"“Gaius says there is no cure for the plague. If that’s so, we can only try to scare it away.”"

"“You’re embarrassed for your emperor. Understandably.” Justin grimaced. “I don’t need a physician, Felix. What I need…"

"There’s bronze coins to be had from boiling pitch, but there’s gold in terror."

"“It’s all too subtle for a simple man like me,” Felix continued. “Intrigues and plots and poisons and loyalties shift…"

"Alas, the muse’s whisperings fall upon deaf military ears."

"Debts are more deadly than a Persian sword, especially for a captain of excubitors."

"It happened that a shipment of marble intended for a job on which I was working for the business owner I mentioned wa…"

"Time is short whenever official business is concerned. Even the candles burn faster."

"It takes back-breaking labor to build a church, but at the end it is filled with song."

"A man makes his own fortunes."