Holly

“The principled man is merely one whose ancestors were ruthlessly unprincipled, affording him the option of acting upon fine sentiments.”
― Lynn Cullen, Mrs. Poe

“I wondered why she craved this knowledge and found myself remembering that she was, after all, an anthropologist.”
― Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian

“After the meal Daisy took Keith and me to the home of two Danish medical missionaries, who had invited us to hear the Queen's Christmas Broadcast. The Danes were two young women who spoke excellent English. They served tea and we ate small cookies, balancing our cups for a refill as we listened to the radio. We stood up for 'God Save the Queen' and then sat down to hear the Queen's words. And there, dear reader, you have a sketch of C. G. K. Lawson and Schuyler Jones--two miserable sinners--standing up to sing Christmas carols with three female missionaries.”
― Schuyler Jones, Under the African Sun

“Your notion of what dignity demands is so different from a Roman's. A Roman noble might swallow a dozen insults which a Sarmatian would kill for, but he'd be outraged at the suggestion he could rest in a stable.”
― Gillian Bradshaw, Island of Ghosts