The Invisible College Quotes

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. Therefore, guard them well. Take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Not every thought that enters your mind is yours.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“I have had to step down from my duties in the quorum. Another will take my rank. But that is as it should be. Positions should be based on merit and capability, not on tradition or connection. I put your name in as a possible replacement. They decided on another. Someone with stronger ties to the military.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Because you are one of those men who can’t live without a little wholesome tyranny from the women in their lives.” “‘Wholesome tyranny’?” he said, chuckling. “I want to buy bags of spiced peanuts now and then and not have you balk at eating your share. I want to care for you and . . . help you with your work . . . and I want you to read books with me and talk about the things we read . . . and share things with each other. And I want you to teach me. As . . . as equals. Well, someday. I don’t want you to think I am unable to contribute to your life. That you have to do everything yourself. If we did marry, I would want to buy a Broadwood grand and make you play it every day, even if I can’t hear the notes. For me . . . things must go both ways.” She stepped closer to him, looking at him sternly, feeling the bowler hat brush against her. “Or not at all.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“additional bonus chapters for this book”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Not every thought that enters your mind is yours.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“He is an esteemed patent attorney, specializing in magical patents,”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“The delicious tang of saltpetr flavored the air as smoke curled”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“No one was guaranteed another day of life.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Most people started a conversation because of what they wanted to communicate.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“There are many complex chords given technical names—Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Locrian. The chord I discovered is a Mixolydian chord. It causes the lamp to glow based on the proximity of the sound. I believe artifacts of magic, possessed by the Aesir, trigger this response unwittingly. Imagine, if you will, the lamps in the city begin to glow when they detect the presence of the Aesir.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Lack of maternal bonding had proven to be a great indicator of success for assassins in the empire.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“And he is overly scrupulous.” “Doesn’t that word mean diligent, trustworthy, and reliable?” “Of course, McKenna. But like all words, there are still more meanings. He is upstanding. He is honorable. But I’ve known scrupulous men before, those who put duty above all else, even their relations. I’m not fond of such black-and-white thinking. I’ve learned, over many years of experience, to be wary of those who bear this trait. They can be . . . obsessive. Is that a flattering word in your opinion?” McKenna shook her head. “Nor do I consider it one.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“What was he missing? What principle had he neglected to consider? Feelings of frustration began to roil inside him. They were followed promptly by their cousin, despair. He would never figure it out. He was nothing but an insignificant elocutionist from a backwater province of the— Robinson cut off the thought immediately. Such insidious thoughts repelled progress. Over the centuries, sorcerers had to learn how to fortify the walls of their thinking against such intruding thoughts.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“With the dead there is no rivalry, with the dead there is no change.” Was it our predisposition to change the world before they woke up that finally broke their long-suffering with us? They have created every vexation we face in our lives—war, pestilence, famine. And yet these selfsame vexations might perhaps bring us to another level of wisdom, one we may never have achieved without being forced to face our true natures when pressed to our extremities. That is the penultimate end of the Invisible College. Not inventing trinkets of magic.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“It gets excited when it hears something we rarely hear. A perfect Mixolydian chord. That stone radiates a harmony that is at a pitch almost inaudible to us. But I can hear it . . . well . . . it’s more like I can sense it. I attuned the intelligence to that chord, and it responds every time it hears it. Your father is a colonel. See if you can borrow an Aesir cloak. If I’m right, this tube will start to glow immediately when it is nearby.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“A burglar’s motives he could understand. Want, stress, and the threat of sudden violence could induce someone to lower their morals and temporarily coax them to illegal action.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“For many decades, our soldiers at the front have borne the brunt of war preparations and cold winters while we’ve been safe at home. Now is our turn to show equal courage.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“It was natural for mortals to desire to worship such beings of transcendent beauty and power, but they were a completely different species. There were legends of mortals who were abducted and taken to their frigid lands never to return. They were kept as drudges used only to serve the whims of their immortal overlords.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“When an enemy rages against you with sword, axe, or javelin, swooping down atop bog creatures terrifying and beautiful, their rage reveals their intent. But when they sing softly, lullingly, we become pacified and complacent. Hence there must always be a shield of music hovering over our cities to disrupt this most dangerous of ploys they can use. In the silence, their melodies kill.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“My assignment for you this week is to imagine loss.” McKenna wrinkled her brow. “Loss? You do not mean to lose something?” “More particularly to lose someone. Someone you love and care about. What if you could never see that person again? Let those emotions build inside you. This is, again, where music is so poignant.” She adored that word. Poignant. “The greatest arias in the opera strike those feelings. But even if you cannot hear the tune, you can still imagine the feeling. Do that and then summon the magic to comfort you. Let’s see what happens.” “Father has warned me that our thoughts can bring the very terrors we fear. That we should eschew such feelings.” “He’s not wrong. We are exploring the unchartered mountain passes, Miss Foster. For one week, I want you to be fixated on this idea.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Much of what we do every day happens because of habits created long ago by people we no longer remember,” he said with a slump of his shoulders. “Our choices in food. Our conversation. What is appropriate to talk about versus what it not. If we could peel back the curtain of history to see what times were like before, we’d think it all very strange.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Some people like to think for others. To put their beliefs on them. Maybe she’s afraid I’ll be too disappointed if I fail. But I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll keep knocking on your door for lessons as long as you keep opening it. I enjoy them.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“Passion and determination could yield amazing outcomes. A little recalcitrance was often necessary, was it not?”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“He wanted to talk more about it, but he was waiting for an invitation to elaborate. Most people started a conversation because of what they wanted to communicate. The barrister pulled off his spectacles and rubbed the lenses on a handkerchief. Then he put them back on. “I would appreciate hearing more about your research if you are willing to speak of it? I sense some reticence to discussing it on your part, Professor.” “I would be happy to express myself more candidly, sir. I was awaiting an invitation to do so.” That seemed to please the barrister, who gestured with his hand for Robinson to speak freely.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“As with anything else, you must ask questions. Seek advice. Study and learn from those who are willing to teach.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College

“In all honesty, she was just stubborn enough that she wanted to prove them all wrong. To find a way to improve her speech without anyone else’s help. But that attitude would do nothing to help her.”
― Jeff Wheeler, The Invisible College