Christopher Paolini

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

“Because you can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention.”

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

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

“Ah, pay no heed if your enemies laugh. They'll not be able to once you lop off their heads.”

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

“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”

“Those whom we most love are often the most alien to us.”

“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.”

“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”

“Go slowly, so that you do not bite your tail by accident.”

“Wise? No, I simply learned to think.”

“The future will be what it will, and fretting about it will only make your fears more likely to come true.”

“He's acting as foolish as a kitten... but then, everyone's entitled to a little foolishness once in a while.”

“He began to write his thoughts and observations concerning the day's events [...] It helped him better understand everything he had seen and done over the course of the day.”

“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 o...”

“(...)best of luck, avoid roasted cabbage, don't eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life!”

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

“There is much you can learn from books and scrolls. These books are my friends, my companions. They make me laugh and cry and find meaning in life.”

“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.”

“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 need no master to punish me in order to behave as I ought. If I did, I would be no more than a child who obeys his father's rules only because he fears the whip, and not because he actually means good.”

“You would be amazed how many magicians have died after being bitten by mad rabbits. It's far more common than you might think. -Angela the Herbalist”

“As far as I am concerned, philosophic questioning is just as likely to make you confused and depressed as it is to improve your condition.”

“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”

“They shared a laugh, and then the silence that so often intruded on their discussion asserted itself once again, a gap born of equal parts weariness, familiarity and--conversely--the many differences that fate had created between those who had once gone about lives that were but variations on a sing...”

“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.”

“Without fear there cannot be courage.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“If you want to be a professional writer then you need to write consistently. Inspiration strikes about once every blue moon which, for me, is once every two and a half to three months, which is when I'll get really and truly inspired about something.”