Quotes from The Darkness That Comes Before

“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Faith is the truth of passion. Since no passion is more true than another, faith is the truth of nothing.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“This is the problem of all great revelations: their significance so often exceeds the frame of our comprehension. We understand only after, always after. Not simply when it is too late, but precisely because it is too late.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“History. Language. Passion. Custom. All these things determine what men say, think, and do. These are the hidden puppet-strings from which all men hang.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Do not mistake me, Inrithi. In this much Conphas is right. You are all staggering drunks to me. Boys who would play at war when you should kennel with your mothers. You know nothing of war. War is dark. Black as pitch. It is not a God. It does not laugh or weep. It rewards neither skill not daring. It is not a trial of souls, nor the measure of wills. Even less is it a tool, a means to some womanish end. It is merely the place where the iron bones of the earth meet the hollow bones of men and break them.

You have offered me war, and I have accepted. Nothing more. I will not regret your losses. I will not bow my head before your funeral pyres. I will not rejoice at your triumphs. But I have taken the wager. I will suffer with you. I will put Fanim to the sword, and drive their wives and children to the slaughter. And when I sleep, I will dream of their lamentations and be glad of heart.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“To be ignorant and to be deceived are two different things. To be ignorant is to be a slave of the world. To be deceived is to be the slave of another man. The question will always be: Why, when all men are ignorant, and therefore already slaves, does this latter slavery sting us so?”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Saying 'I could have done more,' Zin, is what marks a man as a man and not a God.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Where no paths exist, a man strays only when he misses his destination. There is no crime, no transgression, no sin save foolishness or incompetence, and no obscenity save the tyranny of custom.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“The world has long ceased to be the author of your anguish.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“The world is a circle that possesses as many centres as it does men.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Answers are like opium: the more you imbibe, the more you need. Which is why the sober man finds solace in mystery.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Let us be moved, you and I, by the things themselves. Let us discover each other.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Old women are more reconciled to death than old men. By bringing life to the world, we come to see ourselves as debtors. What's given is taken.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“No soul moves alone through the world, Leweth. Our every thought stems from the thoughts of others. Our every word is but a repetition of world spoken before. Every time we listen, we allow the movements of another should to carry our own...NO one's soul moves alone, Leweth. When one love dies, on must learn to love another.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Sit with a merchant or sit with a beggar, and it’ll always be the beggar who buys your first drink.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“. . . and that revelation murdered all that I once did know. Where once I asked of the God, 'Who are you?' now I ask, 'Who am I?”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“And he now knew with certainty that the world was hollowed of its wonder by knowledge and travel, that when one stripped away the mysteries, its dimensions collapsed rather than bloomed. Of course, the world was a much more sophisticated place to him now than it had been when he was a child, but it was also far simpler. Everywhere
men grasped and grasped, as though the titles “king,” “shriah,” and “grandmaster” were simply masks worn by the same hungry animal. Avarice, it seemed to him, was the world's only dimension.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“To be ignorant and to be deceived are two different things. To be ignorant is to be a slave of the world. To be deceived is to be the slave of another man. The question will always be: Why, when all men are ignorant, and therefore already slaves, does this latter slavery sting us so? —AJENCIS, THE EPISTEMOLOGIES   But”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“You know nothing of war. War is dark. Black as pitch. It is not a God. It does not laugh or weep. It rewards neither skill nor daring. It is not a trial of souls, not the measure of wills. Even less is it a tool, a means to some womanish end. It is merely the place where the iron bones of the earth meet the hollow bones of men and break them.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Interruption is weakness, young Kellhus. It arises from the passions and not from the intellect. From the darkness that comes before.” “I understand, Pragma.” The cold eyes peered through him and saw this was true. “When the Dûnyain first found Ishuäl in these mountains, they knew only one principle of the Logos. What was that principle, young Kellhus?” “That which comes before determines that which comes after.” The Pragma nodded. “Two thousand years have passed, young Kellhus, and we still hold that principle true. Does that mean the principle of before and after, of cause and effect, has grown old?” “No, Pragma.” “And why is that? Do men not grow old and die? Do not even mountains age and crumble with time?” “Yes, Pragma.” “Then how can this principle not be old?” “Because,” Kellhus answered, struggling to snuff a flare of pride, “the principle of before and after is nowhere to be found within the circuit of before and after. It is the ground of what is ‘young’ and what is ‘old,’ and so cannot itself be young or old.” “Yes. The Logos is without beginning or end. And yet Man, young Kellhus, does possess a beginning and end—like all beasts. Why is Man distinct from other beasts?” “Because like beasts, Man stands within the circuit of before and after, and yet he apprehends the Logos. He possesses intellect.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“One cannot raise walls against what has been forgotten.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Though all men be equally frail before the world, the differences between them are terrifying.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Sheltered by his caste, Sarcellus had not, as the impoverished must, made fear the pivot of his passions. As a result he possessed an immovable self-assurance. He felt. He acted. He judged. The fear of being wrong that so characterized Achamian simply did not exist for Cutias Sarcellus. Where Achamian was ignorant of the answers, Sarcellus was ignorant of the questions. No certitude, she thought, could be greater.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Some events mark us so deeply that they find more force of presence in their aftermath than in their occurrence.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“It’s the concert of knowledge and ignorance that underwrites our decisions.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Only madmen and historians, he said, believe their lies.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Hoga Gothyelk no longer felt anger, not truly -- only varieties of sorrow.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

“Some events mark us so deeply that they find more force of presence in their aftermath than in their occurrence. They are moments that rankle at becoming past, and so remain contemporaries of our beating hearts. Some events are not remembered—they are relived.”
― R. Scott Bakker, quote from The Darkness That Comes Before

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Popular quotes

“Wear pink. It confuses the enemy.”
― Donita K. Paul, quote from DragonFire

“In finnish:
"Ajan myötä lohikäärme ja kirin loivat rupensa ja veivät muodonmuutoksensa loppuun asti, ja niin niistä tuli osa ruumistani. Nyt ne olivat oikeasti omaisuuttani - sana, jota käytin mielelläni ajatellessani niitä.
Mutta oli myös mahdollista, että niiden arvo alenisi uutuudenviehätyksen kadottua. Samaan tapaan saattaa omistaa upean mekon, joka saa olon tuntumaan mahtavalta. Mutta eipä aikaakaan, kun se on pelkkä vaatekappale muiden joukossa. Olin kai siinä mielessä ollut aina oikukas ja viskannut vaatteita kaapinperälle käytettyäni niitä vain pari, kolme kertaa. Näkemykseni avioliitosta on paljolti samanlainen. Näen sen tilanteena, jossa kaksi ihmistä yrittää omistaa toisensa. Tai vaikka ei olisikaan naimisissa, pojat yrittävät aina jotain tuonsuuntaista: mitä kauemmin heidän kanssaan on, sitä enemmän he yrittävät asteittain kasvattaa valtaansa toiseen ihmiseen.”
― Hitomi Kanehara, quote from Snakes and Earrings

“10 Watch EQ at the Movies Hollywood. It’s the entertainment capital of the world known for glitz, glamour, and celebrity. Believe it or not, Hollywood is also a hotbed of EQ, ripe for building your social awareness skills. After all, art imitates life, right? Movies are an abundant source of EQ skills in action, demonstrating behaviors to emulate or completely avoid. Great actors are masters at evoking real emotion in themselves; as their characters are scripted to do outrageous and obvious things, it’s easy to observe the cues and emotions on-screen. To build social awareness skills, you need to practice being aware of what’s happening with other people; it doesn’t matter if you practice using a box office hero or a real person. When you watch a movie to observe social cues, you’re practicing social awareness. Plus, since you are not living the situation, you’re not emotionally involved, and the distractions are limited. You can use your mental energy to observe the characters instead of dealing with your own life. This month, make it a point to watch two movies specifically to observe the character interactions, relationships, and conflicts. Look for body language clues to figure out how each character is feeling and observe how the characters handle the conflicts. As more information about the characters unfold, rewind and watch past moments to spot clues you may have missed the first time. Believe it or not, watching movies from the land of make-believe is one of the most useful and entertaining ways to practice your social awareness skills for the real world.”
― Travis Bradberry, quote from Emotional Intelligence 2.0: With Access Code

“Now back East you can be middling and get along. But if you go to try a thing on in this Western country, you've got to do it WELL. You've got to deal cyards WELL; you've got to steal WELL; and if you claim to be quick with your gun, you must be quick, for you're a public temptation, and some man will not resist trying to prove he is the quicker. You must break all the Commandments WELL in this Western country”
― Owen Wister, quote from The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains

“Though Valerie and Peter were dancing differently, their bodies moving in different ways, they were both doing the same dance. It was a jealousy dance, old as the human race”
― Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, quote from Red Riding Hood

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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.

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