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

“The Arabs can lose every war, if only they win the last one.”
― James A. Michener, quote from The Drifters


“No man can rob successfully over a period of years without pleasing the people he robs.”
― Theodore Sturgeon, quote from The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Volume II: Microcosmic God


“What you put out into the world will always come back for you.”
― Dennis Lehane, quote from Live by Night


“It was then that he started his novel The People Immortal, and when I read it later, many of its pages seemed to me very familiar. He found himself as a writer during the war. His pre-war books were nothing more than searching for his theme and language. He was a true internationalist and reproached me frequently for saying “Germans” instead of “Hitler’s men” when describing the atrocities of the occupiers.’ Ehrenburg was persuaded that it was Grossman’s all-embracing world view which made the xenophobic Stalin hate him.”
― Vasily Grossman, quote from A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army


“the law of the subconscious mind works for good and bad ideas alike. This law, when applied in a negative way, is the cause of failure, frustration, and unhappiness. However, when your habitual thinking is harmonious and constructive, you experience perfect health, success, and prosperity.”
― Joseph Murphy, quote from THE POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND (Tamil)


Interesting books

Artemisia
(4.8K)
Artemisia
by Alexandra Lapierre
Undead and Unappreciated
(20.6K)
Undead and Unappreci...
by MaryJanice Davidson
Coming Home
(14.1K)
Coming Home
by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Fourth Hand
(25.7K)
The Fourth Hand
by John Irving
Tunnel in the Sky
(10.9K)
Tunnel in the Sky
by Robert A. Heinlein
The White Road
(6.3K)
The White Road
by John Connolly

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.