(no subject)
"He closed his eyes and sank into the warm dusk that separates consciousness and sleep, where reality bends and sways to the wind of thought, and where creativity blossoms in its freedom from boundaries and all things are possible" (p. 146).
"...the goal matters not, only the journey to it" (p. 313).
"Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now" (p. 361).
"This is a personal decision. I won't force my choice upon anyone" (p. 444).
"... [Eragon asked,} 'What do elves believe?'
A long sigh was Oromis's first answer. Then: 'We believe that the world behaves according to certain inviolable rules and that, by persistent effort, we can discover those rules and use them to predict events when circumstances repeat.'
Eragon blinked. That did not tell him what he wanted to know. 'But who, or what, do you worship?'
'Nothing.'
'You worship the concept of nothing?'
'No, Eragon. We do not worship at all.'
The thought was so alien, it took Eragon several moments to grasp what Oromis meant. The villagers of Carvahall lacked a single overriding doctrine, but they did share a collection of superstitions and rituals, most of which concerned warding off bad luck. During the course of his training, it had dawned upon Eragon that many of the phenomena that the villagers attributed to supernatural sources were in fact natural processes, such as when he learned in his meditations that maggots hatched from fly eggs instead of spontaneously arising from the dirt, as he had thought before. Nor did it make sense for him to put out an offering of food to keep sprites from turning the milk sour when he knew that sour milk was actually caused by a proliferation of tiny organisms in the liquid. Still, Eragon remained convinced that otherworldly forces influenced the world in mysterious ways, a belief that his exposure to the dwarves' religion had bolstered. He said, 'Where do you think the world came from, then, if it wasn't created by the gods?'
'Which gods, Eragon?'
'Your gods, the dwarf gods, our gods...someone must have created it.'
Oromis raised an eyebrow. 'I would not necessarily agree with you. But be as that may, I cannot prove that gods do not exist. Nor can I prove that the world and everything in it was not created by an entity or entities in the distant past. But I can tell you that in the millennia we elves have studied nature, we have never witnessed an instance where the rules that govern the world have been broken. That is, we have never seen a miracle. Many events have defied our ability to explain, but we are convinced that we failed because we are still woefully ignorant about the universe and not because a deity altered the workings of nature.'
'A god wouldn't have to alter nature to accomplish his will,' asserted Eragon. 'He could do it within the system that already exists. ... He could use magic to affect events.'
Oromis smiled. 'Very true. But ask yourself this, Eragon: If gods exist, have they been good custodians of Alagaesia? Death, sickness, poverty, tyranny, and countless other miseries stalk the land. If this is the handiwork of divine beings, then they are to be rebelled against and overthrown, not given obeisance, obedience, and reverence.'
'The dwarves believe - '
'Exactly! The dwarves believe. When it comes to certain matters, they rely upon faith rather than reason. They have even been known to ignore proven facts that contradict their dogma.'
'Like what?' demanded Eragon.
'Dwarf priests use coral as proof that stone is alive and can grow, which also corroborates their story that Helzvog formed the race of dwarves out of granite. But we elves discovered that it is actually an exoskeleton secreted by minuscule animals that live inside it. Any magician can sense the animals if he opens his mind. We explained this to the dwarves, but they refused to listen, saying that the life we felt resides in every kind of stone, although their priests are the only ones who are supposed to be able to detect the life in landlocked stones.'
For a long time, Eragon stared out the window turning Oromis's words over in his mind. 'You don't believe in an afterlife, then.'
'From what Glaedr said, you already knew that.'
'And you don't put stock in gods.'
'We give credence only to that which we can prove exists. Since we cannot find evidence that gods, miracles, and other supernatural things are real, we do not trouble ourselves about them. If that were to change, if Helzvog were to reveal himself to us, then we would accept the new information and revise our position.'
'It seems a cold world without something...more.'
'On the contrary,' said Oromis, 'it is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our own actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment. I won't tell you what to believe, Eragon. It is far better to be taught to think critically and then be allowed to make your own decisions than to have someone else's notions thrust upon you. You asked after our religion, and I have answered you true. Make of it what you will'" (p. 541-544).
"It takes courage to admit you were wrong." "Only if you are afraid of looking foolish, and I would have looked far more foolish if I persisted with an erroneous belief" (p. 620).
Quotes from Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
"...the goal matters not, only the journey to it" (p. 313).
"Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now" (p. 361).
"This is a personal decision. I won't force my choice upon anyone" (p. 444).
"... [Eragon asked,} 'What do elves believe?'
A long sigh was Oromis's first answer. Then: 'We believe that the world behaves according to certain inviolable rules and that, by persistent effort, we can discover those rules and use them to predict events when circumstances repeat.'
Eragon blinked. That did not tell him what he wanted to know. 'But who, or what, do you worship?'
'Nothing.'
'You worship the concept of nothing?'
'No, Eragon. We do not worship at all.'
The thought was so alien, it took Eragon several moments to grasp what Oromis meant. The villagers of Carvahall lacked a single overriding doctrine, but they did share a collection of superstitions and rituals, most of which concerned warding off bad luck. During the course of his training, it had dawned upon Eragon that many of the phenomena that the villagers attributed to supernatural sources were in fact natural processes, such as when he learned in his meditations that maggots hatched from fly eggs instead of spontaneously arising from the dirt, as he had thought before. Nor did it make sense for him to put out an offering of food to keep sprites from turning the milk sour when he knew that sour milk was actually caused by a proliferation of tiny organisms in the liquid. Still, Eragon remained convinced that otherworldly forces influenced the world in mysterious ways, a belief that his exposure to the dwarves' religion had bolstered. He said, 'Where do you think the world came from, then, if it wasn't created by the gods?'
'Which gods, Eragon?'
'Your gods, the dwarf gods, our gods...someone must have created it.'
Oromis raised an eyebrow. 'I would not necessarily agree with you. But be as that may, I cannot prove that gods do not exist. Nor can I prove that the world and everything in it was not created by an entity or entities in the distant past. But I can tell you that in the millennia we elves have studied nature, we have never witnessed an instance where the rules that govern the world have been broken. That is, we have never seen a miracle. Many events have defied our ability to explain, but we are convinced that we failed because we are still woefully ignorant about the universe and not because a deity altered the workings of nature.'
'A god wouldn't have to alter nature to accomplish his will,' asserted Eragon. 'He could do it within the system that already exists. ... He could use magic to affect events.'
Oromis smiled. 'Very true. But ask yourself this, Eragon: If gods exist, have they been good custodians of Alagaesia? Death, sickness, poverty, tyranny, and countless other miseries stalk the land. If this is the handiwork of divine beings, then they are to be rebelled against and overthrown, not given obeisance, obedience, and reverence.'
'The dwarves believe - '
'Exactly! The dwarves believe. When it comes to certain matters, they rely upon faith rather than reason. They have even been known to ignore proven facts that contradict their dogma.'
'Like what?' demanded Eragon.
'Dwarf priests use coral as proof that stone is alive and can grow, which also corroborates their story that Helzvog formed the race of dwarves out of granite. But we elves discovered that it is actually an exoskeleton secreted by minuscule animals that live inside it. Any magician can sense the animals if he opens his mind. We explained this to the dwarves, but they refused to listen, saying that the life we felt resides in every kind of stone, although their priests are the only ones who are supposed to be able to detect the life in landlocked stones.'
For a long time, Eragon stared out the window turning Oromis's words over in his mind. 'You don't believe in an afterlife, then.'
'From what Glaedr said, you already knew that.'
'And you don't put stock in gods.'
'We give credence only to that which we can prove exists. Since we cannot find evidence that gods, miracles, and other supernatural things are real, we do not trouble ourselves about them. If that were to change, if Helzvog were to reveal himself to us, then we would accept the new information and revise our position.'
'It seems a cold world without something...more.'
'On the contrary,' said Oromis, 'it is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our own actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment. I won't tell you what to believe, Eragon. It is far better to be taught to think critically and then be allowed to make your own decisions than to have someone else's notions thrust upon you. You asked after our religion, and I have answered you true. Make of it what you will'" (p. 541-544).
"It takes courage to admit you were wrong." "Only if you are afraid of looking foolish, and I would have looked far more foolish if I persisted with an erroneous belief" (p. 620).
Quotes from Eldest by Christopher Paolini.