zerogravitas

“You may conquer an army with superior tactics and men, but you can conquer a nation only by conquering the hearts of the people.”
― Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

“Thievery was the most authentic form of flattery. What could be more satisfying than knowing the things you possessed were intriguing, captivating, or valuable enough to provoke another man to risk everything to obtain them? This was Kelsier’s purpose in life, to remind people of the value of the things they loved. By taking them away.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Secret History

“Bah! Do you know,' the Devil confided, 'not even the best mathematicians on other planets - all far ahead than yours - have solved it? Why, there's a chap on Saturn - he looks something like a mushroom on stilts - who solves partial differential equations mentally; and even he's given up.”
― Arthur Porges, The Devil and Simon Flagg

“Kelsier would not back down. He would not let this thing intimidate him again. He’d already killed one god. The second murder was always easier than the first.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Secret History