Quotes from Tongues of Serpents

Naomi Novik ·  274 pages

Rating: (12.3K votes)


“It seems to me after a fellow has been mutinied against three or four times, there is something to it besides bad luck.”
― Naomi Novik, quote from Tongues of Serpents


“If you will pardon my saying so," Tharkay said, "you will never satisfy them on that point: the last thing you or Temeraire will ever give anyone is quiet obedience. Have you considered it might be better not to try?”
― Naomi Novik, quote from Tongues of Serpents


“I don't like to be coarse, but if I did, I would be!
-Granby commenting on something Rankin has said.”
― Naomi Novik, quote from Tongues of Serpents


“I am sick of the quarrels of nations and kings, and I would not give a ha'pence for any empire other than our valley, if that can content your ambition.”
― Naomi Novik, quote from Tongues of Serpents


“I have never before considered the feelings of a cow. I suppose they must not care for us at all.’ ‘They are only dumb beasts,’ Laurence said, ‘and such thought surely beyond them. Any animal will defend its life and young, but that is not the same as being a thinking, reasoning creature.’ ‘Only, how could one be certain?’ Temeraire said. ‘After all, if one wishes to be particularly dull, one might be like that fellow Salcombe, and say that dragons are also dumb beasts. And I am quite sure the bunyips are not, though they do not seem to talk at all: they are only nasty thinking creatures. It is not very fair, though, that I should allow them to have sense because they will contrive one unpleasantness after another; what if cows are very clever, only they do not like to make a fuss about it?’ ‘If they dislike fuss enough to tolerate being eaten,’ Laurence said, with rather an amused expression, ‘surely it need not matter one way or another.’ ‘Perhaps they think they will be eaten anyway, as they are so delicious,”
― Naomi Novik, quote from Tongues of Serpents



About the author

Naomi Novik
Born place: New York, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Being informed that it was not garrisoned, he tried to storm it directly he arrived, but the width of the moat and the height of the wall enabled the few defenders to repel his assault. After constructing a camp, therefore, he formed a line of mantlets and set about the usual preparations for a siege. But the next night, before his preparations were completed, the whole fugitive army of the Suessiones came crowding into the place. When they saw the mantlets rushed up to the wall, earth shovelled into the moat, and siege towers erected, they were alarmed by the impressive size of this apparatus, which had never before been seen or heard of in Gaul, and by the speed with which the Romans worked.”
― Gaius Julius Caesar, quote from The Conquest of Gaul


“There is only one way for any of us to resolve the tension between the high ideals of the gospel and the grim reality of ourselves: to accept that we will never measure up, but that we do not have to. We are judged by the righteousness of the Christ who lives within, not our own.”
― Philip Yancey, quote from The Jesus I Never Knew


“He lowers his lips to mine, placing them over my mouth gently, our kiss bearing the weight of a thousand we may never have.”
― Robin LaFevers, quote from Mortal Heart


“She lay there with her eyes closed, as if sleep were a shy creature that might venture out if she played dead. But every time it seemed to be drawing closer, some loud thought would crash and blunder through the undergrowth, putting it to flight.”
― Frances Hardinge, quote from A Face Like Glass


“where the Army we loved sold us out for careerist brass, a war-porn-fixated media and military-industrial-complex corporate greed; where the only honor and integrity seemed to exist among the troops on the line.”
― Luis Carlos Montalván, quote from Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him


Interesting books

East of the Sun
(5.9K)
East of the Sun
by Julia Gregson
The Eternal Highlander
(3.4K)
The Eternal Highland...
by Hannah Howell
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
(13.6K)
A Vindication of the...
by Mary Wollstonecraft
My Early Life, 1874-1904
(2.4K)
My Early Life, 1874-...
by Winston S. Churchill
Socrates Meets Jesus: History's Greatest Questioner Confronts the Claims of Christ
(530)
Socrates Meets Jesus...
by Peter Kreeft
Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith
(228)
Hope for Each Day: W...
by Billy Graham

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.