David Eddings

"We don’t believe in your wars, we don’t believe in your customs, and we don’t believe in your Gods.”
“Your lives are empty, then.”
“The money sort of fills that up—at least that’s what Sergeant Khalor told us.”

You want gold, I suppose? she asked in an accusatory tone.
“Oh, gold’s all right, I suppose, but I’d really rather get paid in love. Love can’t be counted, so it’s probably even more valuable than gold.”

"This grey’s sort of depressing.”
What on earth has that got to do with anything?
“It’s a question of aesthetics, Em. We should always strive to fill our lives with beauty.”
I don’t see anything beautiful in something that was designed to kill people.
“There’s beauty in everything, Em. You just have to learn to look for it.”
If you’re going to preach at me, I think I’ll just curl up and go back to sleep.

Class distinctions are an impediment to understanding, Althalus," Bheid told him, "and anything that interferes with understanding should be discarded."
"You might want to give some thought to keeping that particular opinion tucked up under your arm, Bheid," Althalus advised. "It won't make you very popular in certain quarters.

Why must they always set fires?" Bheid asked Althalus as the two of them stood on the portico of the temple waiting and watching the columns of smoke rising from various quarters of the city. "I'm not really sure, Bheid," Althalus confessed. "It might just be accidental. Looters are usually fairly excited, and sometimes they get careless. My best guess, though, is that the fires are being set deliberately to punish the noblemen for their bad habits." "That's pure stupidity, Althalus," Bheid objected. "Of course it is. It's the nature of mobs to be stupid. A mob's only as clever as its stupidest member.

Why do men always want to tamper with the natural order of things?
“When something breaks, we fix it, that’s all.”
What gave you the absurd idea that [the world]’s broken?
“It’s not the way it was before, Em. To our way of looking at things, that means that it’s broken.”
[...] Change doesn’t necessarily mean improvement, Althalus. Change is just change. “Better” and “worse” are human definitions. The world changes all the time, and no amount of complaining’s going to stop it from changing.

The theorists make high-minded speeches. Their followers cheer and applaud—briefly—and then they get back to the business of appropriating everything of value.

Delegating authority seems unnatural to women. First they tell you to do something, and then they keep sticking their noses into it while you’re trying to do it, and all they’re really doing is getting in the way.

A really good thief shouldn’t have to kill people.

The most important part of strategy is keeping your men alive. If you take care of your men, they’ll take care of you.

You're forcing me to violate one of my most sacred vows."
"Oh, I'm sorry. We won't do it that way then. We'll just kill everybody in this part of Kweron instead. You'll be standing waist-deep in blood, but your soul will be all nice and clean. Won't that make you proud?"
"Monstrous!"
"It's entirely up to you, Bheid. You can either be a swindler or a butcher. Take your pick.

The word “coincidence” always seems to start religious arguments for some reason.

“Dear God!” Althalus exclaimed, brushing away more dust.
He’s busy right now, Althalus. Could I take a message?

Getting some of your people killed is part of the business of command.

Wars are a summer pastime, Althalus. Politics is a year-round entertainment.