“ Her smile grew bitter as desert brine. "The gods may forgive Ista all day long. But if Ista does not forgive Ista, the gods may go hang themselves. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ I am not schizoid. A little manic-depressive, maybe.""'Know thyself.'" "We try, sir. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ Everyone has their folding-point, Miles. Their mortal vulnerability. Some just keep it in a nonstandard location. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ For your fourth consoling thought, I would point out that in this venue," a wave of his finger took in Vorbarr Sultana, and by extension Barrayar, "acquiring a reputation as a slick and dangerous man,… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ The really unforgivable acts are committed by calm men in beautiful green silk rooms, who deal death wholesale, by the shipload, without lust, or anger, or desire, or any redeeming emotion to excuse t… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ It’s just a thing. You deal with it." "As in, one damn thing after another?""Yes, very like. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ You want to be good. All right, I can understand that. But you have to be careful who you let define your good. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ It’s true that if your religion failed to deliver a miracle, that a human sacrifice would certainly follow.""Ah...quite. You are a man of acute insight.""That’s not insight. That’s a personal guarante… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ You? I know you! You trust beyond reason."She met his eyes steadily. "Yes. It's how I get results beyond hope. As you may recall. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ And the Bastard grant us... in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain's peak, the kiss in despa… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ This wasn't prayer anyway, it was just argument with the gods.Prayer, he suspected as he hoisted himself up and turned for the door, was putting one foot in front of the other. Moving all the same. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ Real destiny takes everything—the last drop of blood, and strip out your veins to be sure—and gives it back doubled. Quadrupled. A thousand-fold! But you can't give halves. You have to give it all. I… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ Don't let fear swallow all your happiness. Don't forget to take joy." Dag gulped. Both of their grounds were nearly closed. It was Arkady's voice alone that hinted how hard-bought this bit of wisdom m… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ Don't wish to be normal. Wish to be yourself. To the hilt. Find out what you're best at, and develop it, and hopscotch your weaknesses. Wish to be great at whatever you are. Lois McMaster Bujold
“ I know girls who pine for it. They like to play dress-up and pretend being Vor ladies of old, rescued from menace by romantic Vor youths. For some reason they never play 'dying in childbirth', or 'vom… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ Barrayar is bred in my bones. I cannot shake it, no matter how far I travel. This struggle, God knows, has no honor in it. But exile, for no other motive than ease—that would be to give up all hope of… Lois McMaster Bujold
“ In mysticism, knowledge cannot be separated from a certain way of life which becomes its living manifestation. To acquire mystical knowledge means to undergo a transformation; one could even say that… Lois McMaster Bujold
