A ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel... he must lay the best coffee hearth to attract the finest men... a good ruler has to learn his world's language... it's different for every world... the language of the rocks and growing things... the language you don't hear just with your ears... the Mystery of Life... not a problem to solve, but a reality to experience... Understanding must move with the flow of the process.

I don't worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It's a matter of just sitting down and working.

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.

The past is no farther away than your pillow.

Making workable choices occurs in a crucible of informative mistakes. Thus Intelligence accepts fallibility. And when absolute (infallible) choices are not known, Intelligence takes chances with limited data in an arena where mistakes are not only possible but also necessary.

For now is my grief heavier than the sands of the seas, she thought. This world has emptied me of all but the oldest purpose: tomorrow's life.

One uses power by grasping it lightly. To grasp too strongly is to be taken over by power, and thus to become its victim.