Quotes by Madeline Miller

Above us, the constellations spun and the moon paced her weary course. We lay stricken and sleepless as the hours passed.

There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles,” Chiron said. “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?”“Perhaps,” Achilles admitted.I listened and did not speak. Achilles’ eyes were bright in the firelight, his face drawn sharply by the flickering shadows. I would know it in dark or disguise, I told myself. I would know it even in madness.

There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles,” Chiron said. “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?

Exile might satisfy the anger of the living, but it did not appease the dead.

The never-ending ache of love and sorrow.

We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory.

Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.

Achilles’ eyes lift. They are bloodshot and dead. “I wish he had let you all die.

When I am dead, I charge you to mingle our ashes and bury us together.

Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.

Achilles weeps. He cradles me, and will not eat, nor speak a word other than my name.

That is — your friend? Philtatos, Achilles replied, sharply. Most beloved.

Peleus acknowledged this. Yet other boys will be envious that you have chosen such a one. What will you tell them? I will tell them nothing. The answer came with no hesitation, clear and crisp. It is not for them to say what I will do.

Who was he if not destined for fame?

Name one hero who was happy.

Indeed, he seemed utterly unaware of his effect on the boys around him.

“It is mostly will. Will and work.”

“Odysseus inclines his head. True. But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another. He spread his broad hands. We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory. Who knows? He smiles. Perhaps one day even I will be famous. Perhaps more famous than you.”

“When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.”

“I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.”