Vainglory, however, no matter how much medieval Christianity insisted it was a sin, is a motor of mankind, no more eradicable than sex.

Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.

Human beings of any age need to approve of themselves; the bad times in history come when they cannot.

For belligerent purposes, the 14th century, like the 20th, commanded a technology more sophisticated than the mental and moral capacity that guided its use.

Strong prejudices in an ill-formed mind are hazardous to government, and when combined with a position of power even more so.

Wisdom - meaning judgment acting on experience, common sense, available knowledge, and a decent appreciation of probability.

in the midst of war and crisis nothing is as clear or as certain as it appears in hindsight