David Eddings

If you’d keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you, you wouldn’t hear so much that offends you.

"Arums are real soldiers, and I want to hire them to train and advise the lowlanders to fight their own wars—at least this one.”
“You’re asking me to put myself out of business, Althalus,” Albron objected.
“Not really. After we’ve smashed Ghend’s armies, things should go back to normal. The princes of the low countries will still break out in rashes of ambition, and they’ll come here to Arum to hire professionals to do their fighting. It’s a matter of economics, Albron. It’s very expensive to train and maintain any army. Even when there’s no war, you have to keep feeding them. It’s cheaper in the long run to hire Arums.”

The fate of man might very well depend on what we’re doing. He’s doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but it’s still the right thing.

Religion’s based on a desire to know what’s going to happen in the future. Astrologers believe that the stars control that.

"... Can you pretend to be stupid?”
Eliar made a rueful kind of face. “Ma’am,” he said, “I’m a country boy from the highlands of Arum. We invented stupid.”

Well . . ." Andine looked helplessly at the cat in her lap. "She's so adorable," the girl said, catching Emmy up in her arms and snuggling her face up to the furry captor of her heart.
"You noticed," Althalus said drily. "Don't try to fight her, because she always wins. Just give her all your love and do as she tells you to do. You might as well, because she'll cheat to get what she wants if she has to.

When some idiot jumps up and starts shouting, ‘My God’s better than your God,’ I don’t pay very much attention—except to hide my purse.

I don’t like to contaminate a good story with truth, Em. That’d be a violation of my artistic integrity, wouldn’t it?

“That information is not supposed to be in the hands of the general population. Ordinary people aren’t equipped to deal with it.”
“Ordinary people are probably much wiser than you think they are, Reverend [...] Every family has a few black sheep. There’s nothing really unusual about it.

Sick, isn't it?" Dhakan replied. "Our glorious, but slightly warped, leader hasn't let him out of her sight since the day he was captured.

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

I’ve seen this all before, Althalus ... many, many times. An idea that’s born in glory starts to tarnish almost immediately.

“I’d pay a premium for this one, your Highness.”
“That one isn’t for sale[.]”
“Everything’s for sale, your Highness,” Althalus replied with a cynical laugh.

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.

“What did you do to Andine to bring her around? She didn’t really want to sell Eliar to me.”
I persuaded her to love me more than she hated him.
“I thought you couldn’t do that sort of thing out here.” I didn’t create her love, pet. All I did was encourage it. Andine’s very young and very passionate. She loves—and hates—with her blood and bones, and she loves even more intensely than she hates. All I had to do to unleash her love was to be adorable. I’m an expert at that, if you’ll recall.
“I still think you’re cheating, Em.”
No, not really. Andine’s very pretty, and she smells nice. She’s soft and warm, and that voice of hers throbs like a bell. She’s very easy to love, and she responds to love with love of her own. I didn’t cheat her, Althalus. I did love her—and I still do.
“I thought you were supposed to love only me.”
What a ridiculous idea. Just because I love her, it doesn’t mean that I love you less. My love is boundless, you know.