Thirteenth Child

That is certainly one way to look at the matter. There are others.

This is the most important lesson you must learn about magic," Miss Ochiba went on. "There are many ways of seeing. Each has an element of truth, but none is the whole truth. If you limit yourselves to one way of seeing, one truth, you will limit your power. You will also place limits on the kinds of spells you can cast, as well as their strength. To be a good magician, you must see in many ways. You must be flexible. You must be willing to learn from different sources. And you must always remember that the truths you see are incomplete.

He pushed his glasses up on his nose and gave me a sidelong look, the one that meant he was so sure you were wrong that he could just wait and let you find out for yourself the hard way.

How can you know it's the best, if you don't learn about anything else?

Rennie didn't quite dare to answer back, but she looked a whole book and a couple of extra chapters.

Brant's an idealist, and he's competent. There are few more dangerous combinations in this world... Heroes are even more dangerous than idealists.

Humility is as good for the soul as it is for the memory

He wasn't a medical doctor, just educated all the way up as far as you can get.

It's a hard thing to risk what you know and are sure of, just for the possibility of something better. Even when it's a pretty strong possibility, and something that's a whole lot better.

What do you want then?” I asked. “I don’t know all of it yet.” William tilted his head back and looked up at the sky, and spread his arms wide. “But I want – first, I want to be me. And then I want to do something large. Something as large as all that country out there that people are settling. Even if I’m not a double seventh.

There are always people in any group who will go along with authority only so long as authority agrees with their opinions,” Papa said.