“Life had taught him about something far more complicated than justice. Its name was balance.”

“We thought we knew everything about him. But that's not how life is. When all's said and done, we can never truly know one another.”

“No, he hadn't known anything about children, but now he'd learned something: a child's mind is open to everything.”

“...the miller's hefty wife, Madam Weber, already armed with a pitchfork, insisted on joining the fight, and because she appeared more intimidating than most of us men, we instantly welcomed her to our bloodthirsty ranks.”

“That's how it is, he told himself. If you dread something enough, even your worst fears coming true brings comfort.”

“Freedom had a thousand faces. But so did crime. The thought of what a man might do made me dizzy.”

“When it came to choosing between education and religion, Albert said, he'd choose education every time. The school represented young people and the future - and the church didn't. If the school in Vestergade was bigger than the church, so much the better. Any town that believed in the future should take note.”