"To say that nothing is true, is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted, is to understand that we are the architects of our own actions, and that we must live with our actions, whether
glorious or tragic.
~ Ezio Auditore da Firenze

“The exact phrase "Nothing is true; everything is permitted" was taken from the 1938 novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, a book that served as a primary inspiration for Assassin's Creed. In it, the maxim was the highest truth of the Ismaili, the sect of Islam that gave rise to the historical Hashashin.“