Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.

Balance. It was all about balance. That had been one of the first things that she had learned: the centre of the seesaw has neither up nor down, but upness and downness flow through it while it remains unmoved. You had to be the centre of the seesaw so the pain flowed through you, not into you. It was very hard. But she could do it!

Building a temple didn't mean you believed in gods, it just meant you believed in architecture.

I imagine that fish have no word for water.

Just call in at the torturer on your way out. See when he can fit you in.

Chain-mail isn't much defence against an arrow. It certainly isn't when the arrow is being aimed between your eyes.

If you really want to upset a witch, do her a favor which she has no means of repaying. The unfulfilled obligation will nag at her like a hangnail.