“The nobles and the noble Houses maneuver for advantage. They do things they think will help them, or hurt and enemy, or both. Usually, it's all done in secrecy, or if not, they try to make it seem as if they're doing something other than what they are.”

“When someone is crying, of course, the noble thing to do is to comfort them. But if someone is trying to hide their tears, it may also be noble to pretend you do not notice them.”

“In life...everyone hurts over something. But you can't hurt others because you do! Always try to help others and if you can't...Don't ever hurt them!”

“Because it was the right thing?""Oh shit, I hope not.""Afraid of becoming noble?" he asked, his eyes twinkling."That too. But basically, that's the worst reason I can think of for killing. 'That its the right thing to do'. You kill out of outrage or fury or to keep from dying or something like it, that's fine. Hell, kill them rather than bother with them - or be bothered by them. But if you're killing them because 'its the right thing to do', its only the right thing because you've done so many wrong things up until then to make that spot. It's not the right thing to do. It's the best of the last of your choices.""That's the longest I've ever heard you talk at one time.""That's because you never ask me about my hair.”

“...I've been thinking that it's as if my ancestors are saying it's all right to make things. That's what I'm meant to do. Make things, and help the Abhorsen and the King. So I'll do that, and I'll do my best, and if my best isn't good enough, at least I will have done everything I could, everything that is in me. I don't have to try to be someone else, someone I could never be.”

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”