All Quotes

"The entire French royal family joined with Henry in attending a Mass to pray for his father’s soul. They pitied him, but they could hardly have comforted him. Their real interests lay in supporting Richard, the rightful king, whose queen was the daughter of the king of France. Justice had to take second place to political expediency."

"And therein lies the explanation of 1399, one of the most momentous years in English history. Richard personally hated Henry.…Reflecting on their lives from their first meeting, it is obvious that their characters were totally conflicting: Henry was so dutiful, almost ploddingly obedient to his father, Richard so mercurial. Henry was so logical and self-disciplined, Richard so flighty. Henry was so physically confident, Richard so insecure, needing to cocoon himself within his royal self-righteousness. But beyond these reflections, we have to suspect that the very root of Richard’s active hatred (as opposed to passive dislike) was his own fear. He was afraid of Henry as the hero of the joust. He was afraid of his confidence, his affable nature, his logical mind and his strength. And he was afraid of his royalty, and the prophecies concerning the two of them."

"To young African women aspiring to break into AI and tech, believe in your potential and skills. Stay open to collaboration, and don't shy away from driving innovation. Own your story and actively shape it. Your ideas, your voice, and your innovations are crucial to the future of technology in Africa. Don't miss the opportunity to contribute to the Africa AI narrative."

"Prophecies were searched out in old chronicles and reinterpreted to show that it was God’s will that Henry should put an end to Richard’s rule. He was universally regarded as the champion of the Church and the people, a rescuer of good government and a promise of better times to come. Yet Henry’s position was far from safe. He had not faced the king, and thus the kingdom had not yet had to choose between the good government he promised and the legitimate government represented by Richard….Which path would the kingdom choose: tyranny in the name of loyalty? Or treason in the name of justice?"

"The bureaucracy which had stopped functioning since 9 August [1399] started slowly to regain its usual efficiency. The civil servants knew who and where their king was, and they knew in whom sovereign power lay. That these two facts were not embodied in the same man was not essential for them to do their work."

"A man who grows up believing he is the heir to the throne is unlikely ever to be able to let go of such an idea."

"The language of the charges against Richard is certainly legalistic but the message overall was clearly Henry’s. On many matters of justice, Richard had acted in a selfish and arbitrary way, like a spoilt child. After thirty-three counts of tyranny, perjury, misappropriation of funds, murder, harassment, maintenance, toleration of violence and rape committed by his Cheshire archers, deception, dishonesty, theft, wrongful imprisonment (contrary to the terms of Magna Carta) and the removal from office and exile of the archbishop of Canterbury without trial – nearly all of which are supported by damning evidence extant today – there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the man they were removing was one of the worst rulers England had ever known."

"The most important element of Henry’s kingship was his intention to end his cousin’s experiment in autocratic rule."

"These elements of Henry’s kingship – the determination to rule in conjunction with the great men of the realm, taxation only in wartime, religious orthodoxy, and the establishment of a chivalric order – are all reminiscent of Edward III’s kingship. Even the language in which he made his speeches – English – harks back to Edward III’s use of English to stir up nationalist sentiment. These parallels between Henry in October 1399 and Edward III are not a coincidence. By 1399, Edward III’s reign had come to be seen as a golden age, being peaceful at home and glorious abroad: everything which Richard II’s reign was not."

"Justice was a much more complicated issue. Many people at that parliament wanted Richard to be put to death. Many more wanted those who had benefited from his reign to be punished as traitors. Part of the problem was that the very concept of treason had been greatly enlarged by Richard to encompass anyone who dared disagree with him: in Richard’s own words ‘he is a child of death who offends the king’."

"Most historians rely on timing and motive in deciding whether Henry was guilty of murder or not. This is unfortunate, for motive is not the same as evidence, and to pretend it is is to risk introducing modern prejudices into a historical argument."

"Thus there were good political reasons why Henry should not have killed Richard. This is not to say that he did not give the order, only to remind us that one cannot judge innocence or guilt on the strength of motive alone."

"This is how Henry could have convinced himself that he was innocent of the murder in the eyes of God. Others had ‘executed’ him, his death being a consequence of the plot to free him. Thus Henry was able to deny his guilt by refusing to accept personal responsibility for what had been a political act carried out for the security of the kingdom. Politicians in all ages have felt similarly inclined to draw a line between public expediency and personal conscience."

"‘Necessitas non habet legem’ (‘necessity has no law’) he wrote in his own hand on the letter. The phrase sums up Henry’s kingship: neither legally correct, nor wholly lawful, but done anyway, because the safety of the nation is more important than the law."

"A kiss is a fleeting thing, but once it has taken place it cannot be undone."

"That he did not go on to be a great king does not detract from the courage, initiative and consideration of his actions in 1399. There is almost no sense in which his reign can be considered great; it was dogged by financial problems and rebellion, so that defeating or outlasting all his enemies is his sole claim to greatness as a ruler. But in terms of his stature as a man, those judgements do not apply. His rule may have been characterised by crisis and opposition, but he was one of the most courageous, conscientious, personally committed and energetic men ever to rule England. It is unfortunate that he has historically been judged solely as a king and not as a man."

"Knowing that he had no respect for opponents who held high office in the Church allows us to contextualise his piety and see a direct link between his God and himself, thereby largely circumventing the role of the clergy. His attitude towards the prelates he executed was that they deserved no special treatment if they stood in the way of God’s will that Henry should rule England. Hence the apparent contradiction of a pious king who executed an archbishop is explained, and a much fuller picture of his religious conscience obtained."

"Very clearly, Henry cared more for God than for the Church, and more for the Church than for some of the men who exercised office within it."

"Most of all, he wanted so much to be a good king – attempting to please everyone all the time – that he inevitably displeased some."

"It's time for us as young African engineers to start working on solutions to solve our local challenges."

"It’s time for us as young African engineers to start working on solutions to solve our local challenges.” — Charlette N’Guessan on driving innovation tailored to Africa’s needs."

"In the 1407 parliament Thomas Arundel listed the reasons why he thought the people should ‘honour the king’: because Henry had preserved the liberties of towns and religious institutions; because he had showed himself unstinting in his efforts to defend the realm; and because he had showed mercy to his adversaries. All of these were matters of maintaining the status quo; nothing here was a new development. This points to the very success of his conservative policy. If the revolution is to be wholly successful, all the counter-revolutions must be defeated. That Henry did so while showing mercy and preserving existing liberties is to his credit."

"Both sides of the parliamentary lobby thus gained from the reign. That is hardly surprising, but if Henry can be credited with these developments it is only on account of his successful management of change. As stated at the outset, most of the developments in parliament were in spite of his involvement, not because of it."

"Few men confront the basic tenets of the society in which they live and try to change them. Very few of those are successful. And even fewer survive to reflect on their success. Henry IV was one of these very few."

"The key problem in assessing the scale of the battle is this tendency of chroniclers to exaggerate numbers. Armies are enlarged to biblical proportions as well-educated, cloistered writers wrote their dramatic accounts in the only language of battle they knew: a mixture of Old Testament stories, classical history and earlier chronicles. In general, unless they could talk up a skirmish to sound like the great battles of the past, it would hardly merit inclusion in a book."

"The research we are aiming for seeks to improve cooperation between business and the community by building ‘knowledge webs’, a goal that is in phase with Europe’s target of evolving from an ‘information society’ to a ‘knowledge society’."

"Africa is the homeland of the turtle, yet they are totally overlooked here."

"For 30 years, we haven’t had any recorded sightings of these animals that live in South Sudan and southern Chad."

"In Africa, conservation is a relatively new concept because animals and resources were always plentiful."

"That’s why I say I was not born a conservationist, I became a conservationist."

"It’s a fire you have in the belly that keeps you going, a passion. I always want to move forward."

"But at the same time, they will be happier to be free, and freedom is the most important gift you can give to these animals if you truly love them."

"It’s vital to pass on knowledge,to exchange our experiences, and share all we’ve learned.”"

"People think that I am only interested in tortoises, but there is no one species that should take priority – it is the whole ecosystem that counts."

"I grew up in a family with animals, we had turtles and tortoises. I didn’t think I would be a turtle biologist, but I met the right people at the right moment."

"This recognition shows that we are on the right path, but there is still a lot of work to do."

"I see so many people who say they dislike snakes or crocodiles – they don't want anything to do with these animals, they think they are dangerous."

"I have never met someone who dislikes turtles, but they don't know much about them. They think they are cute."

"Conservation is about trying to mitigate the human impact – and people who are living in the home range have more ability to understand how we can connect people to the species we want to conserve."

"Discussions about AI advancements in Africa often highlight the misconceptions held by the rest of the world. First, Africa has always been positioned as merely a passive consumer of technologies developed elsewhere: They build, ship here, and we're expected to use them."

"...many AI-driven solutions introduced in Africa fail to address local needs, are riddled with biases, and inadvertently create a form of foreign technological dominance in African markets."

"...it is entirely false to assume that innovation cannot thrive on the continent. The narrative must shift from waiting for external solutions to actively building and scaling local innovations."

"Decision-makers who shape global AI strategies rarely engage with the realities on the ground. It is not just being quoted as an African, If you haven’t been ground-building AI-driven models in Africa, you can’t be loud and make decisions on our behalf."

"Africa plays a vital role in the global AI landscape. Our experience navigating complex social, economic, and cultural contexts equips us to develop nuanced, adaptable governance frameworks, and models that could inspire other regions facing similar challenges."

"If you want to build AI-driven solutions for African markets, don't focus on trends, build with purpose. Africa doesn't need fancy AI products; we need effective, impactful solutions. Also, keep in mind that for every problem, there are multiple ways to solve it. AI is just one tool in the toolbox, and sometimes, it may not be the best one. So be open-minded."

"Her death was the loss of a dedicated anti-racist, a valued sister, and a friend we loved...Andaiye's anthology, published posthumously, is a great and unique gift to the movement."

"Plant genetic resources are seldom 'raw materials'; they are the expression of the current wisdom of farmers who have played a highly significant role in the building up of the world's genetic resource base... As is already happening in my country, farmers and national genebanks in developing countries can work together to preserve and expand crop genetic diversity on behalf of all humanity."

"In three months, the Inquirer had not only helped to oust Marcos, it was also making money."

"I am local, rural, communal. And I find that the whole world is a community. We have made progress in asserting our local community rights globally. We shall continue to do so."

"Sick people die; and healthy babies replace them. But if the economic base dies, the babies also die, or even fail to be born. The bigger threat is, therefore, that on biological diversity, on which indigenous and local communities completely depend for survival. So, we had to do something on biosafety."