Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.

He was beastly tired, but it was hard to stop. One more book, he had told himself, then I'll stop. One more folio, just one more. One more page, then I'll go up and rest and get a bite to eat. But there was always another page after that one, and another after that, and another book waiting underneath the pile. I'll just take a quick peek to see what this one is about, he'd think, and before he knew he would be halfway through it.

Of course it’s not enough to be a good man to be an effective ruler and it never has been.

A crown should not sit easy on the head.

Power resides where men believe it to reside.

When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.

Power is a trick. It lies where we believe it lies.