Quotes from book
The Last Wish

Name: The Last Wish
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej SapkowskiOriginal title Ostatnie życzenie (Polish, 1993)

The Last Wish is the first of the two collections of short stories preceding the main Witcher Saga, written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first Polish edition was published in 1993 and the first English edition was first published in 2007. The book has also been translated into several other languages.

“I need this conversation. They say silence is golden. Maybe it is, although I'm not sure it's worth that much. It has its price certainly; you have to pay for it.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“During his life, the witcher had met thieves who looked like town councillors, councillors who looked like beggars, harlots who looked like princesses, princesses who looked like calving cows, and kings who looked like thieves.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Wiedźmin spotykał w życiu złodziei wyglądających jak rajcy miejscy, rajców wyglądających jak proszalne dziady, nierządnice wyglądające jak królewny, królewny wyglądające jak cielne krowy i królów wyglądających jak złodzieje. (pl.)
The Last Wish (1993)
Source: The lesser evil

“People," Geralt turned his head, "like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish (1993)

“No. I’ve no time to waste. Winter’s coming.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“People like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Geralt
Source: The Last Wish (1993)
Context: “People," Geralt turned his head, "like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”

“Only Evil and Greater Evil exist and beyond them, in the shadows, lurks True Evil. True Evil, Geralt, is something you can barely imagine, even if you believe nothing can still surprise you. And sometimes True Evil seizes you by the throat and demands that you choose between it and another, slightly lesser, Evil.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“I manage because I have to. Because I've no other way out. Because I've overcome the vanity and pride of being different, I've understood that they are a pitiful defense against being different. Because I've understood that the sun shines differently when something changes. The sun shines differently, but it will continue to shine, and jumping at it with a hoe isn't going to do anything.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“They weren't lying. They firmly believed it all. Which doesn't change the facts.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish

“Nonsense," said the witcher. "And what's more, it doesn't rhyme. All decent predictions rhyme.”

Andrzej Sapkowski book The Last Wish

Source: The Last Wish