Nicholas Nicastro > Quotes

“Agrippa dipped his chin. “Of course he does, Publius. You have my head mounted in your vestibule!” As his status afforded, the guest of honor did not rise to greet him. His features, however, were not noble at all: he had the beetle-brows of a country clodhopper, the thick and lumpy nose of a farmer who had stepped on too many rakes. Worse, he was too young to signal the requisite severity. Like his patron, there was an air around him of youth playing at power. Except, in Italy at least, the power of Octavian and his playmates was real.”
― Nicholas Nicastro, The River Through Rome

“The work done, she lowered him back into place with what, in his final thought, seemed great gentleness. And then he was done.”
― Nicholas Nicastro, Hell's Half-Acre

“But I’ll let you in on a secret, Nonius: it is important for women to break hearts. You men can destroy in so many ways. But for us—for those lucky enough to make men fall in love with us—it is how we make our mark on the world. It is proof we were ever here, the pain we leave behind. And the more worthy the lovers we break, the better.” “Shall I take that as a warning?” “Only if you intend to fall in love.”
― Nicholas Nicastro, The River Through Rome

“That’s all Rome seemed to become: a map of grievances, fresh or half-healed. To patronize a shop, or cast a vote, or merely brush off a stranger who had fallen in the muck, was to risk pleasing one party and provoking another. There was only one man in the city who mattered now. In place of significance came victimhood. Every man and woman nurtured his or her private hurts, protecting and suckling and growing them. Instead of futures, Romans had plots for imminent revenge.”
― Nicholas Nicastro, The River Through Rome