"Thomas Raith: Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-good-ness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences-and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being."

"Harry Dresden: Discussing a problem with yourself is almost never a good way to secure a divergent viewpoint."

"Harry Dresden: Death is only frightening from the near side."

"Harry Dresden: Boobs are near the center of the universe, until you turn twenty-five or so. Which is also when young men’s auto insurance rates go down. This is not a coincidence."

"Sanya, Knight of the Cross: Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and vodka."

"Sanya, Knight of the Cross: There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity."

"Harry Dresden: Paranoia is a survival trait when you run in my circles. It gives you something to do in your spare time, coming up with solutions to ridiculous problems that aren't ever going to happen. Except when one of them does, at which point you feel way too vindicated."

"Queen Mab: For love men will mutilate themselves and murder rivals. For love will even a peaceful man go to war. For Love, man will destroy himself, and do so willingly."

"Craftsmanship isn’t like water in an earthen pot, to be taken out by the dipperful until it’s empty. No, the more drawn out the more remains."

"If life is a loom, the pattern you weave is not so easily unraveled."

"If I fret over tomorrow, I'll have little joy today."

"If I do find pride, I'll not find it in what I was or what I am, but what I may become. Not in my birth, but in myself."

"In the race of men is much greed and envy; but of truth, little."

"“Believe what you like. You'll be surprised how comforting it is.” “I ask no comfort,” Taran replied, “but the truth, be it harsh or happy.”"

"Speak up, my boy. If you want truth, you should begin by giving it."

"The destinies of men are woven one with the other, and you can turn aside from them no more than you can turn aside from your own."

"“So you say, so you say,” murmured Fflewddur, hurrying after him. “Look closer into your heart. You may find your opinion to be somewhat different.”"

"Child, child, do you not see? For each of us comes a time when we must be more than what we are."

"“It is easy to judge evil unmixed,” replied Gwydion. “But, alas, in most of us good and bad are closely woven as the threads on a loom; greater wisdom than mine is needed for the judging.”"

"We’re neither good nor evil. We’re simply interested in things as they are."

"Is there not glory enough in living the days given to us? You should know there is adventure in simply being among those we love and the things we love, and beauty, too."

"There is truth in all things, if you understand them well."

"“There is much to be known,” said Adaon, “and above all much to be loved, be it the turn of the seasons or the shape of a river pebble. Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts.”"

"I have marched in many a battle host," Adaon answered quietly, "but I have also planted seeds and reaped the harvest with my own hands. And I have learned there is greater honor in a field well plowed than in a field steeped in blood."

"We hold each other’s lives in our open hands, not in clenched fists."

"A pig is a pig," said the stranger, "and a pig-boy is a pig-boy."

"Even in a fantasy realm, growing up is accomplished not without cost."

"Once you have courage to look upon evil, seeing it for what it is and naming it by its true name, it is powerless against you, and you can destroy it."

"This is a place of peace," Medwyn said, "and therefore not suitable for men, at least, not yet."

"Neither refuse to give help when it is needed," Medwyn continued, "nor refuse to accept it when it is offered."

"I can't make sense out of that girl," he said to the bard. "Can you?" "Never mind," Fflewddur said. "We aren't really expected to."

"I don't even know who I am." "In a way," answered Gwydion, "that is something we must all discover for ourselves."

"The task counts more than the one who does it."

"It is not the trappings that make the prince, nor, indeed, the sword that makes the warrior."

"Why?" Dallben interrupted. "In some cases," he said, "we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself."

"Well, that is one of the three foundations of learning: see much, study much, suffer much."

"Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we believe we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart."

"“What civilization would be complete without a cat?” the Professor went on. “What greater blessing to the home than the kindly yet watchful eye of this tiger of the fireside?”"

"He’s as impartial as a herring’s backbone, for he favors neither side and is attached to both!"

"“Didn’t you ever see a cat before?” “Of course I did,” said the boy. “Hundreds of them. But just because you’ve seen something, it doesn’t mean you stop looking. There’s always something you didn’t see before.”"

"“That’s another thing about emperors—and regents,” Gareth said. “They aren’t very fond of changes, even if the changes are for the better.”"

"“Oh yes,” said the Emperor. “That’s what you have to do when you approach the Celestial Presence—that’s me.” “Well, I’m afraid that no cat in the world ever bowed to an emperor,” said Jason. “They just won’t do it, Ichigo, and you’re wasting your time if you try to force them. A cat does what he wants, when he wants, emperor or not.”"

"“But I’m Pharaoh,” Neter-Khet said. “I’m supposed to give orders.” “That doesn’t mean anything to a cat,” said Jason. “Didn’t anybody ever tell you? “Nobody tells me,” Neter-Khet said. “I tell them. Besides, they were my cats, weren’t they?” “In a way they were,” Jason said, “and in a way they weren’t. A cat can belong to you, but you can’t own him. There’s a difference.”"

"Keep reading. It's one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have."

"Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it."

"Story, finally, is humanity's autobiography."

"The raw materials of story are the raw materials of all human cultures. Story deals with the same questions as theology, philosophy, psychology. It is concerned with polarities: love and hate, birth and death, joy and sorrow, loss and recovery."

"Our only hope for tomorrow is peace now."

"At heart, the issues raised in a work of fantasy are those we face in real life. In whatever guise—our own daily nightmares of war, intolerance, inhumanity; or the struggles of an Assistant Pig-Keeper against the Lord of Death—the problems are agonizingly familiar. And an openness to compassion, love and mercy, is as essential to us here and now as it is to any inhabitant of an imaginary kingdom."