...because when beauty awes you, you must halt and try to catch your breath and your staggered heart.

Luck is only my lover, not my wife," replied Bahktiaan easily. He drew his saber. "If ever I wed, it will be skill and intelligence." "Tedious bedfellows," said Sergi.

Listen, my father had written. Listen to hear if they are telling the truth or only part of the truth, for that is the lesson of history: that the victors tell the tale of their triumph in a manner to grant accolades to themselves and heap blame upon their rivals. Ask yourself if part of the story is being withheld by design or ignorance.

A man gets used to riding on at the break of day. Comes to think that movement and noise is where life is, when after all there's life in stillness and quiet too.

Annoyance and pathos warred in my breast, and after a short struggle, annoyance punched pathos in the snout like the voracious shark it was.

...because when beauty awes you, you must halt and try to catch your breath and your staggered heart.

We are bound to our ancestors and to those who made us, whether we want to be or not. What matters is what we make of what we are.