--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with…" description: "\"“Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with his white hair and mustaches, who had been a Queen’s lover once, and more willingly than himself, not to ment..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-jordan-438_sword_sometimes-it-amazed-him-lanky-thom-with_2899025.jpg" --- # Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with his white hair… ![“Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with his white hair and mustaches, who had been a Queen’s lover once, and more willingly than himself, not to mention more than a lover, if you believed half he said. Square-jawed Harnan with that tattoo on his cheek and more elsewhere, who had been a soldier…” quote by Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-jordan-438_sword_sometimes-it-amazed-him-lanky-thom-with_2899025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-jordan-438_sword_sometimes-it-amazed-him-lanky-thom-with_2899025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-jordan-438_sword_sometimes-it-amazed-him-lanky-thom-with_2899025.jpg) > ““Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with his white hair and mustaches, who had been a Queen’s lover once, and more willingly than himself, not to mention more than a lover, if you believed half he said. Square-jawed Harnan with that tattoo on his cheek and more elsewhere, who had been a soldier all his life. Juilin with his bamboo staff and his sword-breaker on his hip, who thought himself as good as any lord even if the idea of carrying a sword himself still made him uneasy, and fat Vanin, who made Juilin look a bootlicker by comparison. Skinny Fergin, and Gorderan, nearly as wide in the shoulders as Perrin, and Metwyn, whose pale Cairhienin face still looked like a boy’s despite being years older than Mat. Some of them followed Mat Cauthon because they thought he was lucky, because his luck might keep them alive when the swords were out, and some for reasons he was not really sure of, but they followed. Not even Thom had ever more than protested an order of his. Maybe Renaile had been more than luck. Maybe his being ta’veren did more than dump him in the-middle of trouble. Suddenly he felt... responsible... for these men. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Mat Cauthon and responsibility did not go together. It was unnatural.”” [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mat feels an unexpected burden of leadership over his diverse companions, confronting his own discomfort with responsibility. **In simple terms:** Mat is uneasy about leading his friends. Key Takeaway Accept responsibility despite discomfort. Themes leadership responsibility luck companionship Mood anxious reflective determined Type literary character motivational When to use this quote - battlefield command - protecting allies - making tough decisions - managing diverse personalities Key Concepts ta'veven destiny group dynamics personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle responsibility when it feels unnatural? - What qualities can turn luck into effective leadership? A Different Perspective Mat's luck may not guarantee success; leadership requires skill beyond chance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sword/) [Swords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swords/) [White hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-hair/) ## Related quotes > [“Meekness is strength contained and controlled. It is carrying a sword and keeping it sheathed. It is having a feral ferocity capable of overwhelming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-uponi/meekness-is-strength-contained-and-controlled-it-is-carrying-a-sword/) Paul Uponi > [“Wei WuXian smiled again, “Do you know why I’m not carrying my sword? It wouldn’t make a difference if I told you anyways.” He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wei-wuxian-smiled-again-do-you-know-why-i-m-not-carrying-my-sword-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“How can you protect yourself by carrying a sword if you don’t know how to use it?’ Not me, sir. 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I think bleach can be addictive, and before long, you've gone too far with it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ryan/i-had-white-hair-when-i-was-19-i-think-bleach-can-be-addictive-and/) [Katherine Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ryan/) > [I feel I want to be wise with white hair in a tall library in a deep chair by a fireplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/i-feel-i-want-to-be-wise-with-white-hair-in-a-tall-library-in-a-deep/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [Wrinkles and bones, white hair and diamonds: I can't wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/wrinkles-and-bones-white-hair-and-diamonds-i-can-t-wait/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I hated myself totally white. So now I cheat. It's my white hair, and I put color there. My grandson says I'm punk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-hated-myself-totally-white-so-now-i-cheat-it-s-my-white-hair-and-i/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) ## More by Robert Jordan > [“It was an odd thing Tam had taught him. Concentrate on a single flame and feed all your passions into it—fear, hate, anger—until your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/it-was-an-odd-thing-tam-had-taught-him-concentrate-on-a-single-flame/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Relax, lad. Take life as it comes. Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/relax-lad-take-life-as-it-comes-run-when-you-have-to-fight-when-you/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“As she spoke, the dice started tumbling inside his head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/as-she-spoke-the-dice-started-tumbling-inside-his-head/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [There was a wild light in his eyes. "Bring your lightnings, Aes Sedai. I will dance with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/there-was-a-wild-light-in-his-eyes-bring-your-lightnings-aes-sedai-i/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [My mother always told me the best way to learn to deal with a man was to learn to ride a mule. She said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/my-mother-always-told-me-the-best-way-to-learn-to-deal-with-a-man-was/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, Perrin. We’ve become what we needed to become.” Perrin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/the-wheel-weaves-as-the-wheel-wills-perrin-we-ve-become-what-we/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“All of you, fare well, and may you shelter in the palm of the Creator’s hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/all-of-you-fare-well-and-may-you-shelter-in-the-palm-of-the-creator-s/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [If it's not forbidden, then it's allowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/if-it-s-not-forbidden-then-it-s-allowed/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Stay and get married, or travel the Ways." Loial grimaced ruefully. "Life is very unsettling with ta'veren for friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/stay-and-get-married-or-travel-the-ways-loial-grimaced-ruefully-life/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Who would sup with the mighty must climb the path of daggers. -Anonymous notation found inked in the margin of a manuscript history (believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/who-would-sup-with-the-mighty-must-climb-the-path-of-daggers/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Men always seem to refuse to admit they are sick until they're sick enough to make twice as much work for women. Then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/men-always-seem-to-refuse-to-admit-they-are-sick-until-they-re-sick/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Beauty holds more worth than gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/beauty-holds-more-worth-than-gold/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [When the honey's out of the comb, there's no putting it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/when-the-honey-s-out-of-the-comb-there-s-no-putting-it-back/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Death comes to us all; we can only choose how to face it when it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/death-comes-to-us-all-we-can-only-choose-how-to-face-it-when-it-comes/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Burn me," Mat said, throwing on the shirt he dug out of the bundle. "I'll give you a hundred Tar Valon marks if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/burn-me-mat-said-throwing-on-the-shirt-he-dug-out-of-the-bundle-i-ll/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) [Explore all 553 Robert Jordan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) ## More Sword quotes > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) > [“If the pen is mightier than the sword, then what is the laptop? A light saber or a life saver?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword-then-what-is-the-laptop-a-light/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But I saw the pair of them, along with everyone else. Hard to miss. Him towering like a raggedy scarecrow in that flapping black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/but-i-saw-the-pair-of-them-along-with-everyone-else-hard-to-miss-him/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [I find it rude to laugh at a man with a sword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/i-find-it-rude-to-laugh-at-a-man-with-a-sword/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [“His pen spoke more to her than he ever did”. In the war of words, some are unwritten and some are unspoken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishikant/his-pen-spoke-more-to-her-than-he-ever-did-in-the-war-of-words-some/) [Nishikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishikant/) > [“Logic. It could get you every time, but he preferred to cut it down with a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-illene/logic-it-could-get-you-every-time-but-he-preferred-to-cut-it-down/) [Susan Illene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-illene/) > [Technology is, of course, a double edged sword. Fire can cook our food but also burn us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/technology-is-of-course-a-double-edged-sword-fire-can-cook-our-food/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-sword-by-itself-does-not-slay-it-is-merely-the-weapon-used-by-the/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“In Japanese swordsmanship, it is not uncommon to speak of a unity of mind, body, and sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-e-davey/in-japanese-swordsmanship-it-is-not-uncommon-to-speak-of-a-unity-of/) [H.E. Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-e-davey/) > [“Though sword shall be rusted, And throne and crown perish With strength that men trusted And wealth that they cherish, Here grass is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/though-sword-shall-be-rusted-and-throne-and-crown-perish-with/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [I couldn't pick up a sword and go fight anyone, let me put it that way. It's choreography and it's acting. The best sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolaj-coster-waldau/i-couldn-t-pick-up-a-sword-and-go-fight-anyone-let-me-put-it-that-way/) [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolaj-coster-waldau/) > [I'm useless with a sword in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradley-west/i-m-useless-with-a-sword-in-real-life/) [John Bradley-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradley-west/) > [“Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/inscribed-on-it-was-a-verse-from-the-quatrains-of-omar-khayyam-the/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“The pen is truly mightier than the sword. Unless you're holding a pen and the other guy's holding a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-besseling/the-pen-is-truly-mightier-than-the-sword-unless-you-re-holding-a-pen/) Dave Besseling > [“In the words of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant: “There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-g-moore/in-the-words-of-gen-ulysses-s-grant-there-never-was-a-time-when-in-my/) [Harold G. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-g-moore/) [Browse all 721 Sword quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sword/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes it amazed him. Lanky Thom with his white hair and mustaches, who had been a Queen’s lover once, and more willingly than himself, not to mention more than a lover, if you believed half he said. Square-jawed Harnan with that tattoo on his cheek and more elsewhere, who had been a soldier all his life. Juilin with his bamboo staff and his sword-breaker on his hip, who thought himself as good as any lord even if the idea of carrying a sword himself still made him uneasy, and fat Vanin, who made Juilin look a bootlicker by comparison. Skinny Fergin, and Gorderan, nearly as wide in the shoulders as Perrin, and Metwyn, whose pale Cairhienin face still looked like a boy’s despite being years older than Mat. Some of them followed Mat Cauthon because they thought he was lucky, because his luck might keep them alive when the swords were out, and some for reasons he was not really sure of, but they followed. Not even Thom had ever more than protested an order of his. Maybe Renaile had been more than luck. Maybe his being ta’veren did more than dump him in the-middle of trouble. Suddenly he felt... responsible... for these men. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Mat Cauthon and responsibility did not go together. 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