How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
And then, this she offered to me, my one truth: "Our language," she said, "is not spoken, but sung… Not simply words… and grammar… but melody. It was hard… thus… to learn English… this language of wood. For the people of your nation, Octavian, all speech is song." (2.31.49)
Cassiopeia's last words to Octavian are a true gift: they tie him to his homeland and show him that all his musical talent may not just come from the scholars at the College. Not that we're saying he's naturally talented because of his Oyo background, but Cassiopeia's words comfort him because it shows his own language and culture to be full of beauty and art too.