Versatility is one of the few human traits which are universally intolerable. You may be good at Greek and good at painting and be popular. You may be good at Greek and good at sport, and be wildly popular. But try all three and youโre a mountebank. Nothing arouses suspicion quicker than genuine, all-round proficiency.
Dorothy DunnettTo the men exposed to his rule Lymond never appeared ill: he was never tired; he was never worried, or pained, or disappointed, or passionately angry. If he rested, he did so alone; if he slept, he took good care to sleep apart. โโI sometimes doubt if heโs human,โ said Will, speaking his thought aloud. โItโs probably all done with wheels.
Dorothy DunnettAnd habits are hell's own substitute for good intentions. Habits are the ruin of ambition, of initiative , of imagination. They're the curse of marriage and the after-bane of death.
Dorothy DunnettOh, well. Everyone else has suave, cosmopolitan sheep: why not us? The Millers at Hepple have a ewe thatโs been to Kelso three times, and theyโve never been farther than Ford in their lives.โ Kate peered absently into the farm pond, and clucked again. โThoughtless creatures. Theyโve forgotten the fish.
Dorothy DunnettIf I canโt be personal, I donโt want to argue,โ said his hostess categorically. โI may be missing your points, but youโre much too busy dodging mine.
Dorothy DunnettLack of genius never held anyone back. Only time wasted on resentment and daydreaming can do that.
Dorothy DunnettFor an hour, blended with all she could offer, something noble had been created which had nothing to do with the physical world. And from the turn of his throat, the warmth of his hair, the strong, slender sinews of his hands, something further; which had. Though she combed the earth and searched through the smoke of the galaxies there was no being she wanted but this, who was not and should not be for Philippa Somerville.
Dorothy Dunnett