“Only in this world of topsy-turvy attitudes could outright stupidity, such as I had displayed, be something that got me high marks. I had an amused glimmering of a notion at that point: If I ever turned out to be a complete and utter fool, I could wind up running the whole kingdom. It was something to consider.”

“Running from horrors doesn't help. The only way to deal with them is to meet them head-on.”

“Youth believes itself immortal. There is a cure for such an attitude, but unfortunately it is a cure from which one never recovers.”

“Lack of movement is a formidable force to overcome.”

“There are some for whom the good of mankind is their primary concern, and others who basically put their own considerations before everyone else. I was among the latter.”

“It seemed to me that, no matter what endeavor I was involved in, I was to be something of a sham.”

“I guess it really had been brave . . . because it was so bugger-all stupid, and if there was one thing I'd come to realize, ti was that bravery and bugger-all stupidity went hand in hand.”

“Some time later, I sat in the wine cellar, staring at the walls while cradling a wineskin in my lap like a child, murmuring over and over as if lulling the child to sleep, 'I am shat upon. I am shat upon'.”

“Noblest. Bravest. What rot. There was no bravery in buying oneself out of difficulty.”

“Unfortunately, the world does not always act in a manner consistent with one's plans for it.”

“In retrospect, I would have to recommend against epiphanies. They are difficult on an emotional level, and they also sometimes move you to foolish and inopportune acts, which was what happened in my case.”