Quotes from By the Sword

“Three things never anger or you'll not live for long;
A wolf with cubs,
A man with power, And a woman's sense of wrong.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“Three things trust and cherish well-
The horse on which you ride,
The beast that guards and watches,
And your shield-mate at your side.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“Of three things be wary-
of a feather on a cat,
The shepherd eating mutton,
And a guardsman that is fat. ”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“Three things never trust in-
The maiden sworn as pure,
The vows a king has given,
And an ambush that is sure.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“Three things see no end-
A flower blighted ere it bloomed,
A message that was wasted,
And a journey that was doomed.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“Three things know a secret-
First; the lady in a dream,
The dog that barks no warning,
And a maid that does not scream.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

“That’s how you tell a merc is dead; he just stops collecting paychecks.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from By the Sword

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Popular quotes

“It mattered little if one was mute; people did not understand one another anyway. They collided with or charmed one another, hugged or trampled one another, but everyone knew only himself. His emotions, memory, and senses divided him from others as effectively as thick reeds screen the mainstream from the muddy bank. Like the mountain peaks around us, we looked at one another, separated by valleys, too high to stay unnoticed, too low to touch the heavens.”
― Jerzy Kosiński, quote from The Painted Bird

“A cold wind swept across the patio, causing me to shiver. Noah shrugged off his black leather jacket and tossed it around my shoulders. "How are you going to tutor me if you get fucking pneumonia?" I cocked an eyebrow. What an odd combination of romantic gesture and horribly crude wording.”
― Katie McGarry, quote from Pushing the Limits

“There was a few seconds' pause. Then Amit said: I meant, what were you thinking just now.

When? said Lata.

When you were looking at Pran and Savita. Over the pudding.

Oh.

Well, what?

I can't remember, said Lata with a smile.

Amit laughed.

Why are you laughing? asked Lata

I like making you feel uncomfortable, I suppose.

Oh. Why?

--Or happy--or puzzled--just to see your change of mood. It's such fun. I pity you!

Why? said Lata, startled.

Because you'll never know what a pleasure it is to be in your company.

Do stop talking like that, said Lata. Ma will come in any minute.

You're quite right. In that case: Will you marry me?

Lata dropped her cup. It fell to the floor and broke. She looked at the broken pieces--luckily, it has been empty--and then at Amit.

Quick! said Amit. Before they come running to see what's happened. Say yes.

Lata had knelt down; she was gathering he bits of the cup together and placing them on the delicately patterned blue-and-gold saucer.

Amit joined her on the floor. Her face was only a few inches away from his, but her mind appeared to be somewhere else. he wanted to kiss her but he sensed that there was no question of it. One by one she picked up the shards of china.

Was it a family heirloom? asked Amit.

What? I'm sorry--said Lata, snapped out of her trance by the words.

Well, I suppose I'll have to wait. I was hoping that by springing it on you like that I'd surprise you into agreeing...

...Do stop being idotic, Amit, said Lata. You're so brilliant, do you have to be so stupid as well? I should only take you seriously in black and white.

And in sickness and health.

Lata laughed: For better and for worse, she added.”
― Vikram Seth, quote from A Suitable Boy

“I believe in happy endings," I tell him, "And it feels like this movie has gone on for the right amount of time.”
― Matthew Quick, quote from The Silver Linings Playbook

“She would drink until the trembling stopped. Then she would wilt over the piano like one of Celia's spinaches when Tam Lin forgot to water the garden.”
― Nancy Farmer, quote from The House of the Scorpion

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.