--- title: "1 Sympathy Empathy Quotes By Steven Erikson" description: "1 Sympathy Empathy quotes by Steven Erikson. Plus more from Steven Erikson and more Sympathy Empathy sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/steven-erikson-588_death_there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my_1755515.jpg" --- > [“There is something profoundly cynical, my friends, in the notion of paradise after death. The lure is evasion. The promise is excusative. One need not accept responsibility for the world as it is, and by extension, one need do nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my-friends-in-the-notion-of/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/steven-erikson-588_death_there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my_1755515.jpg) ## More by Steven Erikson > [“No matter, they weren’t going anywhere. Never again. Two skeletons buried beneath a dead city. No more fitting a barrow for a warrior of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/no-matter-they-weren-t-going-anywhere-never-again-two-skeletons/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“I was reminded ... the way that wood crumbles into dissolution.’ ‘The release of energy. Perhaps a better way of seeing it.’ ‘Such release…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/i-was-reminded-the-way-that-wood-crumbles-into-dissolution-the/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“I am here to arrest your manservant. The one named Bugg.’ ‘Oh, now really, his cooking isn’t that bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/i-am-here-to-arrest-your-manservant-the-one-named-bugg-oh-now-really/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“People in great need were quick to find blame in themselves, quick to assume the burden of guilt for things they in truth had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/people-in-great-need-were-quick-to-find-blame-in-themselves-quick-to/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Envy shrugged. 'Can no value be found in good intentions?' 'What, precisely, are you trying to justify? And to me, or yourself?' She glared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/envy-shrugged-can-no-value-be-found-in-good-intentions-what-precisely/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Any reasonable ruler would have the expectation and the demand the other way round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/any-reasonable-ruler-would-have-the-expectation-and-the-demand-the/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“The existance of many gods conveys true complexity of mortal life. Conversely, the assertion of but one god leads to a denial of complexity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-existance-of-many-gods-conveys-true-complexity-of-mortal-life/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“All right, shadow-priest, you've been spying — on what? What state secrets have you learned watching me groom these horses?' 'Only that they hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/all-right-shadow-priest-you-ve-been-spying-on-what-what-state-secrets/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“There is nothing wrong with where we are, how we are. You spit on satisfaction, leaving you always unsettled and miserable. I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-where-we-are-how-we-are-you-spit-on/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Why do I hate spiders? Gods, who doesn't? What a stupid question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/why-do-i-hate-spiders-gods-who-doesn-t-what-a-stupid-question/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [It is an extraordinary act of courage,' said Tulas Shorn, 'to come to know a stranger's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-is-an-extraordinary-act-of-courage-said-tulas-shorn-to-come-to/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“I admit,’ said Spite, ‘to a certain melancholy when visiting vibrant cities, as is this Darujhistan. A long life teaches one just how ephemeral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/i-admit-said-spite-to-a-certain-melancholy-when-visiting-vibrant/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [All art is an intensely vulnerable gesture, and it is made with no small amounts of risk, and fear. So, I have plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/all-art-is-an-intensely-vulnerable-gesture-and-it-is-made-with-no/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“People who make up their minds about something never listen to advice - especially when it's to the contrary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/people-who-make-up-their-minds-about-something-never-listen-to-advice/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy-empathy/steven-erikson/#itemlist", "name": "1 Sympathy Empathy Quotes By Steven Erikson", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is something profoundly cynical, my friends, in the notion of paradise after death. The lure is evasion. The promise is excusative. One need not accept responsibility for the world as it is, and by extension, one need do nothing about it. To strive for change, for true goodness in this mortal world, one must acknowledge and accept, within one's own soul, that this mortal reality has purpose in itself, that its greatest value is not for us, but for our children and their children. To view life as but a quick passage alone a foul, tortured path – made foul and tortured by our own indifference – is to excuse all manner of misery and depravity, and to exact cruel punishment upon the innocent lives to come. I defy this notion of paradise beyond the gates of bone. If the soul truly survives the passage, then it behooves us – each of us, my friends – to nurture a faith in similitude: what awaits us is a reflection of what we leave behind, and in the squandering of our mortal existence, we surrender the opportunity to learn the ways of goodness, the practice of sympathy, empathy, compassion and healing – all passed by in our rush to arrive at a place of glory and beauty, a place we did not earn, and most certainly do not deserve.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Erikson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my-friends-in-the-notion-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/steven-erikson-588_death_there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my_1755515.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/steven-erikson-588_death_there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my_1755515.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/steven-erikson-588_death_there-is-something-profoundly-cynical-my_1755515.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something profoundly cynical, my friends, in the notion of paradise after death. 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