There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.

After closely examining my conscience, I venture to state that in my historical novels I intended the content to be just as modern and up-to-date as in the contemporary ones.

It is only the strong who are strengthened by suffering; the weak are made weaker.

What is a historian, anyway? It is someone who uses facts to record the development of humanity.

An author who sets about to depict events of the past that have run their course is suspected of wishing to avoid the problems of the present day, of being, in other words, a reactionary.

Both the historian and the novelist view history as the struggle of a tiny minority, able and determined to make judgments, which is up against a vast and densely packed majority of the blind, who are led by their instincts and unable to think for themselves.

Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio transmission.