Jim

“Sovereign power is nothing if it does not care for the welfare of others, and . . . it is the task of a good ruler to keep his power in check, to resist the passions of unbridled desire and implacable rage, and to realize that, as the dictator Caesar used to say, the recollection of past cruelty is a wretched provision for old age.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“We who are born into this age of freedom and independence and the self must undergo this loneliness. It is the price we pay for these times of ours.”
― Natsume Soseki

“[N]othing is uglier than supreme authority combined with a cruel nature.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“I am not entitled to life without death. I embrace sacred life. I embrace sacred death. I embrace the growing and crumbling in between.”
― Jarem Sawatsky, Dancing with Elephants: Mindfulness Training For Those Living With Dementia, Chronic Illness or an Aging Brain