Yeah, that was rather horribly written. Even rereading that passage it's confusing.

The fact that the Shienarans randomly speak in the Old Tongue is annoying to me. There's no real justification for it, only a reminder that they're a stand-in for Gondor in that book. Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta.

Oh, and in The Eye of the World, Lan utters one of the grossest idiocies I could have imagined. And I quote:

"The fact that the price must be paid is proof that it is worth paying."
The Eye of the World, Watchers and Hunters.

It's the reverse of the ends justifying the means - the means justify the ends. Except where the Machiavellian principle is rational if amoral, this is neither moral nor coherent.

Imagine that some war or massacre was caused because the victor's sandwich being stolen by the victims. Then this guy says "The fact that thousands had to die for me to retrieve this sandwich proves that this sandwich was worth retrieving!"

Sounds silly, doesn't it? But Lan is saying it with absolute seriousness.

I think the only reason people afford some measure of respect to Lan, aside from his ability to kill things, is that he doesn't talk often enough for people to realise what an idiot he apparently is.

The best part is, because Lan and Moiraine also adhere to the 'the ends justify the means' philosophy (as is easily shown in their dealings with the Two Rivers folk, or their willingness to kill Thom or Simion to safeguard their secrecy), this means that if Moiraine is as much of an immoral idiot that Lan claims to be here, any action that the could do, have done or will ever do is inherently justified, because whatever they do is justified by the price they have to pay to achieve it, and because that goal is justified whatever means they employ to attain it are also justified.