Lian Hearn Quotes

#1. The best way is to be strong enough to make your enemy think twice about attacking you, yet not so aggressive that he feels threatened. Keep your sword sheathed as long as you can, but once it is unsheathed, use it without hesitation.

Lian Hearn

#2. They reminded me of the people of my village, their indomitable spirit in the face of disaster, their unshakable belief that no matter what might befall them, life was basically good and the world benign.

Lian Hearn

#3. There is no Hell, other than that which men make on earth.

Lian Hearn

#4. But just as the river is always at the door, so is the world always outside. And it is in the world that we have to live.

Lian Hearn

#5. I learned embroidery," Kaede said, "But you can't kill anyone with a needle."
"You can," Shizuka said offhandedly. "I'll show you one day.

Lian Hearn

#6. When illusions are shattered by truth, talent is set free.

Lian Hearn

#7. Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this either by prayers or spells.

Lian Hearn

#8. You should never despise people because they haven't had your opportunities.

Lian Hearn

#9. I miss the days when I was alone with my characters and no one else knew them except me.

Lian Hearn

#10. Shame, however, was what I felt seeping through me as though it stained my white bones black.

Lian Hearn

#11. I am not made for despair

Lian Hearn

#12. She entered a state where prayer and poetry became one and the everyday world seemed full of holiness and significance.

Lian Hearn

#13. It's like a spell. It's so strong I can't fight it. Is love always like this?

Lian Hearn

#14. What does the blessing of heaven mean? We know the kirin is just an animal, not a mythical creature.
It has become a symbol now ... That is the way human beings deal with the world.

Lian Hearn

#15. It's what you do to yourself when you go mad with rage. You have no idea how much you can hurt yourself with your own strength.

Lian Hearn

#16. Don't you know the man whose life you spare will always hate you?

Lian Hearn

#17. How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?

Lian Hearn

#18. I believe the test of government is the contentment of the people.

Lian Hearn

#19. The bonds between husband and wife spring from deep laws of destiny and should not be broken lightly.

Lian Hearn

#20. It was as hot as ever, even the turn of the moon bringing no relief, and the cries of cicadas fell like showers around me.

Lian Hearn

#21. The world is always outside. And it is in the world that we must live.

Lian Hearn

#22. I am what I am and what I have always been, a poor soul on a journey.

Lian Hearn

#23. Like young fern shoots
my child's fingers curled.
I did not expect,
in the fifth month, frost.

Lian Hearn

#24. The painter had achieved what we would all like to do: capture time and make it stand still

Lian Hearn

#25. Hile I was happy enough to pray to any god, knowing that they were simply different faces created by men, of one indivisible truth.

Lian Hearn

#26. The less people think of you, the more they will reveal to you or in your presence.

Lian Hearn