"Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself."

Patrick Rothfuss Literature See all quotes by Patrick Rothfuss →

React to this quote

More by Patrick Rothfuss

““You’re just getting old.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “Truly, all the more’s the tragedy; the second thing to go is a man’s memory.”

“Nothing makes a man feel older than a young woman.”

“Like all boys my age, I was an idiot when it came to women.”

“Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear.”

“It’s like this: if you have one piece of cake, and you eat it, that’s fine. If you have two pieces of cake, you should probably share some with a friend. But maybe not. Occasionally we could all use two pieces of cake. But if you have a whole cake, and you eat *all* of it, that’s not very cool. It’s not just selfish, it’s kinda sick and unhealthy.”

“Mauthen ain’t much for listenen. Nothin’ plugs a man’s ears like money.”

Resonant Thoughts

"...the broad record of the British race stands to be judged on facts that are incontestable. It is the fact that during the nineteenth century, when the power of this country was unchallenged, there w…"

— Edward Wood

Military1841–1898

#justice

"How can anyone believe that you can "learn" how to feel and learn how to express it? How can anyone teach another person how to laugh and how to cry? How to be cheerful and how to be sad? Teach them w…"

— Klaus Kinski

Entertainment1926–1991

#love

"I started out like most people just finding my local martial arts gym … and it's quite easy to start thinking that whatever you're in is the best thing that you can do, so … I assumed that Taekwondo i…"

— James Wilks

Art1978

#time

"I’ll be the first to admit that "To Save a Life" can border on corny at times, and there are some elements that could definitely use a little tweaking, but one thing’s for sure: this film has touched …"

— Steven Crowder

Politics1987

#time