“Life is like a stew, you have to stir it frequently, or all the scum rises to the top.”

“In any broth, the scum always rises to the top.”

“I expect that you must receive top marks at school, young lady."
Madeleine smiled as she stirred her tea. "There are always rewards for those who state the obvious frequently and with conviction.”

“Better a dish of husks to the accompaniment of a muted lute than to be satiated with stewed shark's fin and rich spiced wine of which the cost is frequently mentioned by the provider.”

“Meanwhile, the Wheel turns. The humble are exalted and the mighty are humbled. The best are inevitably defeated, and the scum always rises to the top. Here is the source of all the world’s pain, that restless turning, ever accelerating, always bringing us around again to where we were before, but older, changed, scarred, and sorrowful. Had I only known the identity of the whisperer, I would never have listened. The Wheel would not have been set in motion.”

“Out there things can happen, and frequently do,
To people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don't worry, don't stew.
Just go right along, you'll start happening too!”

“… I stir in bed and the memories rise out of me like a buzz of flies from a carcass. I crave to be rid of them…”

“Like water, blood must run or grow scum.”

“A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.”

“How does it happen that the most intractable types always rise to the top?”