-
So you went looking for a myth and found a man.
-
But for most practical purposes Tarbean had two pieces: Waterside and Hillside. Waterside is where people are poor. That makes them beggars, thieves, and whores. Hillside is where people are rich. That makes them solicitors, politicians, and courtesans.
-
'How do they feel about demons off in Atur?' he asked.'Scared.' My father tapped his temple. 'All that religion makes their brains soft.'
-
Any student of mine must be able to defend his ideas against an attack. No matter how you spend your life, your wit will defend you more often than a sword. Keep it sharp!
-
Call a jack a jack. Call a spade a spade. But always call a whore a lady. Their lives are hard enough, and it never hurts to be polite.
-
'All stories are true,' Skarpi said. 'But this one really happened, if that’s what you mean.' He took another slow drink, then smiled again, his bright eyes dancing. 'More or less. You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way. Too much truth confuses the facts. Too much honesty makes you sound insincere.'
-
I write what I don't know. It's way more interesting.
-
'I’ll admit, I was disappointed to learn that dragons didn’t exist. That’s a hard lesson for a boy to learn.'Chronicler smiled. 'Honestly, I was a little disappointed myself. I went looking for a legend and found a lizard. A fascinating lizard, but a lizard just the same.'
-
Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear.
-
Remember this son, if you forget everything else. A poet is a musician who can’t sing. Words have to find a man’s mind before they can touch his heart. And, some men’s minds are woeful small targets. Music touches their hearts directly, no matter how small or stubborn the mind of the man who listens.
-
Lord but I dislike poetry. How can anyone remember words that aren’t put to music?
-
'Music is a fine thing, but metal lasts.' He struck the table with two huge fingers to emphasize his point....As I left, I thought about what Kilvin had said. It was the first thing he had said to me that I did not agree with wholeheartedly. Metal rusts, I thought, music lasts forever.Time will eventually prove one of us right.
-
Everyone thinks chemistry and alchemy are so similar, but they’re really not. They’re not even related. They just happen to live in the same house.
-
He picked the rock back up. 'Do you believe that it floated?''No!' I sulked, rubbing my temples.'Good. It didn’t. Never fool yourself into perceiving things that don’t exist.'
-
Nothing makes a man feel older than a young woman.
-
My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as 'Quothe.' Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I’ve had more names than anyone has a right to.The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it’s spoken, can mean 'The Flame,' 'The Thunder,' or 'The Broken Tree.'
-
Wilem tapped Simmon’s shoulder. 'He’s telling the truth.'Simmon glanced over at him. 'Why do you say that?''He sounds more sincere than that when he lies.'
-
'Piss on etiquette,' Threpe said petulantly. 'Etiquette is a set of rules people use so they can be rude to each other in public.'
-
So this is the difference between telling a story and being in one, he thought numbly, the fear.
-
My father had a dark glimmer in his eye as he moved behind her. 'Old?' He spoke in a low voice as he began to rub her shoulders again. 'Woman, I have a mind to prove you wrong.'She smiled a wry smile. 'Sir, I have a mind to let you.'
-
As my father used to say: 'There are two sure ways to lose a friend, one is to borrow, the other to lend.'
-
'Why do we stop for the greystones?''Tradition, my boy,' he said grandly, throwing his arms wide. 'And superstition. They are one and the same, anyway.'
-
Mauthen ain’t much for listenen. Nothin’ plugs a man’s ears like money.
-
Wisdom precludes boldness.