times of peace are when the wise prepare for violence

There’s a time for subtlety and a time for action!’
‘There is never a time for recklessness, Leo. Or for vanity

You have it in you to be a great man, but you cannot let yourself be swept off by whatever emotion blows your way. Battles may sometimes be won by the brave, but wars are always won by the clever

Guilt can sting, but you should be thankful for it.’
‘Thankful?’
‘Guilt is a luxury reserved for those still breathing and with no unbearable pain, cold or hunger demanding all their fickle attention. Long as guilt’s your big problem, girl …’ Rikke saw the faint gleam of Isern’s teeth in the gathering darkness. ‘Things can’t be that bad

But I’ll admit I’ve a selfish reason, too, which is a good thing for you, since selfish reasons are the only reasons you should trust

those who wish to occupy the heights of society must be willing to dredge the depths from time to time, when they see opportunities glitter in the filth

When it comes to virtue, after all, appearances are everything

And I feel that business should be conducted, whenever possible, in person. Otherwise one’s partners can convince themselves that one’s eyes are not on the details. My eyes are always on the details, Majir.

Lies, like everything that left his mouth, engineered to make him appear just a touch less detestable

All we want is an honest wage for honest work!’
‘I’d sooner take a dishonest wage for no work at all

It was a riddle. This man, born with no advantages, believed in something so much he was willing to die for it. Orso, born with everything, could scarcely make himself get out of bed of a morning. Or, indeed, an afternoon

I wish I’d met you sooner,’ he said. ‘Things might be different.’
‘You didn’t and they’re not. So let’s take what we can get

So let’s take what we can get. If I learned one thing in the camps, it’s that you shouldn’t look too far ahead.’
Chances are you’ll see nothing good there.

Yes, you’ve had hardships. The sickness and the fits, and the being thought mad and blah, blah, blah. But you were also born with all your limbs and a fine set of teeth in your pretty face, the only child of a powerful chief, with no mother and a hall full of soft-headed old warriors doting upon you

You are used to twisting the old men around your fingers. But if Black Calder gets his hands upon you, he will twist you around his. He will twist you until you are all broken apart and you will have no one but yourself to blame. You have been coddled, Rikke. You are soft as pig fat.

Lucky for you, I am here, and I will pare the fat away and leave the iron which I see beneath well sharpened

The body of a hero lies just below this carefully nurtured layer of fat.’

Perhaps she should’ve been frozen with fear. The dead knew she’d a right to be. But what she felt instead was a boiling fury. A fury that warmed her through despite the icy water frothing to her chin. A fury that tempted her to slip from the stream with her knife between her teeth and cut the bloody cross in Stour Nightfall right then and there

What is the point in prosperity, after all, if everyone has it?

It was a sea of business. Dangerous waters, swept by unpredictable storms, where fortunes could founder, enterprises be lost with all hands, reputations sink beneath the waves, but where a navigator with sufficient vision could be borne to spectacular success on the hidden currents of wealth and influence.

God works for those who work themselves

There was almost no one worth noticing without a secret kept somewhere in her book. A dash of blackmail, tastefully administered, could always be relied upon to shift prices in the right direction. To win at this game, you had to keep one foot in the ballroom and the other knee-deep in the sewer

I fear I’m nothing but a tiny twig at the furthest reaches of the family tree.’
‘A prize bud just blooming, I am sure.’

Don’t pretend you have a conscience.’
‘Oh, I have one. But muzzled and kept well away from my business affairs

Savine did not like her affairs being discussed before an audience. Winning made people friendly. Winning too much made them nervous

Goodwill can be the best of investments

Savine had not made society a snakepit. She was simply determined to slither to the top of it and stay there. If that meant being the most venomous reptile in Adua, so be it.

You think the Closed Council really rule? Or the king and queen? We’re all no more than dancing puppets. There to draw the eye. To take the blame.’

It’s a rare man who’s made better by a bit of power

The sad truth is that pretty people can slide through all kinds of scrapes that’d end very badly for the ugly

Not for me. We all yearn for a simple world, but people are imperfect, unpredictable, contradictory beasts with sympathies, and needs, and feelings. Even people like us

Feelings didn’t come in to it,’ said Vick, pulling on the trousers.
She had a sense he saw through her. ‘If they did not, you have demonstrated your commitment. If they did, you have gone one better and demonstrated your loyalty.’
‘I know what I owe you. I don’t forget.’
‘I try never to blame a person for what they think. Only for what they do. And you have done all I could have asked.’

So tell me. These good people. If they get a little more, what will they want then?’
Vick paused a moment, but there was nothing else to say. ‘A little more.’
‘Because that is the nature of people. And their little more must be taken from someone else, and that someone else will be less than delighted. One cannot eliminate unhappiness any more than one can eliminate darkness. The goal of government, you see,’ and the Arch Lector prodded at the air with his bony forefinger, ‘is to load the unhappiness onto those least able to make you suffer for it.’

What if you misjudge who can make you suffer?’
‘Misjudgement is as much a part of life as unhappiness. It is nice to hold the power and make the choices for everyone. But the risk of making any choice is always that you might make the wrong one. We must make our choices nonetheless. Fear of being a grown-up is a poor reason to remain a child.

I followed the power, you might say, to your door

Some men just look better on their knees. Tighter, Freid.’
‘Everyone looks better on their knees. It was my favourite thing about attending temple

People liked to think of beauty as some natural gift, but Savine firmly believed that just about anyone could be beautiful, if they worked hard at it and spent enough money. It was merely a question of emphasising the good, disguising the bad and painfully squeezing the average into the most impressive configuration. Very much like business, really.

The scriptures hold much praise for charity. But they also say only the thrifty will enter heaven.’
‘A cynic might observe that the scriptures can be used to support both sides of every argument

A cynic might say that is the point of them

After twelve years of drinking, gambling and fucking anything with a hole in it, does no one take you seriously

Progress just means bad things happen faster

Believe it or not, we all want what’s best. The root o’ the world’s ills is that no one can agree on what it is.’

You don’t give much away, do you?’ said Savine.
That smile curled up a little more. ‘Comes from not having much, maybe.

The Vallimir residence, high on the hill where most of the affluent citizens of Valbeck had their houses, was a lesson in the dangers of excessive wealth and inadequate taste

Everything – furniture, cutlery and guests most of all – was too weighty, too fancy, too shiny. Mistress Vallimir’s dress was a misjudged purple, the curtains a garish turquoise, the soup a lurid yellow. The colour of urine with a taste not far removed

Whole thing felt like a trap to Vick. But then everything did, and she told herself that was a good thing. It’s the moment you feel safe that you make your last mistake

She didn’t like it any, but a choice between getting hurt and doing the hurting weren’t no choice at all

Law alone, without enforcement, is just breath

She had always reckoned herself such a gambler. No more audacious woman in the Union. Now she realised the games had always been rigged in her favour. She never had to gamble with her life before, and the stakes had risen suddenly far too high for her taste

We have the authority of the fist! We have the authority of sharpened metal! We have the authority of force, you blubbing cunt, which is the only real authority there is

A coward’s just a man with the proper respect for sharp metal

Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust;

hatred alone is immortal

Orso had been diligently fostering low expectations for the past decade

Grievances are like a drunkard’s bed, Hildi. Always better aired

What will people think of me?’ he whispered.
‘They will think that, like Harod and Casamir and the great kings of old, you are a man who does what must be done!’ Sulfur nibbled away at the core of his apple and wagged a finger. ‘Mercy is an admirable quality in smallfolk, but I fear it does not keep kings in power

It is the nature of men, especially ambitious men, to be unhappy. Happy ones make me nervous. And Isher, in particular, is cunning

No leader worth a damn ever led from the front

Not all of us have the courage for honesty.’
‘Not all of us have the wit to lie

I’ll admit it takes some getting used to.’
‘It must be hard to tell the genuine admiration from the empty breath. Surrounded by people, but all alone.’ She gave a theatrical sigh. ‘Everyone trying to make use of you.’
‘Whereas you’ve got my best interests at heart?’
‘I wouldn’t insult your intelligence by pretending anything of the kind. But we might be able to make use of each other

My master used to say that knowledge is the root of power, but I rather suspect power has a golden root these days