The Magician of Tiger Castle Quotes

“I felt bad for Pito. I’d never known him to be scared or embarrassed. To take some of the pressure off, I admitted to my fears. “Not of sailing off the edge of the world,” I explained. “I know the Earth is a sphere, even if I don’t understand how that can be so.” I also accepted the fact that there were people on the other side of our world walking around upside down. But they were walking on land. Land was solid. “But how can a boat sail upside down on water?” This was one fear that Pito didn’t share. “The cosmos has no up or down,” he said. “Don’t think of the universe as a place, Anatole. Think of it as a process.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“Tullia seemed to have little difficulty, but then again, she was quite a bit thinner than me. “What’s so meaningful about copying words someone else has written?” she asked.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“Father Bartolomé believed in the transcendental power of mundane routine. It was the soil from which enlightenment flourished.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“You may already know that Aristotle believed the world to be made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. You scoff, but Aristotle’s elements are just as true and just as false as the modern periodic table. It is a matter of how one chooses to divide and categorize.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“I will need the prince to provide a tear,” I told the ambassador. He was shocked at my request. “Our prince does not weep!” I didn’t bother to point out that I’d seen and heard him do just that, beneath the leeches. Instead, I explained the necessity of a personal identifier. “Otherwise, she might fall in love with the wrong person.” “Who said anything about love?” asked the ambassador. “The prince isn’t interested in love! He demands only obedience and devotion.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“How long before he dies?” Pito asked. The question confused me. “For the slow-acting poison,” he said. “What’d you use? The venom of a snake from the deep, dark jungles of Kanata?” “There is no slow poison,” I told him. “I merely changed his voice, permanently.” Wasn’t that enough? I could see the concern on his face. “You’ve made Dalrympl more dangerous than ever,” he said. “Haven’t you read Machiavelli?” I reminded him that Dalrympl had demanded the potion, and that I had strongly advised against it. There were lots of witnesses, including King Sandro himself. “My objections were duly noted.” “Do you think that matters?” Pito asked, slowly shaking his head. “You better hope the prince and princess are married. Only she can save you now.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“The arrow has left your bow, Anatole,” Pito said to me. He told me something one of his ancient philosophers had said. The philosopher had described an expert archer who practiced almost unceasingly. He knew how to account for the wind and the movement of his intended target. He took careful aim and judged just how much to pull back on his bowstring. “But once the arrow leaves his bow,” Pito said, “there’s no more he can do. The rest is up to the arrow.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“And then she’ll shake his hand,” said Pito. “Unless she decides to betray you.” “Why would she do that?” I asked. “Oh, Natto,” he replied mockingly. “Sometimes I think you forget. She’s a princess. That’s what a princess does.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“My thought was that the hot peppers would ward off the evil spirits, just as a fire in the night keeps wild animals at bay. Twenty-first-century physicians would snicker at such a notion. They’ll tell you that scurvy results from a lack of vitamin C.”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle

“During the Dark Ages, the sails had been rectangular. These were only useful when the wind blew from behind. The hulls of these ships”
― Louis Sachar, The Magician of Tiger Castle