“No one has ever framed a better critique of Roman imperial power than the words put into the mouths of rebels against Rome by Roman writers themselves.”
― SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
― SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
“If she believed in a God, it was in one who functioned something like Louise in this moment: rooting for her charges from afar, mourning alongside them when they were rejected, celebrating every small victory that came their way. She noticed the lonely ones, the ones at the edge of the crowd; she felt in her heart a sort of wild affection for them, wanted to go to them, to stand next to them and pull them tightly to her side; and yet she also knew that to intervene in this way would disrupt something sacred that—at twelve and thirteen and fourteen years old—they were learning about themselves and the world. And this, too, was how she thought of God.”
― The God of the Woods
― The God of the Woods
“When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won’t.”
― Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
― Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
“When a bad man has the advantage, cruelty and outrage are the consequences. —William Marshal”
― The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England
― The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England
“Do you ever worry that being born into money has stunted us?” Alice blanched. “I don’t mean anything by it,” said Delphine. “It’s just—lately I’ve been wondering whether having all of our material needs met from birth has been a positive aspect of our lives. It seems to me it may have resulted in some absence of yearning or striving in us. The quest, I like to call it. When one’s parents or grandparents have already quested and conquered, what is there for subsequent generations to do?”
― The God of the Woods
― The God of the Woods
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