Christopher Paolini Quotations

One of the players was named Eragon, ... Much to my horror, he was actually pretty good and I found a message flashed across the screen -- 'You have been killed by Eragon.' That was when I realized how big this has gotten.

My editor and I are in a polite argument over that, ... It can be 'Bubbles for Buckfish' for all I know.

I don't discuss my own beliefs in public, but I will say the beliefs I've given my characters do not necessarily represent what I myself believe.

Many people have died for what they believe... the real courage is living and suffering for what you believe.

I didn't have a lot to do. Dad felt I was too young to go to college; I didn't have a job, and the nearest town was some 20 miles away. I needed a way of entertaining myself. Writing was what I settled on.

I find inspiration in many places. Sometimes music gives me the kernel of a story. Sometimes it's dissatisfaction with the plot of a movie or a book that gets me thinking. Sometimes it's love of a movie or book.

Just writing a lot doesn't necessarily make you a better writer. You have to hear yourself as a writer, and the best way to do that is to read your writing out loud.

I think I learned most from editing, both editing myself and having someone else edit me. It's not always easy to have someone criticize your work, your baby. But if you can swallow your ego, you can really learn from the editing.

It is a better world. A place where we ate responsible for our actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and becauseit is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment.

Always it is thus with my new students, and especially with the human ones; the mind is the last muscle they train or use, and the one that they regard the least. Ask them about swordplay and they can list every blow from a duel a month old, but ask them to solve a problem or make a coherent statement and... well, I would be lucky to get more than a blank stare in return.

The advantage of writing from experience is that it often provides you with details that you would never think of yourself, no matter how rich your imagination. And specificity in description is something every writer should strive for.

That wasn't an experience I needed to have,

Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now.

No hunter of the sky should end his days as prey. Better to die on the wing than pinned to the ground. [Saphira]

Find peace in where and what you are.

Without fear there cannot be courage.

It got so that when he closed his eyes, letters and words danced in his mind. He thought of little else during that time.

A negative outlook is more of a handicap than any physical injury.

Books are my friends, my companions. They make me laugh and cry and find meaning in life.

Atra esterni' ono thelduin Mor' rana li'fa unin hjarta onr Un du evari'nya ono varda (May good fortune rule over you peace live in your heart may the stars watch over you)

Whatever you make, base it upon that which is most important to you. Only then will it have depth and meaning, and only then will it resonate with others.

Death is part of who we are. It guides us. It shapes us. It drives us to madness. Can you still be human if you have no mortal end

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.

I know what we do is right but right doesn't always mean easy.

The whole of the world could be deduced from the smallest grain of sand, if one studied it closely enough.

Perhaps not one religion contains all of the truth of the world. Perhaps every religion contains fragments of the truth, and it is our responsibility to identify those fragments and piece them together.

Wise? No, I simply learned to think.

Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?

It's amazing that a man who is dead can talk to people through these pages. As long as this books survives, his ideas live.

He closed his eyes and sank into the warm dusk that separates consciosness and sleep, where reality bends and sways to the wind of thought, and where creativity blossoms in its freedom from boundaries and all things are possible.

What is the worth of anything we do? The worth is in the act. Your worth halts when you surrender the will to change and experience life

If you wish to be happy,Eragon, Think not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of the now and that which you are able to change" ~Oromis to eragon ,Brisingr~618

I'm afraid I've degenerated into a bibliophile.

Pain is pain. It needs no description.

One part brave, three parts fool!

I have to admit, that's a remarkable bruise. You should be proud; it's quite a feat to get injured in the manner you did and in that...particular...place.

On the beach, Roran stood alone, watching them go. Then he threw back his head and uttered a long, aching cry, and the night echoed with the sound of his loss.

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

First, let no one rule your mind or body. Take special care that your thoughts remain unfettered... . 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 whatever their rank or station in life. Treat all fairly, or they will seek revenge. Be careful with your money. Hold fast to your beliefs and others will listen.

The monsters of the mind are far worse than those that actually exist.

I always say, better ask forgiveness than permission.

The deeds of the children are a testament to the upbringing they received from their parents.

Let no man, in whatever rank or superiority, control your mind and tell you what to do

Magic is the art of thinking, not strength or language.

Moderation is a wiser policy than zealotry

Eragon started as me but ended up evolving into his very own character, .. Even as he has gone through his coming- of- age story, the process of writing and publishing these novels has been my own coming- of- age story. There are parallels between my own experience and Eragon's, but fortunately, I don't have people charging at me with swords.

Basically, I would be happy with any profession where I got to be creative and make things.

Life is pain...anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something

Treat all fairly or they will seek revenge.

There are decades in the making of the one man of renown; Multitudes that go unnoticed who must wreathe for him a crown.

If I spent my time worrying about what other people would think of my work, I would be too self-conscious to write.

A true warrior does not fight because he wishes to but because he has to. A man who yearns for war, a man who enjoys his killing, he is a brute and a monster. No matter how much glory he wins on the battlefield, that cannot erase the fact that he is no better than a rabid wolf who will turn on his friends and family as soon as his foes.

I have a new name for pain. What's that? The Obliterator. Because when you're in pain, nothing else can exist. Not thought. Not emotion. Only the drive to escape the pain. When it's strong enough, the Obliterator strips us of everything that makes us who we are, until we're reduced to creatures less than animals, creatures with a single desire and goal: escape. A good name, then.

As they spread out their blankets, Saphira commented with satisfaction, We are becoming more powerful, Eragon, both of us. Soon no one will be able to stand in our way. Yes, but which way shall we choose? Whichever one we want, she said smugly, settling down for the night.

Fight if you wish. Deny what is before you if it comforts you. But nothing you do can change your fate.

I am the victor. In the end nothing else matters.

Applied properly, it [logic] can overcome any lack of wisdom, which one only gains through age and experience.

I warn you, Eragon, beware of whom you fall in love with, for fate seems to have a morbid interest in our family.

Better to die than to live in fear.

It never struck me as interesting that I didn't go to school - we had our own little world. I always thought of kids who were going to regular school as if they're the others, the separate ones.

He who stands like a pilar dies in battle. He who bends like a reed is triumphant!

I agree that it's important to be of a virtuous nature, but I would also contend that if you had to choose between giving a man a noble disposition or teaching him to think clearly, you'd do better to teach him to think clearly. Too many problems in this world are caused by men with noble dispositions and clouded minds.

Anger has its place, but it will not serve you here, the way of the warrior is the way of knowing. Of that knowledge requires you to use anger, then you use anger, but you cannot wrest forth knowledge by losing your temper.

I am not who I was, but I know who I am.

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 in memories.

I built two forges when I was in my teens. I was just really, really into metalworking and making stuff.

Anger is poison. You must purge it from your mind or else it will corrupt your better nature.

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.

To know who you are without any delusions or sympathy is a moment of revelation that no one experiences unscathed.

Characters are born from necessity.

No-one can function properly without occasional peace and quiet.

You must be willing to protect yourself and what you cherish, no matter what the cost.

I love telling stories and I love writing so the fact that I can do it professionally is something that I've always been very grateful for.

I'm the sort of person that starts digging a hole and doesn't stop until it's finished.

A person must earn enlightenment, Eragon. It is not handed down to you by others, regardless of how revered they be.

Change itself is neither good nor bad, but knowledge is always useful.

In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf

I cannot prove that gods do not exist. Nor can I prove that the world and everything in it was not created by an entity or entities in the distant past. But I can tell you that in the millennia we elves have studied nature, we have never witnessed an instance where the rules that govern the world have been broken. That is, we have never seen a miracle. Many events have defied our ability to explain, but we are convinced that we failed because we are still woefully ignorant about the universe and not because a deity altered the workings of nature.

For my love, I will wade through an ocean of blood, even if it destroys me

It is an overactive imagination that turns men into cowards, not a surfeit of fear, as many believe

It's impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments.

Do not dwell on what once was, but rather look forward and ponder how you can make the future brighter

Then, as they stood there, struggling back and forth without avail, Eragon said in a low fierce voice, "I...see...you." A bright spark appeared in Arya's eyes, then vanished just as quickly.

Why?' - Nasuada 'You know why' - Murtagh

Sometimes there are no answers.

My mind is the only sanctuary that has not been stolen from me.

If you don't make a few ememies now and then, you're a coward-or worse. Besides, it as worth it to see his reaction. Oh, he was angry! - Angela to Eragon

Kvetha, Shur'tugal Greetings, Dragon Rider

You shouldn't let him hit you so much" observed saphira "Yes I realize that'" he growled. "Do you want me to knock him over for you?" "No...not today.

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

I am not who I was,' he whispered, gripping the edges of the column, 'but I know who I am.'... 'And I won't give up.

You cannot learn what you are made of if you rely on anyone or anything else to help you.

She lowered her head until it was at his level. He stroked the line of her jaw, and then pressed his forehead against her hard snout and held her as tightly as he could, her scales sharp against his fingers. Hot tears began to slide down his cheeks. 'Why do you cry?' she asked. 'Because... I'm lucky enough to be bonded with you.' 'Little one.

You cannot miss what you have never had.

The trick is to find happiness in the brief gaps between disasters.

Sword, I name thee Brisingr! And with a sound of rushing wind the blade burst into flame, an envelope of sapphire-blue fire writhing about the razor-sharp steel.

It was as if his point of view had, within seconds, gone from that of an ant to that of an eagle. For the sky was hollow, and the world was round.

I took a bunch of pictures. You can see 'em on my MySpace page, along with my favorite songs and movies and things that other people have created but that I use to express my individualism.

Do I look dead to you?!

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.