Mom," said Peter, "nobody thinks you're a lackwit, if that's what you're worried about." Lackwit? In what musty drawer of some dead English professor's dust-covered desk did you find that word? I assure you that never in my worst nightmares did I ever suppose that I was a lackwit.

The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.

The society whose citizens are willing to stand and fight is the one with the best chance of surviving long enough for history to even notice.

Nobody ever completely means what they say. Even when they think they're telling the truth, there's always something hidden behind their words.

Into the the air, into the earth, into the fire, I am with you.

If only we were wiser or better people, perhaps the gods would explain to us the mad, unbearable things they do.

At first he thought he felt bad because he was afraid of leading an army, but it wasn't true. He knew he'd make a good commander. He felt himself wanting to cry. He hadn't cried since the first few days of homesickness after he got here. He tried to put a name on the feeling that put a lump in his throat and made him sob silently, however much he tried to hold it down. He bit down on his hand to stop the feeling, to replace it with pain. It didn't help.