Christopher Paolini Quotes

Casting back her head, Arya gazed up at the twinkling sky, her long neck gold with firelight, her face pale with the radiance of the heavenx. "Do you ask out of friendly concern or your own self-interest?" She gave an abrupt, choked laugh, the sound of water falling over cold rocks. "Never mind. The night air has addled me. It has undone my sense of courtesy and left me free to say the most spiteful things that occur to me."
"No matter."
"It does matter, because I regret it, and I shall not tolerate it. Did I love Faolin? How would you define love? For over twenty years, we traveled together, the only immortals to walk among the short-lived races. We were companions ... and friends.

He was rarely happy throughout his life but he was a good Rider and a good man.

I am not who I was, but I know who I am.

It's like trying to herd a flock of geese," said Orik. "They're always trying to go off on their own, they make an obnoxious noise, and they'll bite your hand first chance they get.

You cannot learn what you are made of if you rely on anyone or anything else to help you.

Having no other recourse, Roran resorted to the unexpected: he stuck his head and neck out and shouted, "BAH!" just as he would if he were trying to scare someone in a dark hallway ...

He'd lost all fear of Death's embrace,
The last embrace a man will know.

As he was about to leave, she said, "Murtagh."
He paused and turned to regard her.
She hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage and said, "Why?" She though he understood her meaning: Why her? Why save her, and now why try to rescue her? She had guessed at the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.
He stared at her for the longest while, and then, in a low, hard voice, he said, "You know why.

A moment later, in an even fainter voice, he whispered, Do not mourn me

I have 20 or 30 books completely plotted out in my mind - mysteries, thrillers, horror, romance, science fiction. You name it.

I think I learned most from editing, both editing myself and having someone else edit me. It's not always easy to have someone criticize your work, your baby. But if you can swallow your ego, you can really learn from the editing.

Too late. It's hatched.

As Roran watched, the man's arms, neck, and chest shriveled, and his bones appeared in sharp relief-from the bowlike curve of his collarbones to the hollow saddle of his hips, where his stomach hung like an empty waterskin. His lips puckered and drew back farther than they were intended to over his yellow teeth, baring them in a grisly snarl, while his eyeballs deflated as if they were engorged ticks being squished empty of blood, and the surrounding flesh sank inward.

When the sun touched the earth, it spread out along the horizon like a giant yolk oozing free of its skin.

Of the affairs of love ... my only advice is to be honest. That's your most powerful tool to unlock a heart or gain forgiveness.

Wear it, Eragon. If you wish to remain above the forces here, do not let anyone's disapproval dictate your actions.

Why?' - Nasuada
'You know why' - Murtagh

mushroom pie stuffed with spinach, thyme, and currants.

And the ship sailed onward, gliding serenely down the moonlit river toward the dark lands beyond.

besides, how can you cheat a cheater?

The debate raged on for so long, at last Saphira had interrupted with a roar that shook the walls of the command tent. Then she said, I am sore and tired, and Eragon is doing a poor job of explaining himself. We have better things to do than stand around yammering like jackdaws, no? ... Good now listen to me.
It was reflected Eragon, hard to argue with a dragon.

Not anymore. I'm afraid I've degenerated into a bibliophile."
"A what?" asked Eragon.
"One who loves books," explained Jeod.

As he gazed at the sun-darkened warriors, battle-worn before him, he decided that he would rather fight a hundred enemies than have to stand up in public and risk the disapproval of others.

A negative outlook is more of a handicap than any physical injury.

A fine Dragon Rider you are, afraid of talking to a large group! If only Galbatorix knew, he could have you at his mercy if he but asked you to make a speech to his troops. Ha! It

Show respect for those in power, but do not follow them blindly.

Do not pamper me, human. Elves train both their men and women to fight. I am not one of your helpless females to run away whenever there is danger.

The trickster, the riddler, the keeper of balance, he of the many faces who finds life in death and who fears no evil; he who walks through doors.

Yes it is" Eragon said before his courage left him "just like you

If he fancied her anymore,' Saphira said to both Eragon and Roran, 'I'd be trying to kiss Arya myself.'
'Saphira!' Mortified, Eragon swatted her on the leg.

Magic is the art of thinking, not strength or language.

It is always thus. The monsters of the mind are far worse than those that actually exist. Fear, doubt, and hate have hamstrung more people than beasts ever have.

Hands, and an assortment of scars even Roran respected. He liked what he saw, and he could tell they approved

Do not feel bad because of it. It's impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishment.

Forgive me if I stare, I knew you were young, but even then I was expecting someone a little more, well, more.

I always say, better ask forgiveness than permission.

Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world.

Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed away at who he was.

Think without thinking, so that you act as if out of instinct and not reason.

It never struck me as interesting that I didn't go to school - we had our own little world. I always thought of kids who were going to regular school as if they're the others, the separate ones.

Eragon cried out, and in his desperation he reached for Saphira and the Eldunarí... and without meaning to, he drew from their stories of energy.
And with that energy he cast a spell.
It was a spell without words... His was a spell of instinct and emotion; language could not contain it.

Well, don't act so morose. It's not as if it's your execution!" "I know." "Then smile, because if it's not your execution, you should be happy!

You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention. - Brom

It's not the wolves out there," said Eragon, hugging himself. "It's the wolves in here." He tapped the middle of his forehead

Ajihad: You are an enigma, Eragon, a quandary that no one knows how to solve.

To while away the day contemplating evils that might have been is to poison the happiness we already have.

men-who-were-friends and the Urgals-who-were-friends and the horses-she-must-not-eat

Let go of your worries and focus
only on the task at hand. The future will be what it will, and fretting about it will only make your fears more likely to come true .
I know,
Glaedr

Perhaps not one religion contains all of the truth of the world. Perhaps every religion contains fragments of the truth, and it is our responsibility to identify those fragments and piece them together.

In the beginning, there were dragons; proud, fience,and independent. Their scale were like gems and all who gazed upon them despaired, for their beauty was great and terrible..!

I've always been very grateful that enough people have enjoyed reading what I've written that I've been able to pursue writing professionally.

Books are my friends, my companion. They make me laugh and cry and find the meaning of life

You cannot miss what you have never had.

I didn't think I would ever meet a noble who wasn't corrupt. Now that I have, I find that I prefer them when they're greedy bastards. (Brom to Eragon)

The best remedy for what ails me is being with you here under the sun.

I'm not sure you would understand."
The elf folded his hands in his lap. "I might not; that is true. But then, you cannot know for certain unless you try to explain.

When he asked Saphira about it, she said, It matters little to me, Eragon. Dragons have never believed in higher powers. Why should we when deer and other prey consider us to be a higher power? He laughed at that. Only do not ignore reality in order to comfort yourself, for once you do, you make it easy for others to deceive you.

Eragon looked back at him, confused. "I don't understand."
"Of course you don't," said Brom impatiently. "That's why I'm teaching you and not the other way around.

They enveloped each other within the folds of their thoughts, holding each other with an intimacy no physical embrace could replicate, allowing their identities to merge once again. Their greatest comfort was a simple one: they were no longer alone. To know that you were with the one who cared for you, and who understood every fiber of your being, and who would not abandon you even in the most desperate of circumstances, that was the most precious relationship a person could have, and they both cherished it.

It's life's natural course. All will be fine; time will settle everything.

I've stood outside my house in Montana looking at the northern lights ... crackling against the night sky. To me, that's magic.

I suggest starting with a cat; they have unusual personalities.

Never ask an elf for help; they might decide your better off dead, eh? (Orik) (Eldest) (Page 207)

Fight if you wish. Deny what is before you if it comforts you. But nothing you do can change your fate.

Several hundred feet ahead, Saphira and Thorn tussled, two giants in the night.

Give men your ear, but not your heart. Show respect for those in power, but don't follow them blindly. Judge with logic and reason, but comment not.

You worry about a crack in the floor while the whole mountain is about to come down on us!

Old Friend The Witch and the Werecat Of Reading and Plots Thieves in the Castle A Costly Mistake Vision of Perfection

Ragon knelt in a bed of trampled reed grass and scanned the tracks

Who is it who decides that one man should live and another should die? My life wasn't worth any more than his, but he's the one who's buried, while I get to enjoy at least a few more hours above the ground. Is it chance, random and cruel, or is there some purpose or pattern to all this, even if it lies beyond our ken?

Wise? No, I simply learned to think.

I'm healthy as an ox. And you?" "To compare myself with a bovine would be both ridiculous and insulting, but I'm fit as ever, if that is what you are asking.

Galbatorix used to call me Kingkiller. You're Kingkiller as well now."
"It seems to run in the family."
"You'd better keep an eye on Roran, then.

Why does everything have to be so hard? [Eragon] wondered.
Because, said Saphira, everyone wants to eat, but no one wants to be eaten.

There is a proper way to greet the sentinels in Ceris, certain patterns and forms that you must observe when presented to Queen Islanzadí, and a hundred different manners in which to greet those around you, if it's not better to just remain quiet."
"With all your customs," Eragon risked saying, "it seems as though you've only made it easier to offend people."
A smile flickered across her lips. "Perhaps.

For her, choices were simple; either there was an action she could take to improve the situation, in which case she took it, or there was not, and everything else said on the subject was so much meaningless noise.

What a sweet and succulent morsel: so soft, so salty, so deliciously delectable, it makes me want to wiggle with delight. You should cook for me more often, Roran Stronghammer. Only next time, I think you should prepare several deer at once. Otherwise, I won't get a proper meal.' Roran hesitated, as if unable to decide whether her request was serious and, if so, how he could politely extricate himself froim such an unlooked -for and rather onerous obligation.

When you can have anything you want by uttering a few words, the goal matters not, only the journey to it.

You'd better not let Galbatorix get the better of you, or I'll be honor-bound to march in after you."
"We'll be careful," Eragon said with a smile.
"I should hope so, because I doubt I could do much more than tweak Galbatorix on the nose."
That I would like to see, said Saphira.

Life is too short to fight every idiot along your way.

One part brave, three parts fool!

I own a book,' he thought, delighted (Paolini 291).

A good compromise leaves everyone angry.

It goes as it does,Argetlam.You cannot hurry perfection.

When you teach them-teach them not to fear. Fear is good in small amounts, but when it is a constant, pounding companion, it cuts away at who you are and makes it hard to do what you know is right.

Just writing a lot doesn't necessarily make you a better writer. You have to hear yourself as a writer, and the best way to do that is to read your writing out loud.

From the corner of his eye, Eragon saw Orik hewing Urgal necks with mighty blows of his ax.

The way the Rider flourished his sword afterward- spinning it in a quick circle by his side- suddenly seemed familiar to Eragon, as did all his preceding swordsmanship. He stared with growing horror at his enemy's hand-and-a-half sword, then back up at the eye slits of his mirrored helm, and shouted, I know you!
He threw himself at the Rider, trapping both swords between their bodies, hooked his fingers underneath the helm, and ripped it off. And there in the center of the plateau, on the edge of the Burning Plains of Allagaesia, stood Murtagh.

The way of the warrior is the way of knowing. If that knowledge requires you to use anger, then you use anger, but you cannot wrest forth knowledge by losing your temper. Pain and frustration will be your only reward if you try.

It is foolish to conjure up woe where none exists.

A true warrior," she said, "does not fight because he wishes to but because he has to. A man who yearns for war, a man who enjoys his killing, he is a brute and a monster. No matter how much glory he wins on the battlefield, that cannot erase the fact that he is no better than a rabid wolf who will turn on his friends and family as soon as his foes.

Because you can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention.

It's impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments.

Whatever you do, protect those you care for. Without them, life is more miserable than you can imagine.

House of Langfeld has rendered you in this cause, it is insulting

How am I supposed to know which religion is the true religion? he wondered. Just because someone follows a certain faith does not necessarily

It is an overactive imagination that turns men into cowards, not a surfeit of fear, as many believe

Things that change and are lost, that is what's worth preserving.

On the beach, Roran stood alone, watching them go. Then he threw back his head and uttered a long, aching cry, and the night echoed with the sound of his loss.

Applied properly, it [logic] can overcome any lack of wisdom, which one only gains through age and experience.