“A world is supported by four things….” She held up four big-knuckled fingers. “…the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous and the valor of the brave.”
“a ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel.”
“If only there were some way not to do this thing that I must do.”
“Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. Climb the mountain just a little bit to test that it’s a mountain. From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.”
“Law of the Minimum.” She heard the testing quality in his voice, said, “Growth is limited by that necessity which is present in the least amount. And, naturally, the least favorable condition controls the growth rate.”
“When strangers meet, great allowance should be made for differences of custom and training.”
“This is the only way.”
“I never could bring myself to trust a traitor,” the Baron said. “Not even a traitor I created.”
“My father once told me that respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality.”
“If you rely only on your eyes, your other senses weaken.”
Great language here: “The night is a tunnel, she thought, a hole into tomorrow”
“A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people. He maintains the level of individuals. Too few individuals, and a people reverts to a mob.”
“The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future.”