"Ender was what Bean only wished to be — the kind of person on whom you could put all your hopes, who could carry all your fears, and he would not let you down, would not betray you. I want to be the kind of boy you are, thought Bean. But I don’t want to go through what you’ve been through to get there."

"Ender Wiggin was not larger than life, Bean knew. He was exactly life-sized, and so his larger-than-life burden was too much for him. And yet he was bearing it. So far."

"Bean’s powers of analysis were extraordinary. So, also, were his powers of deception. Some of Bean’s guesses weren’t right — but was that because he didn’t know the truth, or because he simply didn’t want them to know how much he knew, or how much he guessed."

"Somebody has to roll the dice. Mine are the hands that hold those dice. I’m not a bureaucrat, placing my career above the larger purposes I was put here to serve. I will not put the dice in someone else’s hands, or pretend that I don’t have the choice I have."

"The commander must be able to change his plans abruptly when obstacles or opportunities appear. If his army isn’t ready and willing to respond to his will, his cleverness comes to nothing."

"I do give the other guy a chance to learn what he’s doing before I insist on perfection."

"An eye for an eye? How Christian of you." "Unbelievers always want other people to act like Christians."

"He dreamed, as human beings always dreamed — random firings of memory and imagination that the unconscious mind tries to put together into coherent stories."

"She wanted to give God credit for every good thing, but when it was bad, then she didn’t mention God or had some reason why it was a good thing after all."

""Ain't worth a Bean," she said."

"I didn't think I would ever meet a noble who wasn't corrupt. Now that I have, I find I prefer them when they're greedy bastards."

"Durza: Congratulations. You've just been promoted."

"Uncle Garrow: Let no one rule your mind or body. Take special care that your thoughts remain unfettered, one may be a free man and yet be bound tighter than a slave. Give men your ear, but not your heart. Show respect for those in power, but don’t follow them blindly. Judge with logic and reason, but comment not. Consider none your superior in life. Treat all fairly or they will seek revenge. Be careful with your money. Hold fast to your beliefs and others will listen. Of the affairs of love, my only advice is to be honest. That’s your most powerful tool to unlock a heart or gain forgiveness."

"Eragon: Thanks, again."

"Arya: Farewell Eragon, rider of dragons...my life is in your hands."

"Nasuada: I met Murtagh earlier....he's anxious to speak with you. He seemed lonely; you should visit him."

"Ajihad: You are an enigma, Eragon, a quandary that no one knows how to solve."

"Solembum: Knowing is independent of being. I did not know you existed before you bumbled in here and ruined my nap. Yet that doesn't mean you weren't real before you woke me."

"Solembum: Listen closely and I will tell you two things. When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree. Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls."

"Eragon: Why are you here?"

"Durza: After her! She is the one I want!"

"Eragon recoiled in shock. Standing in front of him, licking off the membrane that encased it, was a dragon."

"Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world."

"Orik: See you now? Humans and elves are the giants. The land's full of them, here, there, and everywhere, stomping about with their big feet and casting us in endless shadowses."

"The sands of time cannot be stopped. Years pass whether we will them or not… but we can remember. What has been lost may yet live on in memories"

"[after Eragon states that he does not understand his training] Of course you don't. That's why I'm teaching you and not the other way around. Now stop talking, or we'll never get anywhere."

"Clear your mind of such thoughts. They cannot be answered and will make you no happier."

"A hatchling, that is what you are. A hatchling struggling into the world. I may be younger than you in years, but I am ancient in my thoughts. Do not worry about these things. Find peace in where and what you are. People often know what must be done. All you need to do is show them the way- that is wisdom. As for feats, no army could have given the blessing you did."

"It is your wyrd that shapes you. Every age needs an icon — perhaps that lot has fallen to you. Farm boys are not named for the first Rider without cause. Your namesake was the beginning, and now you are the continuation. Or the end."

"It’s overwhelming. I feel as if I am living in an illusion, a dream where all things are possible. Amazing things do happen, I know, but always to someone else, always in some far-off place and time. But I found your egg, was tutored by a Rider, and dueled a Shade — those can't be the actions of the farm boy I am, or was. Something is changing me."

"If Murtagh will prove untrustworthy, Saphira can always chase him away. Join us if you wish."

"What wisdom can I give people that they haven’t already learned? What feats can I achieve that an army couldn’t do better? It’s insanity!"

"I haven't done anything to deserve this treatment, though it would have been easier to atone for if I had. No... my only wrongdoing is existing in the first place.""

"...Nothing you say or do will convince me to open my mind."

"Eragon: "Humor, Murtagh?" Murtagh: "Only on the gallows.""

"Do you think I enjoy this? My life has been threatened from the day I was born! All of my waking hours have been spent avoiding danger in one form or another. And sleep never comes easily because I always worry if I'll live to see the dawn. If there ever was a time I felt secure, it must have been in my mother's womb, though I wasn't safe even there! You don't understand - if you lived with this fear, you would have learned the same lesson I did: Do not take chances."

"My mind is the only sanctuary that has not been stolen from me. Men have tried to breach it before, but I've learned to defend it vigorously, for I am only safe with my innermost thoughts."

"You aren't the only enemies the Ra'zac have. I was tracking them."

"The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can't."

"People have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn’t."

"Many people have died for their beliefs...The real courage is living and suffering for what you believe."

""You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention."

"One part brave, three parts fool. [said of Eragon]"

"May your swords stay sharp."

"And now for the greatest adventure of all."

"There's a reason why we're born with brains in our heads, not rocks."

"May the coming years bring you great happiness."

"Once upon a time that was true... but no more. When I was young... younger than you are now, I was chosen... chosen by the Riders to join their ranks. While they trained me, I became friends with another apprentice... Morzan, before he was a Forsworn. But then he betrayed us to Galbatorix... and in the fighting at Doru Areaba - Vroengard's city - my young dragon was killed. Her name... was Saphira."

"Defend yourself!"

"Anyway, I'm not going to stay behind while some stripling gets to run around with a dragon."