“The colossal might of wickedness: how we love to locate it massively elsewhere. But so much of it comes down to what each one of us does between breakfast and bedtime.”

“No one survives in times of war unless they make war their home. How did I get so old and wise, but for welcoming war into my house and making friends with him? Better to befriend the enemy and hang on. Something worse might come along, which might be amusing or might not.”

“The wickedness of men is that their power breeds stupidity and blindness.”

“The boy does well enough," said Vicente. "A goose does not ask much of life, after all.""No," she admitted. "Those who ask much are more likely disappointed. We should all be as simple as the goose.”

“One never learns how the witch became wicked, or whether that was the right choice for her~is it ever the right choice? Does the devil ever struggle to be good again, or if so is he not a devil?”

“One never knows how the witch became wicked, or whether that was the right choice for her — is it ever the right choice? Does the devil ever struggle to be good again, or if so is he not a devil? It is the very least question of definitions.”

“I know this: The wickedness of men is that their power breeds stupidity and blindness, she said.”