleared his throat, saluting with his cup. 'To the Nilfgaardian. To Regis the herbalist who entertained the travellers in his cottage with moonshine and mandrake. And to Angoulême, whom I never knew. May the earth lie lightly on them all. May they have in the beyond plenty of whatever they were short of on earth. And may their names live forever in songs and tales. Let’s drink to them.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“I'm not surprised at Yennefer,' he said as he walked. 'She is a woman and thus an evolutionary inferior creature, governed by hormonal chaos. But you, Geralt, are not only a man who is sensible by nature, but also a mutant, invulnerable to emotions.' He waved a hand. There was a boom and a flash. A lightning bolt bounced off the shield Yennefer had conjured up. 'In spite of your good sense—' Vilgefortz continued to talk, pouring fire from hand to hand '—in one matter you demonstrate astounding and foolish perseverance: you invariably desire to row upstream and piss into the wind. It had to end badly. Know that today, here, in Stygga Castle, you have pissed into a hurricane.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“You won't do it.' Bonhart's voice resounded in the complete silence. 'You won't do it, witcher girl. In Kaer Morhen you were taught how to kill, so you kill like a machine. Instinctively. To kill yourself you need character, strength, determination and courage. And they couldn't teach you that.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Wieża Jaskółki

“And you? Don't you have dreams now?'
'I do,' he said bitterly. 'But seldom since we crossed the Yaruga. And I remember nothing after waking. Something has ended in me, Cahir. Something has burned out. Something has ruptured in me . . .'
'Never mind, Geralt. I shall dream for both of us.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Wieża Jaskółki

“The bounty hunter looked at him long and hard. Until Tawny Owl's smirk finally vanished. 'Indeed,' he said. 'Everyone has to make a living. Some earn money doing what they've learned. Others do what they have to. But not many craftsmen have been as lucky in life as I am: they pay me for a trade I truly and honestly enjoy. Not even whores can say that.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Baptism of Fire

“Night and day the streets resounded with music, song, and the clinking of chalices and tankards, for it is well known that nothing is such thirsty work as the acquisition of knowledge.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Blood of Elves

“After all,' added Sheala, pouting her lips, 'it's befallen all of us at some time. Each of us, sitting here, has been cheated, taken advantage of, and made a laughing stock of by some man, at some time.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“İnsanlar, canavar ve canavar hikayeleri uydurmayı severler. Bunu yaptıkları zaman kendi canavarlıklarını görmezler. İçkinin dibine vurduklarında, sahtekarlık, hırsızlık yaptıklarında, karılarını kayışla dövdüklerinde, yaşlı büyükannelerini aç bıraktıklarında, tuzağa düşmüş bir tilkiyi gübre yabasıyla delik deşik ettiklerinde ya da dünyada yaşayan son tekboynuzu ok yağmuruna tuttuklarında gün ağrırken kulübelerin arasında dolanan Bane'in onlardan daha kötü biri olduğunu düşünmek işlerine gelir. Böylece yüreklerine su serpilir. Yani yaşamak kolaylaşır.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

“I'll defend Nilfgaardian children. And even if the world lies in ruin - which does not seem likely to me - I'll carry on killing monsters in the ruins of this world until some monster has killed me. That is my fate, my reason, my life and my attitude to the world. And it is not what I chose. It was chosen for me.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Blood of Elves

“I am very tired. I watched the death of my friends who followed me here to the end of the world. They came to rescue your daughter. Not even knowing her. Apart from Cahir, none of them even knew Ciri. But they came here to rescue her. For there was something in her that was decent and noble. And what happened? They found death. I consider that unjust. And if anyone wants to know, I don’t agree with it. Because a story where the decent ones die and the scoundrels live and carry on doing what they want is full of shit. I don’t have any more strength, Emperor.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“For him the points of the compass have no great importance. It's all the same to him which one he chooses, as long as he's not idle. That is truly a witcher's principium. The world is full of evil, so it's sufficient to stride ahead, and destroy the Evil encountered on the way, in that way rendering a service to Good. The rest takes care of itself. Being in motion is everything, the goal is nothing.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Chrzest ognia

“Your mother gives birth to you only once and only once do you die,' the witcher said calmly. 'An appropriate philosophy for a louse, don't you agree? And your longevity? I pity you, Filavandrel.'
The elf raised his eyebrows.
'Why?'
'You're pathetic, with your little stolen sacks of seeds on pack horses, with your handful of grain, that tiny crumb thanks to which you plan to survive. And with that mission of yours which is supposed to turn your thoughts from imminent annihilation. Because you know this is the end. Nothing will sprout or yield crops on the plateaux, nothing will save you now. But you live long, and you will live very long in arrogant isolation, fewer and fewer of you, growing weaker and weaker, more and more bitter. And you know what'll happen then, Filavandrel. You know that desperate young men with the eyes of hundred-year-old men and withered, barren and sick girls like Toruviel will lead those who can still hold a sword and bow in their hands, down into the valleys. You'll come down into the blossoming valleys to meet death, wanting to die honourably, in battle, and not in sick beds of misery, where anaemia, tuberculosis and scurvy will send you. Then, long-living Aen Seidhe, you'll remember me. You'll remember that I pitied you. And you'll understand that I was right.'
'Time will tell who was right,' said the elf quietly. 'And herein lies the advantage of longevity. I've got a chance of finding out, if only because of that stolen handful of grain. You won't have a chance like that. You'll die shortly.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

“Then the prophetess said to the witcher: "I shall give you this advice: wear boots made of iron, take
in hand a staff of steel. Then walk until the end of the world. Help yourself with your staff to break the land before you and wet it with your tears. Go through fire and water, do not stop along the way,
do not look behind you. And when the boots are worn, when your staff is blunt, once the wind and the heat has dried your eyes so that your tears no longer flow, then at the end of the world you may
find what you are looking for and what you love...

The witcher went through fire and water, he did not look back. He did not take iron boots or a staff
of steel. He took only his sword. He did not listen to the words of prophets. And he did well because she was a bad prophet.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Czas pogardy

“Geralt,' said the lawyer, closing his eyes. 'What drives you? If you want to save Ciri . . . I wouldn't have thought you could afford the luxury of contempt. No, that was badly expressed. You can't afford the luxury of spurning contempt. A time of contempt is approaching, Witcher, my friend, a time of great and utter contempt. You have to adapt. What I'm proposing is a simple solution. Someone will die, so someone else can live. Someone you love will survive. A girl you don't know, and whom you've never seen, will die—' 'And who am I free to despise?' interrupted the Witcher. 'Am I to pay for what I love with contempt for myself?”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Witcher Series 6 Books Set Collection

“- Toi et ta grande cause... (Ignorant le troubadour, le sorceleur avança en titubant.) Ta grande cause, Filippa, et ton choix, c'est un blessé, poignardé de sang-froid, quand il a eu fini d'avouer ce que tu voulais savoir et qu'il m'était interdit de connaître. Ta grande cause, ce sont tous ces cadavres qui n'auraient pas dû être... Pardon, je me suis mal exprimé... Ce ne sont pas des cadavres... mais des causes de moindre importance !
- Je savais que tu ne comprendrais pas.
- Non, en effet. Et je ne le comprendrai jamais. Mais je sais ce qu'il en est. Vos grandes affaires, vos guerres, votre combat pour sauver le monde... Votre fin qui justifie vos moyens... Tends l'oreille, Filippa. Tu entends ces voix, ces cris ? Ce sont de gros chats qui luttent pour une grande cause. Un règne absolu sur un tas d'ordures. Ce n'est pas rien, là-bas, on fait couler du sang et on s'étripe. Là-bas, c'est la guerre. Mais ces deux guerres, celle des chats et la tienne, m'importent incroyablement peu !”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Krew elfów

“It's all my fault,' she mumbled. 'That scar blights me, I know. I know what you see when you look at me. There's not much elf left in me. A gold nugget in a pile of compost—' He turned around suddenly. 'You're extremely modest,' he drawled. 'I would say rather: a pearl in pig shit. A diamond on the finger of a rotting corpse. As part of your language training you can create even more comparisons. I'll test you on them tomorrow, little Dh'oine. O human creature in whom nothing, but nothing, remains of an elven woman.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“Ballad, uważasz, nie pisze się o niezwykłościach, ale o banałach. Sztuka polega na tym, aby uczynić je niebanalnymi. Trywialne przekuj w egzotyczne, brzydkie w piękne, kłamstwa w prawdy.
<...>
Wiesz, co ja ci powiem? Że taka neutralność, gdy biją przyjaciela, to gówniana neutralność! I gówniany taki przyjaciel.”
― Piotr Jedliński, Kres cudów

“Madam Yennefer, Forgive me. I'm riding to Hirundum because I want to see Geralt. I want to see him before I start school. Forgive my disobedience, but I must. I know you'll punish me, but I don't want to regret my indecision and hesitation. If I'm to have regrets, let them be for deeds and actions. I'm an enchantress. I seize life by the scruff of the neck. I'll return when I can. - Ciri”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Czas pogardy

“Forgive me,’ he said a moment later. ‘You’re right. I put you at risk. It was too dangerous a task for a—’ ‘For a woman, you mean?’ she said, jerking her head back, flicking her still wet hair from her shoulder with a sudden movement. ‘Is that what you were going to say? Are you playing the gentleman all of a sudden? I may have to squat to piss, but my coat is lined with wolf skin, not coney fur! Don’t call me a coward, because you don’t know me!”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Chrzest ognia

“-Co oni tam robią do cholery? - zaciekawił się Jaskier. - Powiedzcie, do cholery!
Elf uśmiechnął się. Bardzo, bardzo smutno.
- Nie lubię, wielkich słów - powiedział. - A nie używając wielkich słów, nie da się tego nazwać.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Wiedźmin. Ostatnie życzenie

“A little sacrifice, he thought, just a little sacrifice. For this will calm her, a hug, a kiss, calm caresses. She doesn’t want anything more. And even if she did, what of it? For a little sacrifice, a very little sacrifice, is beautiful and worth… Were she to want more… It would calm her. A quiet, calm, gentle act of love. And I… Why, it doesn’t matter, because Essi smells of verbena, not lilac and gooseberry, doesn’t have cool, electrifying skin. Essi’s hair is not a black tornado of gleaming curls, Essi’s eyes are gorgeous, soft, warm and cornflower blue; they don’t blaze with a cold, unemotional, deep violet. Essi will fall asleep afterwards, turn her head away, open her mouth slightly, Essi will not smile in triumph. For Essi… Essi is not Yennefer.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Sword of Destiny

“How does it happen, thought Ciri, what can it be ascribed to, that in all worlds, places and times, in all languages and dialects that one word always sounds comprehensible? And always similar?

"Yes. I must ride to my mamma. My mamma is waiting for me.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Pani Jeziora

“You are an anachronistic witcher, and I'm a modern witcher, moving with the spirit of the times. Which is why you'll soon be out of work and I'll be doing well. Soon there won't be any strigas, wyverns, endriagas or werewolves left in the world. But there'll always be whoresons.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Witcher Series 6 Books Set Collection

“Because your faith and sacrifice, the price you're paying for your silence, will make you a better, a greater being. Or, at least, it could. But my faithlessness can do nothing. It's powerless.
'You ask what I believe in, in that case.’
'I believe in the sword.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

“My first noble deed. You see, they'd told me again and again in Kaer Morhen not to get involved in such incidents, not to play at being knight errant or uphold the law. Not to show off, but to work for money. And I joined this fight like an idiot, not fifty miles from the mountains. And do you know why? I wanted the girl, sobbing with gratitude, to kiss her saviour on the hands, and her father to thank me on his knees. In reality her father fled with his attackers, and the girl, drenched in the bald man's blood, threw up, became hysterical and fainted in fear when I approached her...”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

“Emotions, whims and lies, fascinations and games. Feelings and their absence. Gifts, which may not be accepted. Lies and truth. What is truth? The negation of lies? Or the statement of a fact? And if the fact is a lie, what then is the truth? Who is full of feelings which torment him, and who is the empty carapace of a cold skull? Who? What is truth, Geralt? What is the essence of truth?’
‘I don’t know, Yen. Tell me.’
‘No,’ she said and lowered her eyes. For the first time. He had never seen her do that before. Never.
‘No,’ she repeated.
‘I cannot, Geralt. I cannot tell you that. That bird, begotten from the touch of your hand, will tell you. Bird? What is the essence of truth?’
‘Truth,’ the kestrel said, ‘is a shard of ice.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Sword of Destiny

“I always thought it was a beautiful and noble state of mind, noble and dignified, even if it makes one unhappy. After all, I’ve composed so many ballads about it. And it is organic, Geralt, meanly and heartbreakingly organic. Someone who is ill or who has drunk poison might feel like this. Because like someone who has drunk poison, one is prepared to do anything in exchange for an antidote. Anything. Even be humiliated.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Sword of Destiny

“Eternity is hidden in every moment.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski

“- Toi et ta grande cause... (Ignorant le troubadour, le sorceleur avança en titubant.) Ta grande cause, Filippa, et ton choix, c'est un blessé, poignardé de sang-froid, quand il a eu fini d'avouer ce que tu voulais savoir et qu'il m'était interdit de connaître. Ta grande cause, ce sont tous ces cadavres qui n'auraient pas dû être... Pardon, je me suis mal exprimé... Ce ne sont pas des cadavres... mais des causes de moindre importance !
- Je savais que tu ne comprendrais pas.
- Non, en effet. Et je ne le comprendrais jamais. Mais je sais ce qu'il en est. Vos grandes affaires, vos guerres, votre combat pour sauver le monde... Votre fin qui justifie vos moyens... Tends l'oreille, Filippa. Tu entends ces voix, ces cris ? Ce sont de gros chats qui luttent pour une grande cause. Un règne absolu sur un tas d'ordures. Ce n'est pas rien, là-bas, on fait couler du sang et on s'étripe. Là-bas, c'est la guerre. Mais ces deux guerres, celle des chats et la tienne, m'importent incroyablement peu !”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Krew elfów