Quotes from David Eddings

Whatever happened to him? Silk asked. He went swimming in the Nedrane. I didn't know that Thulls swam all that well. They don't–particularly not with large rocks tied to their feet.

Zakath's face grew thoughtful. You know something, Garion? he said. Man thinks he owns the world, but we share it with all sorts of creatures who are indifferent to our overlordship. They have their own societies, and I supposed even their own cultures. They don't even pay attention to us, do you? Only when we inconvenience them...It teaches us humility, Garion agreed.

Someday you'll have to show me how you did that, Asharak was saying. I found the experience interesting. My horse had hysterics, however. My apologies to your horse.

It's the nature of man to ask questions. --Belgarath

You're a cynic, Urgit accused. Silk shook his head. No, Your Majesty. I'm a realist.

All I knew was that I would die if he sent me away. He shrugged. You can cut a man's heart out with a shrug, did you know that?

Vella looked around. This is really a revolting place, Yarblek, she told him. You've been spending too much time with Porenn, he said. You're starting to get delicate. How would you like to have me gut you? she offered. That's my girl.

The whole world is beautiful, Belgarion' Eriond assured him in response to that unspoken thought. 'You just have to know how to look at it

Belgarath and Garion effortlessly hurdled over the driftwood and loped off into the fog. It's going to be a wet day, Garion noted soundlessly as he ran alongside the great silver wolf. Your fur won't melt. I know, but my paws get cold when they're wet. I'll have Durnik make you some little booties. That would be absolutely ridiculous, Grandfather, Garion said indignantly.

Why do you persist in being so frivolous, Urgit? Why don't we just call it a symptom of my incipient madness? You're not going to go mad, she said firmly. Of course I'm going to go mad, mother. I'm rather looking forward to it.

Durnik needs a tower somewhere in the Vale, Belgarath was saying. I don't see why, father, Polgara replied. All of Aldur's disciples have towers, Pol. It's the custom. Old customs persist --even when there's no longer any need for them. He's going to need to study, Pol. How can he possibly study with you underfoot all the time? She gave him a long, chilly stare. Maybe I should rephrase that.

Let's kill the big one with the red whiskers then, another suggested. He looks like he might be troublesome, and he's probably too stupid to know anything useful. I want that one, Barak whispered.

Why are the people all so unhappy? he asked Mister Wolf. They have a stern and demanding God, Wolf replied. Which God is that? Garion asked. Money, Wolf said.

If you're going to maintain any kind of self-respect, you're going to have to keep secrets from yourself.

Ce'Nedra returned, frowning and a little angry. They won't give me their eggs, Lady Polgara, she complained. They're sitting one them. You have to reach under them and take the eggs, dear. Won't that make them angry? Are you afraid of a chicken?

Isn't it odd how the little things can change a man's entire life?

You're going to keep making these mistakes as long as you keep carrying your brain in the same scabbard with your sword, Lelldorin.

I'd really like to go with you, Agachak. Truly I would...but I just can't. I don't understand. Why not? I'm not allowed to leave home. My mother'd punish me something awful if I did... But you're the king. That doesn't change a thing. I still do what mother says. She tells everybody that I'm the best boy ever when it comes to that. Agachak resisted a powerful urge to change this half-wit into a toad or perhaps a jellyfish.

I'm truly amazed at you, Garion, Polgara said. I didn't think you had the faintest idea of how to speak a civilized language. Thank you, he said, I think.

Contemporary fantasists all bow politely to Lord Tennyson and Papa Tolkien, then step around them to go back to the original texts for inspiration--and there are a lot of those texts. We have King Arthur and his gang in English; we've got Siegfried and Brunhild in German; Charlemagne and Roland in French; El Cid in Spanish; Sigurd the Volsung in Icelandic; and assorted 'myghtiest Knights on lyfe' in a half-dozen other cultures. Without shame, we pillage medieval romance for all we're worth.

Ordinary men live in fear all the time. Didn't you know that? We're afraid of the weather, we're afraid of powerful men, we're afraid of the night and the monsters that lurk in the dark, we're afraid of growing old and of dying. Sometimes we're even afraid of living. Ordinary men are afraid almost every minute of their lives.

Who owns a man, Durnik?" the blond young man asked sadly. "The one who rules him, or the one who pays him?

Isn't it easier to forgive than to hate? Until we learn how to forgive, that sort of thing is going to keep on happening. He pointed at the tall pillars of smoke rising to the north. Hate is a sterile thing, Belgarion.

You must learn that that's what friends and family are for – to be imposed upon. One of the Cardinal Rules, if you want to get through life without overexerting yourself, is that, when all else fails, fall back on friends and relations.