The Rithmatist Quotes

“... everyone knows that ice cream is worth the trouble of being cold. Like all things virtuous, you have to suffer to gain the reward.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Joel, lad, school is about learning to learn. If you don't practice studying things you don't like, then you'll have a very hard time in life.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“The most dangerous kind of man is not the one who spent his youth shoving others around. That kind of man gets lazy, and is often too content with his life to be truly dangerous. The man who spent his youth being shoved around, however … When that man gets a little power and authority, he often uses it to become a tyrant on par with the worst warlords in history.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“That was terribly thoughtless of you. What good is having friends if they don’t put you in mortal peril every once in a while?”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“we're all freaks sometimes, Melody," he replied. "You're just... well, better at it than most.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“It's going to be painful."
"It's a fun tradition."
"So was witch-burning," Melody said. "Unless you were the witch.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Not having ice cream,” she proclaimed, “is the culmination of all disasters!”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“My life," Melody declared, "is a tragedy.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Well, that’s because they’re wrong and I’m right. No more reading for you. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

“I don’t know if the kitchen has any,” Joel said. “It’s hard to get in the summers, and—”

“Not from the kitchen, stupid,” Melody said, rolling her eyes. “From the parlor out on Knight Street.”

“Oh. I’ve … never been there.”

“What! That’s a tragedy.”

“Melody, everything is a tragedy to you.”

“Not having ice cream,” she proclaimed, “is the culmination of all disasters! That’s it. No more discussion. We’re going. Follow.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“It had been eight years. The pain of loss was still there. It never went away. It just got buried in time, like a rock slowly being covered over by dirt.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“I'm like that," she said. "Wild mood swings. It makes me more interesting.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Tantrums are a noble and time-tested strategy,she said airily. Particularly if you have a good set of lungs and are facing down a crotchety old priest. I know Stewart; he always bends if you make enough noise.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Librarians seemed to have a sixth sense for noticing when students were doing things they weren't supposed to.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“He gritted his teeth, frustrated with himself, but there was nothing he could do about years past. Perhaps he could change the future.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“So much about life was disappointment. He often wondered how humankind endured so long, and if the few moments when things went right really made up for all the rest.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Parents are unpredictable when their children are involved,” Harding said. “I’d much rather fight a squadron of Forgotten than deal with an affluent mother who thinks her son is in danger.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“school is about learning to learn. If you don’t practice studying things you don’t like, then you’ll have a very hard time in life.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“What’s wrong with unicorns?” she demanded from behind him, her chalk sounding as it scraped the ground. “They’re a noble and—”

“They’re a noble and incredibly girly animal,” Joel said. “I’ve got my masculine reputation to think of.”

“Oh hush, you,” she said. “You’ll deal with unicorns—maybe some flower people and a pegasus or two—and you’ll like it. Otherwise, you can just go draw your own circle, thank you very much.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“-Es una tradición de lo más divertida.
-La quema de brujas también lo era -replicó Melody-. A menos que fueras una bruja.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“The pain of loss was still there. It never went away. It just got buried in time, like a rock slowly being covered over by dirt.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Still, she soon began digging into her sundae again. “Chocolate,” she said, “is the greatest invention of all time.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Though I believe it's beyond the power of any mortal to completely relieve my prose of typos.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“It won’t be cold in the parlor,” she said. “Or … well, maybe it will. But everyone knows that ice cream is worth the trouble of being cold. Like all things virtuous, you have to suffer to gain the reward.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“What! That’s a tragedy.” “Melody, everything is a tragedy to you.” “Not having ice cream,” she proclaimed, “is the culmination of all disasters! That’s it. No more discussion. We’re going. Follow.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Don’t you know how to use chopsticks?” Joel asked. Melody grimaced. “I’ve never been one for European food. A fork works just fine.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“I don't know what to say," Joel said. "I figure that if you are there, you'll be angry if I claim to believe when I don't. The truth is, I'm not sure I don't believe, either. You might be there. I hope you are, I guess.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Or,”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Do you know why time is so confusing to some of us, Joel?” Nalizar asked.
Joel said nothing.
“Because man created it. He sectioned it off. There is nothing inherently important about a second or a minute. They’re fictional divisions, enacted by mankind, fabricated.” He eyed Joel. “Yet in a human’s hands, these things have life. Minutes, seconds, hours. The arbitrary becomes a law. For an outsider, these laws can be unsettling. Confusing. Frightening.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“Tantrums are a noble and time-tested strategy. Particularly if you have a good set of lungs and are facing down a crotchety old priest.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist

“A lofty goal for one who cannot himself ever make a line come to life.”
“There are critics of music who can’t play an instrument,” Joel said. “And historians don’t have to be the types who make history. Why must only Rithmatists study Rithmatics?”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Rithmatist