Lloyd Alexander Quotes - Page 3

Evil conquered?' said Gwydion. 'You have learned much, but learn this last and hardest of lessons. You have conquered only the enchantments of evil. That was the easiest of your tasks, only a beginning, not an ending. Do you believe evil itself to be so quickly overcome? Not so long as men still hate and slay each other, when greed and anger goad them. Against these even a flaming sword cannot prevail, but only that portion of good in all men's hearts whose flame can never be quenched.

If a storyteller worried about the facts - my dear Lucian, how could he ever get at the truth?

Llonio said life was a net for luck; to Hevydd the Smith life was a forge; and to Dwyvach the Weaver-Woman a loom. They spoke truly, for it is all of these. But you,' Taran said, his eyes meeting the potter's, 'you have shown me life is one thing more. It is clay to be shaped, as raw clay on a potter's wheel.

Eventually, I was sent to Wales and Germany, and after the war, to Paris.

A shade of sorrow passed over Taliesin's face. 'There are those,' he said gently, 'who must first learn loss, despair, and grief. Of all paths to wisdom, this is the cruelest and longest. Are you one who must follow such a way? This even I cannot know. If you are, take heart nonetheless. Those who reach the end do more than gain wisdom. As rough wool becomes cloth, and crude clay a vessel, so do they change and fashion wisdom for others, and what they give back is greater than what they won.

No matter what has happened, you're not a pig-boy; you're an Assistant Pig Keeper!

Trust your luck, Taran Wanderer. But don't forget to put out your nets!

Fantasy, in addition to being great storytelling, moves us at some unique and profound level. It has, I think, the power of mythology, or ancient dreams we have always and forever shared. In it, we find our real world and our real selves.

You have a point," said Fronto, "and even a poet must occasionally bow to logic.

There is more honor in a field well plowed than in a field steeped in blood.

I know that some readers think (The High King) should have ended differently. I cried for three days afterwards.

I can't stand people who say 'I told you so.' That's worse than somebody coming up and eating your dinner before you have a chance to sit down.

A crown is more discomfort than adornment. If you have learned that, you have already learned much.

That is why your sacrifice was all the more difficult. You chose to be a hero not through enchantment but through your own manhood.

Morgant?" Taran asked, turning a puzzled glance to Gwydion. "How can there be honor for such a man?" "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.

She has given you something of value: the truth in her heart.

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.

Find what you want. I will find you.

The only thing a cat worries about is what's happening right now. As we tell the kittens, you can only wash one paw at a time.

Just because you've seen something doesn't mean you'll stop looking. There's always something you didn't see before.

Miss Vesper Holly has the digestive talents of a goat and the mind of a chess master. She is familiar with half a dozen languages and can swear fluently in all of them. She understands the use of a slide rule but prefers doing calculations in her head. She does not hesitate to risk life and limb- mine as well as her own. No doubt she has other qualities as yet undiscovered. I hope not.

...righteousness [is] always more believable when combined with dreariness.

I intend to follow the path of virtue. It will not be overcrowded.

He will not succeed in this," Taran said. "Somehow, we must find a way to escape. We dare not lose hope." "I agree absolutely," Fflewddur answered. "Your general idea is excellent; it's only the details that are lacking.

King Constantine IX of Regia had been killed three times and was bored with it. He wanted a bath.