The Catholic Book Club discussion

2. Use this thread to share your favorite quotes or passages from The Eighth Arrow. Feel free to share why you thought the quote or passage noteworthy.

"At some point during the tedious years of our mutual torment, it must have occurred to him [Diomedes] that my ideas had never been all that good — that we had paid for our fame with our souls."

This quote seems to encapsulate the most striking aspect of the story, at least until now: the deconstruction of the mundane hero in favor of the subtle, gentle heroism of the Christian soul. It's a chilling thought, coming from the Greek hero himself.

(Homer): No man can give meaning to another man's path.

I'm beginning to think that one measures one's progress not in answers but in the quality of one's questions.

"Unworthy though I am, a god showed me mercy -- and mercy when I least deserved it. So... if you would be godlike, maybe you would have mercy on me, too." (pg. 193)

I love the simplicity of Diomedes' approach, as well as its humility. And I think there's a real truth there... we all have the power to be merciful. And that makes us very much like God, not that it gives us power over someone else, but because it reflects God's deep compassion towards us.

Love, I have come to believe [in contrast to how everyone feels about Helen] is something more complex, subtler--a tapestry woven on the warp of time from threads of patience and sacrifice.