The rain comes down harder as I write. It sheets off the roof in torrents. I wish it would pound against me. Pound the life from my body. The flesh from my bones. The pain from my heart.

Little by little, the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him.

Funny, 'ow you can 'old a jewel in your 'and, and toss it away, and not even know what you 'ad until it's gone.

History is a Rorschach test, people. What you see when you look at it tells you as much about yourself as it does about the past.

And Robespierre, the Incorruptible, who loved us so much he cut off our heads so we would not be troubled by too many thoughts.

DNA tells you all the secrets of life,’ he used to say. Except for one—how to live it.

Stop yelling. If everyone’s yelling, no one can be heard.