“It was an age of Empires. So is this one, not all that well disguised.”

“You want to know something? We are still in the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages--they haven't ended yet.”

“We'd all do well to start over again, preferably with kindergarten.”

“Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn't well connected. So it goes.”

“There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.”

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”

“The Gospels actually taught this: Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn't well connected. so it goes.”