John, the Lord Chamberlain

"“When men become powerful, they have as many enemies as a ship has barnacles,” Anna replied. “Then, too often, men have long memories. They nurse grudges for years until their chance for revenge arrives. Or they have one too many burdens to carry, or some other reason, trifling perhaps in itself, but one that causes them to finally strike.”"

"Isn’t it said that the best revenge is one that has been contemplated for some time?"

"It’s her influence on him that’s feared. And rightly so. Women often turn good men into beasts."

"“If you were me, nephew,” Justin broke in impatiently, “you could tell easily the difference between dreams and reality. When I dream I can’t feel this damned gnawing agony in my leg.” “Well, this dream was so real I could actually smell the sea,” Justinian pressed on."

"Like land holdings, people do not necessarily remain owned by the same person."

"Life continually seems to swing back and forth between haste and wait and rarely continues for any space on an even keel."

"The more plausible the rogue, the tighter you need to hold on to the silver."

"[I]s it enough for a man to control his actions, or are you pleased only with those who can control their thoughts as well?"

"Every day some of those who lived in [the] city fell prey to its predators. Anonymous murderers were about as likely to be brought to justice as a deadly plague or fire."

"A man makes his own fortunes."

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

"Sometimes knowing your past is to know your future."

"You’ll be disappointed when you see how bare that bone is. Well, life is full of disappointments."