Robert Jordan Quotes

A pattern that is all one color is no pattern.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

Mashiara. Beloved of heart and soul, it meant, but a love lost, too. Lost beyond regaining.

Light's truth, if you got a woman to feed you on a regular basis, she was halfway won.

Demandred!" Galad yelled. "Demandred, you call for the Dragon Reborn! You demand to fight him! He is not here, but his brother is! Will you stand against me?

Rand noticed trees split open as if struck by lightning. "The cold," Lan answered when he asked. "Sometimes the winter is so cold here the sap freezes, and trees burst. There are nights when you can hear them cracking like fireworks, and the air is so sharp you think that might shatter, too. There are more than usual, this winter past." Rand shook his head. Trees bursting? And that was during an ordinary winter. What must this winter have been like? Surely like nothing he could imagine.

There is a different beauty in simplicity, in a single line placed just so, a single flower among the rocks. The harshness of the stone makes the flower more precious.

Past is past, and the future is ahead.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

It's never over, al'Thor. The battle's never done.

A woman's love can be violent.
Sometimes they hurt a man worse than they think they have, worse than they mean to.
Sometimes, they're even sorry afterwards.

Violence harms the one who does it as much as the one who receives it. You could cut down a tree with an axe. The axe does violence to the tree, and escapes unharmed. Is that how you see it? Wood is soft compared to steel, but the sharp steel is dulled as it chops, and the sap of the tree will rust and pit it. The mighty axe does violence to the helpless tree, and is harmed by it. So it is with men, though the harm is in the spirit.

The innocent died along with the guilty. And if you did nothing, then only the innocent died.

Several times Tam paused to engage one man or another in brief conversation. Since he and Rand had not been off the farm for weeks, everyone wanted to catch up on how things were out that way. Few Westwood men had been in. Tam spoke of damage from winter storms, each one worse than the one before, and stillborn lambs, of brown fields where crops should be sprouting and pastures greening, of ravens flocking in where songbirds had come in years before. Grim talk, with preparations for Bel Tine going on all around them, and much shaking of heads. It was the same on all sides. Most of the men rolled their shoulders and said, "Well, we'll survive, the Light willing." Some grinned and added, "And if the Light doesn't will, we'll still survive." That was the way of most Two Rivers people. People who had to watch the hail beat their crops or the wolves take their lambs, and start over, no matter how many years it happened, did not give up easily. Most of those who did were long since gone.

If wishes had wings, sheep would fly.

Belief and order give strength. Have to clear rubble before you can build.

No one was ever simply anything,

Moiraine: It seems Ryne was wrong as well as a Darkfriend. You were better than he.
Lan: He was better. But he thought I was finished, with only one arm. He never understood. You surrender after you're dead.

The flame and the void are about center," Tam said. "And about peace. I would teach it to each and every person in this land, soldier or not, if I could.

A long, white banner spread out, lifting on the air. Rand could only stare. The whole thing seemed of a piece, neither woven, nor dyed, nor painted. A figure like a serpent, scaled in scarlet and gold, ran the entire length, but it had scaled legs, and feet with five long, golden claws on each, and a great head with a golden mane and eyes like the sun. The stirring of the banner made it seem to move, scales glittering like precious metals and gems, alive, and he almost thought he could hear it roar defiance.

Usually when a woman was in the wrong, she could find so many things to blame on the nearest man that he wound up thinking maybe he really was at fault.

You could forget who you were if you forgot where you came from, and sometimes the innkeeper's daughter from Emond's Field seemed a stranger to her.

There were always five things that needed doing immediately and ten that should have been done yesterday.

The Wheel of Time and the wheel of a man's life turn alike without pity or mercy.

If you boys ... you men can do what has to be done when you'd rather do almost anything else, why do you think I will do less? Or Egwene

A flapping tongue has killed more men than sudden storms ever did.

That was the trouble with the best of men. They always thought they were doing the right thing.

You cannot please everyone. You cannot soothe everyone.

A weeping woman is a bucket with no bottom.

When you have never known a thing except to dream, it becomes more than a talisman.

What is the best method of appeasing an offended party? Would it not be to give some ground to them, acknowledge what they have done right?

Stay and get married, or travel the Ways." Loial grimaced ruefully. "Life is very unsettling with ta'veren for friends.

One pretty woman means fun at the dance. Two pretty women means trouble in the house. Three pretty women means run at the hills.

First things first; take care of what can be done now before worrying too long over what might never be.

Give me your trust, said the Aes Sedai.
On my shoulders I support the sky.
Trust me to know and to do what is best,
And I will take care of the rest.
But trust is the color of a dark seed growing.
Trust is the color of a heart's blood flowing.
Trust is the color of a soul's last breath.
Trust is the color of death.
Give me your trust said the queen on her throne,
for I must bear the burden alone.
Trust me to lead and to judge and to rule, and no man will think you a fool.
But trust is the sound of the grave-dog's bark.
Trust is the sound of betrayal in the dark.
Trust is the sound of a soul's last breath.
Trust is the sound of death.

Who'd have thought an Aiel could bloody read?

Love is an odd thing. As odd a thing as there is.

People had a way of folding what they saw into what they knew and what they wanted to believe.

Everyone wants someone in their life, someone who cares for them, someone they can care for.

With experience comes a determination to be set in your ways, to avoid new experiences.

Why, that's like being told to go up in the hills to find lions, only you do not know whether there are any lions, but if there are, they may be hunting you, and they may be disguised as bushes. Oh, and if you find any lions, try not to let them eat you before you can tell where they are. -Elayne

Anger made for hasty decisions and rash words that sometimes were hard to take back.

A man can get killed in there.

It was always a mistake to choose a pillow-friend who did not wear the shawl. Especially if you were fool enough to let her take the lead.

I would not mind you in my head, if you were not so clearly mad.

You come back here, or I'll hero you! I'll thump you so you think you've had an adventure!

A open pot can't hide, a inch-opened door can't hide much, but an open man is hiding the universe.
she says something else, but i cannot remember the rest.

I don't know. They could put up a warning sign or something. Hello. Welcome to Hindstrap. We will murder you in the night and eat your bloody face if you stay past sunset. Try the pies. Martna Maily makes them fresh daily.

No. Please do not name either child after me, Elayne. Let them live their own lives. My shadow will be long enough as it is.'
-Rand

Why was it women could go to pieces or fly into a rage at the smallest thing, yet never flicker an eyelash at what left you gaping?

The wheel of a man's life. No mercy. No pity.

You could weave silk from pig bristles before you could make a man anything but a man.

Image perception makes a big difference. That's one of the things I tell entrepreneurs today. Fine, focus on products, focus on customers and all that good stuff - that's necessary. But the image that you project is also key. Don't forget that.

Fear will kill you if you don't control it.

The old blood is indeed still strong in the Two Rivers.

You ride to battle?" Karede asked.
"I was thinking more of a saunter," Mat said. He shook his head. "I need a feel for what Demandred is doing ... I'm going out there, Karede, and putting you fellows between me and the Trollocs sounds delightful. Are you coming?

Behind him, Birgitte Silverbow stood over her corpse, one foot to either side of the headless body.

It is important to get connected to your soul. There are motivational thoughts that bring eternal peace and integrity. The life then gives an outlook of spiritual awareness about one's self and the world. A self-learned lesson can be helpful in terms of experiencing the intensity of positive thoughts.

Keep fighting, you daughters and sons of goats!" Birgitte yelled, loosing arrows at the mercenaries. "I might be dead, but I'm still your bloody commander, and you will obey orders!

Well, I can admire stubbornness in a man. There is little to a man who's too easily biddable.

The people seemed nearly ostentatious about minding their own business.

It was easier to pretend at night. Some men lived their entire lives that way, preferring the curtains of darkness to the open windows of daylight, because they let them see the world all in shadow. It

May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.

Life is a dream from which we all must wake before we can dream again.

And it shall come to pass that what man made shall be shattered, and the Shadow shall lie across the Pattern of Age, and the Dark One shall once more lay his hand upon the world of man. Women shall weep and men quail as the nations of the earth are rent like rotting cloth. Neither shall anything stand nor abide...
Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth. In sackcloth and ashes shall he clothe the people, and he shall break the world again by his coming, tearing apart all ties that bind. Like the unfettered dawn shall he blind us, and burns us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. Let tears flow, O ye people of the world. Weep for your salvation.

-from The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon, as translated by Ellaine Marise'idin Alshinn, Chief Librarian at the Court of Arafel, in the Year of Grace 231 of the New Era, the Third Age

Yes ... how else could Demandred explain the skill of the enemy general? Only a man with the experience of an ancient was so masterly at the dance of battlefields. At their core, many battle tactics were simple. Avoid being flanked, meet heavy force with pikes, infantry with a well-trained line, channelers with other channelers. And yet, the finesse of it ... the little details ... these took centuries to master. No man from this Age had lived long enough to learn the details with such care.

I never saw or heard or smelled anything that couldn't be talked about

She understood his eyes, colder than winter's heart. A man who knew he was dead and couldn't make himself care; you are spared that. Mashiara. His lost love.

I think that quite often you can only find a choice between bad and worse. But I think it's worth making the effort, and I like to expose my characters to that sort of situation.

Maybe if I smiled more when I made jokes, he thought idly, leaning against the side of the barricade. Then they'd understand what I meant. That, of course, raised the question: Did he want people to understand? It was often more amusing the other way. Besides, smiling was so garish.

So your luck still holds with women, too." Ryne's laugh had an edge. Perhaps he fancied her himself. "The Light knows, they can't find you handsome; you get uglier every year. Maybe I ought to try some of that coy modesty, let women lead me by the nose." Lan opened his mouth, then took a drink instead of speaking. He should not have to explain, but it was too late for explanation with Ryne in any case. His father had taken him to Arafel the year Lan turned ten. The man wore a single blade on his hip instead of two on his back, yet he was Arafellin to his toenails. He actually started conversations with women who had not spoken to him first. Lan, raised by Bukama and his friends in Shienar, had been surrounded by a small community who held to Malkieri ways. If Lira did share his bed tonight, as seemed certain, she would discover there was nothing shy or retiring about him once they were abed, yet the woman chose when to enter that bed and when to leave.

The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

The sight of Moiraine always made her smile. Cetalia had been wrong in one particular. She was not a pretty little porcelain doll; she was a beautiful little porcelain doll. On the outside, anyway. Inside, where it counted, was another matter. The first time Siuan saw her, she had been sure the Cairhienin girl would crack like a spindle-shell in a matter of days. But Moiraine had turned out to be as tough as she herself if not tougher. No matter how often she was knocked down, she climbed back to her feet straightaway. Moiraine did not know the meaning of 'give up.

Hammar moved to stand beside Galad, still groaning on the ground and trying to push himself up. The warder raised his voice to shout, "Who was the greatest blademaster of all time?'
From the throats of dozens of students came a massed bellow. "Jearom, Gaidin!"
"Yes!" Hammar shouted, turning to make sure all heard. "During his lifetime, Jearom fought over ten thousand times, in battle and single combat. He was defeated once. By a farmer with a quarterstaff! Remember that. Remember what you just saw."
During his lifetime, the greatest blademaster fought over ten thousand times, in battle and single combat. He was defeated once. By a farmer with a quarterstaff! Remember that.

Why do they use it like that? Peace." "When you have never known a thing except to dream," Lan replied, heeling Mandarb forward, "it becomes more than a talisman.

Humankind is made for uncertainly, struggle, choice and change.

They were high up. If he fell, he'd have time to hum three verses of "She Has No Ankles That I Can See" before he hit. Maybe an extra round of the chorus.

If you ask the lion to protect from from wolves, you have only chosen to end in one belly instead of another.

Duty is heavier than a mountain, Dai Shan.'
That time, Lan did flinch. How long had it been since someone had been able to do that to him with mere words? He remembered teaching that same concept to a youth out of the Two Rivers. A sheepherder, innocent of the world, fearful of the fate laid out before him by the Pattern.

Men listened closer to calm tones than to the loudest shouts, so long as firmness and certainty accompanied the calm.

Dance with her, and she will forgive much. Dance well, and she will forgive anything.

I had long wondered," Lan said to Tam. "About the man who had given Rand that heron-marked blade. I wondered if he had truly earned it. Now I know." Lan raised his own sword in salute.

We all do as we must, as the Pattern decrees. For some there is less freedom than for others. It does not matter whether we choose or are chosen. What must be, must be.

I love words," Mat said. "There are some deliciously pretty words out there. 'Smile.' That's always sounded like a pretty word to me. Don't you think? Or, perhaps, the words 'I promise not to kill Egwene right now for trying to touch me, the Empress, may I live forever, because we really bloody need her for the next couple of weeks or so.'" He eyeed Fortuona pointedly.

Rand stared at her for a moment. "Well, you could certainly stop being a spoiled, self-certain, unmitigated brat for once, Egwene.

That had the irritating sound of an old saying.

Lan Mandragoran, you bloody wonderful man! You did it!
-Mat

You stand up straw men," Nynaeve said. "We have a saying in the Two Rivers. 'Whether the bear beats the wolf or the wolf beats the bear, the rabbit always loses.' Take your contest somewhere else and leave Emond's Field folk out of it.

When the Wolf King carries the hammer, thus are the final days known. When the fox marries the raven, and the trumpets of battle are blown.' I

She grimaced, remembering one incarnation when she and he had been forced to grow old together, peacefully. Most boring life she'd ever known, though at the time - ignorant of her grander part in the Pattern - she'd been happy with it.

You can't patch a hull when the whole boat's burned.

Once was happenstance, twice might be coincidence, but thrice or more indicated the actions of your enemies.

In a cruel land, you either learned to laugh at cruelty or spent your life weeping.

Has anyone ever told you that you should wear a hat? It would fit the missing eye quite well.'
-Kathana to Mat

He doesn't know what to make of me," Mat said softly.
"How very uncommon. I can't think of anyone else who has reacted that way to you, Mat.

If it hurts too much, make it hurt someone else instead.

Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.

Letting emotions go clouds judgment for a moment, but holding them in clouds it always.

Trust is as slippery as a basket of eels sometimes.

Be hostile unless you must, Moiraine had said, but above all never be overly friendly. Never be eager