The Riddle Quotes

“Love is one of the true mysteries,' he said at last. 'The truest and the deepest of all. One thing, Maerad: to love is never wrong. It may be disastrous; it may never be possible; it may be the deepest agony. But it is never wrong.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Never be ashamed of your love," he said gently. "The only thing to be ashamed of is denying your love. That is what makes the shadow grow within your heart; that is the darkening of the Light. And we all have many loves.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Love is never easy. We begin by loving the things we can, according to our stature, but it is not long before we find that what we love is other than ourselves and that our love is no protection against being wounded. Do we then speak to dominate what we love, to make it bend to our will, to stop it from hurting us even though to do so is to betray love? And that is only where the difficulty begins..”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Many forgotten things live still in children's tales.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Not even I can see all ends, but I have been in this world long enough to know that a choice is not choice and breeds slow ills, even were it done for the highest reasons.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“I think you are a liar because you think you know what is true. You think you feel what is true. But you do not yet know what you do feel and what you do know. Your desire and do not take; you love and are too afraid to feel your love; you conceal your vanity and pettiness from yourself; you are afraid to look into your soul and see what you are. That iis why i think you are a liar.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“It is far better to put away fear than to be driven by it.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“The only good thing about being frightened half to death, she thought, is that it makes me forget all about being seasick.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Triple tongued is triple named”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“To love is never wrong. It may be disastrous; it may never be possible; it may be the deepest agony. But it is never wrong.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“You are the Fire Lily", said the Winterking softly. "And I am the Ice King. Does fire melt ice? Or ice melt fire? Or may they come together, fire and ice, neither melted nor quenched?”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“You said that love could not be feigned and could not be stolen" she said passionately. "And now you say I am to be your queen. And yet you imprison me and give me no freedom. You know what it is like to be caged, It is a death. You tell me I cannot hide from you and yet you punish me for hiding.You say you do not want me to fear you and you treat me like I am a slave. Forgive me my Lord"-and here she bowed her head sadly, contrite and meek-"I don not understand why you are punishing me for something you say I cannot do. I do not understand your love, if this is the love you offer me.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Elednor,' he said, 'Elednor, why have you betrayed me? Come back to me. Come back to were you belong. I alone need you...”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“There is a great force in renunciation of power that those who are blinded by the lust for domination cannot understand because those who truly love do not desire power.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“But all these truths, woven together, might give us a picture of what is true. That is why it’s important to know all the different stories. We can never see all the sky at once.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Cadvan smiled. “We are all many,” he said. “But most of us don’t have the privilege of understanding that as clearly as you do. It is hard to know oneself, but until we do, we cannot know why we act as we do. It’s a lifetime’s quest, and it never ends.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“The weather was clear and still, and the countless stars opened above them, seeming like brilliant cold fruits that Maerad could simply pick out of the sky.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Life is hard, no? And full of sorrow. The Pilani dance in defiance of death and grief and hardship. They choose to burn before the darkness, rather than to gutter out like a dim flame.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“Maerad, our world is full of sorrow and evil,” he said. “But there is also beauty and light and love. You must remember that.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“All the fears and doubts surrounding her grief and regrets were swept up into the tempest of the music, poising here in the centre of the moment, a clear vessel of joy.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“They choose to burn before the darkness, rather than gutter out like a dim flame.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“He was coming home.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“It is the pain of being in the world, where so much that is fair passes into death and forgetfulness. But if we are to know joy, we must embrace that pain. You cannot have one without the other."
Maerad nodded, her face downcast. Sometimes, it seemed to her, the pain far outweighed the joy.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“So far, so good, thought Maerad, wondering how she was to explain to these people why she had come so far north. Because of a dream, because of a few clues scoured here and there, from a half-mad old Pilanel woman and a wise goatherd in Thorold--what sense could they possibly make of what she told them?”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle

“I think we deserve a wine, yes, young Bard? We have worked hard today."
"A wine?" said Maerad shyly, thinking of the vociferous Bards. Elenxi looked at her and laughed.
"Don't tell me you are frightened! Well, we'll have to cure that."
"But I'm filthy!" Maerad objected, blushing.
Elenxi lifted an eyebrow. "So? Does one have to be clean to drink? I should like to know when that was made a rule.”
― Alison Croggon, The Riddle