Quotes from Christopher Paolini, Brisingr

If you wish to be happy, Eragon, Think not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of the now and that which you are able to change

Everyone dies alone, Eragon. Whether you are a king on a battlefield or a lowly peasant lying in bed among your family, no one can accompany you into the void.

I cannot pretend that I regard this with favor, but the purpose of life is not to do what we want but what needs to be done. This is what fate demands of us. - Oromis

A person must earn enlightenment, Eragon. It is not handed down to you by others, regardless of how revered they be.

Death is part of who we are. It guidesus. It shapes us. It drives us to madness. Can you still be human if you have no mortal end

No matter how careful we are, if we live long enough, eventually one of us will die. It is not a happy thought, but it is the truth. Such is the way of the world.

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.