“A country is only as strong as its military, and only as moral as the men who serve in its ranks.”

“You can't change the desert. You can only take the fastest course through it. Wishing it's an oasis won't make it so...”

“The only thing money is good for, Marie, is buying time. The time to do the things you like.”

“I'd always thought I would feel like an animal released from its cage when my student days were finished, I felt more like a bird that had been pushed from its nest and told it must fly.”

“Weigh each heart on its own," I shouted, "for how many of us would pass into the Afterlife if Osiris weighed our hearts with those of our akhu?”

“Her beauty might fascinate men, but it was difficult to charm them when she stood mute. . . .”

“That's because I've learned how to use it [smile], Woserit said. I don't pass it out like an old woman giving free milk to the village cats. It's something that must be controlled, and for you especially. You use it on anyone. You must learn to be more judicious.”