In the Arab world, every work of art has a tiny flaw, so that it doesn’t sacrilegiously compete with the perfection of God.
Philip believed that caring for people was the service of God. That was what salvation was about.
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
The sight of them all made Caris marvel: each individual had a different life, every one of them rich and complex, with dramas in the past and challenges in the future, happy memories and secret sorrows, and a crowd of friends and enemies and loved ones.
He did not share his father’s belief that the Germans were a superior type of human, but on the other hand he could see that German mastery of Europe would be no bad thing. The French had many brilliant talents – cooking, painting, fashion, wine – but they were not good at government. French officials saw themselves as some kind of aristocracy, and thought it was perfectly all right to.
Any man who needs to surround himself with loyal acolytes doesn’t really believe in himself,” he would say. “And if he doesn’t believe in himself, why should I?
I believe that what I do becomes part of me,” she said. “When I’m brave and strong, and care for children and the sick and the poor, I become a better person. And when I’m cruel, or cowardly, or tell lies, or get drunk, I turn into someone less worthy, and I can’t respect myself. That’s the divine retribution I believe in.
Most people in Kingsbridge could talk only about agriculture and adultery, neither of which interested her.
She had always liked what Scarlett O’Hara said in Gone with the Wind: I’ll think about it tomorrow. Not anymore.
If earls’ daughters were allowed to marry whom they please, we’d all be ruled by strolling minstrels and dark-eyed outlaws.
You mean there isn’t an indisputable book that is the actual Word of God? Men argue about it and make a judgment?
With faultless good manners they would lead the world to destruction.
Never call a meeting until the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
Human beings have the capacity to rise above mundane circumstances and touch the eternal.
This was not a political party. It was an army.
My father taught us to learn as much as possible of any tongue we came across. He says it’s better than money in the bank.
I may yet go through anguish in hell for my sin. But if I had to live that time again I would do the same, to end Margery’s ordeal. I preferred to suffer myself than to know that her agony continued. Her well-being was more important to me than my own. I have learned, during the course of a long life, that that is the meaning of love.
She was twenty-six years old, her life was ruined, and it was her own fault.
She nodded. “They’re counting again in California. Almost a million people voted, and the difference is about five thousand.” “So much hangs on the decisions of a small number of poorly educated people.” “That’s democracy.” Gus smiled. “A terrible way to run a country, but every other system is worse.
Los manifestantes pueden causar un gran impacto, pero al final son los gobiernos los que remodelan el mundo.