Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"We wrap up our violent and mysterious world in a pretense of understanding. We paper over the voids of our comprehension with science and religion, and make believe that order has been imposed. And, for the most of it, the fiction works. We skim across the surfaces, heedless of the depths below. Dragonflies flitting over a lake, miles deep, pursuing erratic paths to pointless ends. Until that moment when something from the cold unknown reaches up to take us. The biggest lies we save for ourselves. We play a game in which we are gods, in which we make choices, and the current follows in our wake. We pretend a separation from the wild. Pretend that a man’s control runs deep, that civilization is more than a veneer, that reason will be our companion in dark places."
19 Quotes
"We wrap up our violent and mysterious world in a pretense of understanding. We paper over the voids of our comprehension with science and religion, and make believe that order has been imposed. And, for the most of it, the fiction works. We skim across the surfaces, heedless of the depths below. Dragonflies flitting over a lake, miles deep, pursuing erratic paths to pointless ends. Until that moment when something from the cold unknown reaches up to take us. The biggest lies we save for ourselves. We play a game in which we are gods, in which we make choices, and the current follows in our wake. We pretend a separation from the wild. Pretend that a man’s control runs deep, that civilization is more than a veneer, that reason will be our companion in dark places."
"نُغلّفُ عالمنا العنيفَ والغامضَ بوشاحٍ من الفهمِ الزائفِ. نُرقّعُ خواءَ إدراكنا بالعلمِ والدينِ، ونُوهِمُ أنفسنا بأنّ نظاماً قد فُرِضَ. وفي معظمِ الأحيانِ، ينجحُ هذا الوهمُ. نُحلّقُ فوقَ السطوحِ، غافلينَ عن الأعماقِ الكامنةِ تحتها. كيعاسيبَ ترفرفُ فوقَ بحيرةٍ عميقةٍ لأميالٍ، تسلكُ دروباً متعرجةً نحو غاياتٍ عبثيةٍ. حتى تلكَ اللحظةِ التي يمتدُّ فيها شيءٌ من المجهولِ الباردِ ليطالنا.
أكبرُ الأكاذيبِ ندّخرُها لأنفسنا. نلعبُ لعبةً نكونُ فيها آلهةً، نتخذُ فيها الخياراتِ، والتيارُ يتبعُ مسارَنا. نتظاهرُ بالانفصالِ عن البريةِ الجامحةِ. وندّعي أن سيطرةَ الإنسانِ متجذرةٌ، وأن الحضارةَ أعمقُ من مجردِ قشرةٍ، وأن العقلَ سيكونُ رفيقَنا في الظلماتِ."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"I can help you, Jorge. I can give you back your self. I can give you your will.' He held out his hand, palm open. 'Free will has to be taken,' I said."
"أستطيع مساعدتك يا خورخي. أستطيع أن أردّ إليك ذاتك. أستطيع أن أمنحك إرادتك.
مدّ يده، وكفّه مفتوحة.
"الإرادة الحرة يجب أن تُنتزع،" قلت."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"It was a defeat, resorting to crude threats in a game of subtlety, but sometimes one must sacrifice a battle to win the war."
"كانت هزيمة، اللجوء إلى التهديدات الفجة في لعبة دقيقة، لكن أحيانًا يجب التضحية بمعركة لكسب الحرب."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Gomst's mouth framed a 'no', but every other muscle in him said 'yes'. You'd think priests would be better liars, what with their jobs and all."
"أطّر فمُ غومست كلمة "لا"، لكن كل عضلة أخرى فيه كانت تصرخ "نعم". قد تظن أن الكهنة يجيدون الكذب أكثر، بحكم مهنتهم وما تتطلبه."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"I've been known to be contrary. When something pushes me, I shove back. Even if the one doing the pushing is me. It would have been easy to gut him then and there. Satisfying. But the need was too urgent. I felt pushed."
"أُعرفُ بمخالفتي للتيار. فحين يدفعني شيء، أدفعه بقوة. حتى لو كان الدافع أنا نفسي. كان من السهل أن أجهز عليه في تلك اللحظة بالذات. لكان ذلك مُرضيًا. لكن الحاجة كانت مُلحة جدًا. شعرتُ وكأنني مدفوع."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"He broke off his explanation, seeing in his daughter's eyes the exact moment that a child first understands there are limits on what her parents can do, rather than just limits on what they choose to do. He knelt before her in a moment's silence, somewhat less than he had been just seconds before, and Emy a half step closer to the woman she would one day become."
"توقف عن شرحه، إذ رأى في عيني ابنته اللحظة الدقيقة التي يدرك فيها الطفل لأول مرة أن هناك حدودًا لما يستطيع والداه فعله، لا مجرد حدود لما يختاران فعله. ركع أمامها في صمت لحظي، وقد بدا أقل مما كان عليه قبل ثوانٍ قليلة، بينما اقتربت إيمي نصف خطوة من المرأة التي ستغدوها يومًا ما."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Anything that you cannot sacrifice pins you. Makes you predictable, makes you weak."
"كل ما لا تستطيع التضحية به يكبّلك. يجعلك متوقعًا، يجعلك ضعيفًا."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"We wrap up our violent and mysterious world in a pretence of understanding. We paper over the voids in our comprehension with science or religion, and make believe that order has been imposed. And, for the most of it, the fiction works. We skim across surfaces, heedless of the depths below. Dragonflies flitting over a lake, miles deep, pursuing erratic paths to pointless ends. Until that moment when something from the cold unknown reaches up to take us. The biggest lies we save for ourselves. We play a game in which we are gods, in which we make choices, and the current follows in our wake. We pretend a separation from the wild. Pretend that a man's control runs deep, that civilization is more than a veneer, that reason will be our companion in dark places."
"نغلف عالمنا العنيف والغامض بستار من الفهم. نرقع الفجوات في إدراكنا بالعلم أو الدين، ونتوهم أن نظامًا قد فُرض. وفي غالب الأمر، ينجح هذا الوهم. نطفو على السطوح، غافلين عن الأعماق الكامنة تحتها. كيعاسيب تحوم فوق بحيرة عمقها أميال، تسلك دروبًا متعرجة إلى غايات لا طائل منها. حتى تلك اللحظة التي يمتد فيها شيء من المجهول البارد ليأخذنا.
أكبر الأكاذيب ندخرها لأنفسنا. نلعب لعبة نكون فيها آلهة، نتخذ فيها الخيارات، والتيار ينساب في أعقابنا. نتظاهر بالانفصال عن البرية. وندعي أن سيطرة الإنسان عميقة الجذور، وأن الحضارة ليست مجرد قشرة، وأن العقل سيكون رفيقنا في غياهب الظلام."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"It’s the silence that scares me. It’s the blank page on which I can write my own fears."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Brother Row you could trust to make a long shot with a short bow. You could trust him to come out of a knife fight with somebody else's blood on his shirt. You could trust him to lie, to cheat, to steal, and to watch your back. You couldn't trust his eyes though. He had kind eyes, and you couldn't trust them."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"War, my friends, is a thing of beauty."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Some men are too dull to feel what might happen. Others torture themselves with maybes and populate their dreams with horrors more terrible than their worst enemy could inflict upon them."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Cowards make the best torturers. Cowards understand fear and they can use it."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"I’ll tell you now. That silence almost beat me. It’s the silence that scares me. It’s the blank page on which I can write my own fears. The spirits of the dead have nothing on it. The dead one tried to show me hell, but it was a pale imitation of the horror I can paint on the darkness in a quiet moment."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Tell me, tutor,' I said. 'Is revenge a science, or an art?"
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"When they killed him, Mother wouldn't hold her peace, so they slit her throat. I was stupid then, being only nine, and I fought to save them both. But the thorns held me tight. I've learned to appreciate thorns since. The thorns taught me the game. They let me understand what all those grim and serious men who've fought the Hundred War have yet to learn. You can only win the game when you understand that it IS a game. Let a man play chess, and tell him that every pawn is his friend. Let him think both bishops holy. Let him remember happy days in the shadows of his castles. Let him love his queen. Watch him loose them all."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Lucifer spoke thus. Pride took him from heaven, though he sat at God's right hand.' Her voice grew faint, the hint of a whisper. 'In the end pride is the only evil, the root of all sins.''Pride is all I have."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
"Running ain't no bad thing. Leastways if you run in the right direction."
Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
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