"Who did she think was listening? Was she only praying because she was afraid? Yes, she thought, continuing to paint. I’m afraid. And I have to hope that someone, somewhere, is listening. That someone has a plan. That it all matters somehow. Jasnah took comfort in the idea that there was no plan, that everything was random. She said that a chaotic universe meant the only actions of actual importance were the ones they decided were important. That gave people autonomy."

"Those gods had never deserved reverence. What was a god who only made demands? Nothing but a tyrant with a different name."

"“Nothing is real,” Wit said. “At least by one measure of philosophy. So enjoy what you seem to be able to eat and don’t complain.”"

"“You like irony now too?” “Irony tastes good. Like sausage.”"

"In her little room of a laboratory, everything fit together. She’d met scholars who claimed they needed chaos to function. Perhaps that was true for some, but in her experience, good science wasn’t about sloppy inspiration. It was about meticulous incrementalization."

"You don’t get to choose to be free, Venli. Just which master to follow."

"She knew she shouldn’t let the lack of results bother her. Real scientists understood that experiments like this weren’t failures; they were necessary steps on the way to discovery."

"“Your stories always have a point,” Kaladin said. “I am an artist,” Wit said. “I should thank you not to demean me by insisting my art must be trying to accomplish something. In fact, you shouldn’t enjoy art. You should simply admit that it exists, then move on. Anything else is patronizing.”"

"True freedom—with the power to make certain she didn’t ever have to be dependent upon anyone else, listener or spren. True freedom couldn’t exist while someone else had power over you."

"“Innocence is more false a god than the ones in our songs,” Venli said, sitting beside her sister. “People who chase it will find themselves enslaved.”"

"“We proved nothing,” Navani said. “We had a single failed experiment.”"

"It’s too easy to forget the cost not only to the boys who die, but to the ones who live. Every commander should be reminded periodically."

"Mathematics thought that there were numbers associated with tones—frequencies, wavelengths. Music, at its most fundamental level, was math."

"He grinned, then kissed her hand again. He seemed to think that sort of thing would eventually spark passion in her. When in truth, physical stimulation was so inferior to mental stimulation."

"We must not let our desires for a specific result cloud our perceptions."

"War was a masculine art, but when you started attacking women, you’d stopped engaging in war. You deserved anything that happened to you after that point."

"The man who forges weapons can claim he’s never killed, but he still prepares for the slaughter."

"The trouble wasn’t getting answers. It was finding the presence of mind to accept them."

"I name you idiot for playing with powers you only presume to understand."

"And she would ask the best question of them all. What will I discover next?"

"“But profiting off people’s emotions?” “Pity can be a powerful tool. Anytime you can make someone else feel something, you’ve got power over them.”"

"“You seem to have found purpose in talkin’ a whole bunch,” Lift said. “Without being helpful to nobody.”"

"The difference between a successful thief and a dead thief is knowing when to escape with your takings."

"To be human was often to be forced to choose between distasteful options."

"“Someone has to care,” she said, starting down the hallway. “Too few people care, these days.” “You say this while coming in to rob people.” “Sure. Ain’t gonna hurt them.” “You have an odd sense of morality, mistress.” “Don’t be stupid,” she said. “Every sense of morality is odd.”"

"All stories have been told before. We tell them to ourselves, as did all men who ever were. And all men who ever will be. The only things new are the names."

"Alone in the darkness, standing with his back to the wall, facing overwhelming numbers. A glorious way to die, but Kaladin didn’t want glory. He’d given up on that foolish dream as a child."

"Wit dropped his bloody handkerchief before Ruthar. “How remarkable,” he said. “If you spend your life knocking people down, you eventually find they won’t stand up for you. There’s poetry in that, don’t you think, you storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge?”"

"“We need both heart and mind,” Lirin said. “The heart might provide the purpose, but the head provides the method, the path. Passion is nothing without a plan. Wanting something doesn’t make it happen.”"

"“I’m telling you to think!” his father snapped. “I’m telling you that if you want to change the world, you have to stop being part of the problem!”"

"A thousand wrong plans were no more useful that a single wrong one."

"Eventually Dalinar had done what any good commander did when faced by such persistent mass insubordination: He backed down. When good men disobeyed, it was time to look at your orders."

"“Must be nice,” Adolin said, patting the horse, “to not have to worry about things like politics or relationships.” The horse snorted in a way that Adolin thought was distinctly dismissive. Well, perhaps there was more to complicate a horse’s life than a man could ever see."

"“No one ever accomplished anything by being content with who they were, Shallan,” Adolin said. “We accomplish great things by reaching toward who we could become.” “As long as it’s what you want to become. Not what someone else thinks you should become.”"

"If there is one thing I can guarantee you about humankind, Last Listener, is is this: Provide them with a sword , and they will find a way to impale themselves upon it.”"

"“You can’t civilize war,” Dalinar said. “There’s no painting it up and making it pretty.”"

"“‘Honor’ is a word applied to the actions of men from the past who have had their lives scrubbed clean by historians.”"

"“It wouldn’t be polite for me to interrupt,” Notum said. “Please continue your insane rant.”"

"I’m not using a key at all. I’m breaking the lock."

"Any information—even if you suspect your enemy is feeding it to you—is useful, son. More wars are lost to lack of information than are lost to lack of courage."

"And storm Teft if it wasn’t a valid question. One not enough soldiers asked themselves. Right here, right now, should I be fighting? Is there a better way?"

"“Do you believe?” Kaladin asked as he advanced. “In God, or the Almighty or whatever?” “I don’t have to believe,” the voice drifted back. “I know gods exist. I simply hate them.”"

"A good lie, the delicious kind, hinted at hidden grandeur or further secrets. This was instead the lie of a drunken has-been at the bar, trying to drum up enough pity to get a free drink. It was more pathetic than interesting."

"That’s the trouble with science. It’s never done. Always upending itself. Ruining perfect systems for the little inconvenience of them being wrong."

"Heroism is a myth you tell idealistic young people—specifically when you want them to go bleed for you."

"These are not the actions of greatness. You are no scholar. You merely like being near them. You are no artifabrian. You are merely a woman who likes trinkets. You have no fame, accomplishment, or capacity of your own. Everything distinctive about you came from someone else. You have no power—you merely like to marry men who have it."

"The fact that these had thrown their lives away so wantonly did not speak highly of their master."

"Would you prefer a reinforcement of what you already want to believe, or do you seek the truth?"

"You would become the things you pretend to defend against."

"Hey, have you heard about the time I saved Huio from being swallowed? Oh yes. He was going to get eaten. By a monster uglier than the women he courts. And I flew into the thing’s mouth to save him. Off the tongue. Then I was very humble about having done such a heroic deed."