Brand a man as a thief and no one will ever hire him for honest labor - he will be a hardened robber within weeks. The brand does not reveal a person's nature, it shapes it.

I want my chirfugging goose back!

Everybody knew that books were dangerous. Read the wrong book, it was said, and the words crawled around your brain on black legs and drove you mad, wicked mad.

Push something in someone’s face, and they will shove it away reflexively. Threaten to snatch it away from them, and sometimes they become convinced that it is what they want.

You, sir, are a romantic, and I'm afraid the condition is incurable. -Eponymous Clent

We always find it difficult to forgive our heroes for being human.

It did seem hard to be doing something heroic while everyone was too busy to notice.