Philip > Philip's Quotes

“If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.”
― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

“Every ounce of my cynicism is supported by historical precedent.”
― Glen Cook, Shadow Games

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Amory: I love you.
Rosalind: I love you- now.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise

“No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.”
― Steven Brust

“Everybody generalizes from one example. At least, I do.”
― Steven Brust

“The struggle is always worthwhile, if the end be worthwhile and the means honorable; foreknowledge of defeat is not sufficient reason to withdraw from the contest.”
― Steven Brust

“Plan. Yes. Good idea. I should come up with a plan.”
― Steven Brust, Dzur

“I'm told I'm very charming when people do what I want.”
― Steven Brust, Tiassa

“Staring into the dragon's maw, one quickly learns wisdom.”
― Steven Brust

“True heroics must be carefully planned - and strenuously avoided.”
― Steven Brust

“I’ve heard it said: ‘By his home you shall know him’; and we all know that we must pay attention to anyone who reverses the subject and auxiliary verb in his sentence.”
― Steven Brust, Issola

“When I say that life is like an onion, I mean this: if you don't do anything with it, it goes rotten. So far, that's no different from other vegetables. But when an onion goes bad, it can either do it from the inside, or the outside. So sometimes you see one that looks good, but the core is rotten. Other times, you can see a bad spot on it, but if you cut that out, the rest is fine. Tastes sharp, but that's what you paid for, isn't it?”
― Steven Brust, Yendi

“I guess there's just a time for doing dumb things.”
― Steven Brust

“In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.”
― Steven Brust

“Can you be serious for two words?"

"Not without effort.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“The others followed, and found themselves in a small, stuffy basement, which would have been damp, smelly, close, and dark, were it not, in fact, well-lit, which prevented it from being dark.”
― Steven Brust, The Phoenix Guards

“There is no excuse for bad manners, except fast reflexes.”
― Steven Brust, Teckla

“There was a sergeant at a desk. I knew he was a sergeant because I recognized the marks on his uniform, and I knew it was a desk because it's always a desk. There's always someone at a desk, except when it's a table that functions as a desk. You sit behind a desk, and everyone knows you're supposed to be there, and that you're doing something that involves your brain. It's an odd, special kind of importance. I think everyone should get a desk; you can sit behind it when you feel like you don't matter.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“...so I walked down to the operation nearest my office, a brothel, and found the manager. Before he could say anything, I pinned the right side of his cloak to the wall with a throwing knife, about knee level. I did the same with his left side. I put a shuriken into the wall next to each ear, close enough to cut. Then Loiosh went after him and raked his claws down the guy's face. I went up and hit him just below his sternum, then kneed him in the face when he doubled over. He began to understand that I wasn't happy.”
― Steven Brust, Yendi

“I turned away, took a deep breath, and sheathed the weapon. I never know what to
say after I've intimidated someone; I ought to keep a list of tough-guy remarks.”
― Steven Brust, Dragon

“Your job is to find better ideas, mine is to cut holes in the ones you have, and you've already done that pretty well.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“We passed a street minstrel who was singing in one of the more obscure Eastern languages, and I dropped a few orbs into his instrument case.
"Boss, was he singing what I thought he was singing?"
"A young man tells his beloved of his love for her."
" 'My little hairy testicle—' "
"It's a cultural thing, Loiosh. You wouldn't understand.”
― Steven Brust, Dragon

“...As we locked the front door behind us, she said, "How do you keep getting in without my knowing it? Did Jill give you a key without mentioning it to me?"
"Trade secret," I said.
"What trade is that? Cat burglar?"
"Yes, although I prefer the technical term."
"What's that?"
"Music promoter.”
― Steven Brust, Agyar

“Well," she said, "if I were the enemy commander, and our assault had failed three times, and I wanted to make a fourth, I don't think I'd attack with fewer men. But that's just me."
"Shut up, Loiosh."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Never mind. Private joke.”
― Steven Brust, Dragon

“Painting consists of long periods of minutes followed by short bursts of hours”
― Steven Brust

“I will do this. Nothing in my life matters except this. No moment of my life exists except this moment. I am born in this moment, and if I fail, I will die in this moment.”
― Tracy Hickman

“Words can never fully say what we want them to say, for they fumble, stammer, and break the best porcelain. The best one can hope for is to find along the way someone to share the path, content to walk in silence, for the heart communes best when it does not try to speak.”
― Margaret Weis, Dragons of a Lost Star

“His love for her was a gift he gave her daily, expecting nothing in return. He walked at her side, his love for her a torch to guide her footsteps along the dark path she walked.”
― Margaret Weis, Dragons of a Fallen Sun

“Hope is the denial of reality. - Raistlin”
― Margaret Weis