Everyone is either happy or dead.

Never throw the first punch. If you have to throw the second, try to make sure they don't get up for a third.

Good men don't become legends," he said quietly. "Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.

I froze, shocked. (And don't try to clam that you did anything different the first time a government bureaucrat pulled a gun on you.)

Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.

"Each moment you fight is a gift to those in this cavern. Each second we fight is a second longer that thousands of people can draw breath. Each stroke of the sword, each koloss felled, each breath earned is another victory! It is a person protected for a moment longer, a life extended, an enemy frustrated!" There was a brief pause. "In the end they shall kill us"... "But first, they shall fear us!"

Sometimes, son," my father said, prying my fingers free, "you have to help the heroes along.