“One of the many reasons that Padma will always be a secondary power on the Council is his belief that all power must be taken, that all power must come through fear. True power comes when others offer it to you and you merely accept it as a gift, not as the spoils of some personal war.”

“I'm neither a magician, nor a wizard," Mab's deep voice sounded behind him. John was startled."But you are. I mean you must be. You can do magic.""Not magic, Sword Bearer. /Miracles/."...."But you do magic!" John said, bewildered."No, Sword Bearer. It is true that I have power from the Changer, but the power I have is His power, not ours. It is to be used in his service. Magic is stolen power. The power that Qhahdrun has is magical power. It was stolen from the Mystery of Abomination when he rebelled against the Changer. Qhahdrun really thinks it belongs to him, but one day it will be taken from him. For at the last all power will go back to the Changer from whence it came.”

“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.”

“The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul’s power of knowing God. To know what religion is really all about, one must know God.”

“No power so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”

“Focusing is the great secret of power. If you want to use your full amount of focus, you must close down all other thought and direct your power of generating mental steam toward one outcome.”