“The first woman who spent any amount of time aboard this ship was Elizabeth de Obregon, whom we salvaged from the wrack of the Manila Galleon at the same time as him who burned it, one Edouard de Gex.”“He’s dead, by the way.”“Again? I am glad to hear it.”

“I am not I.I am this onewalking beside me whom I do not see,whom at times I manage to visit,and whom at other times I forget;who remains calm and silent while I talk,and forgives, gently, when I hate,who walks where I am not,who will remain standing when I die.”

“A ship doesn't look quite the same from inside, does it? A wise sailor,' Robert said, fanning his arms, 'will one time stand upon the shore and watch his ship sail by, that he shall from then on appreciate not being left behind.' He grinned and added, 'Eh?'George gave him a little grimace. 'Who's that? Melville? Or C.S. Forrester?'It's me!' Robert complained. "Can't I be profound now and again?'Hell, no.'Why not?'Because you're still alive. Gotta be dead to be profound.'You're unchivalrous, George.”

“We didn't know each other well. I never had the time. Now I see that it doesn't make any difference. The ones who hurry and the ones who take their time all end up in the same place. Just don't have any regrets. No regrets.”

“I really need to break him of the bad language habit he’s developing at a rapid pace, but who am I to talk? I curse all the fucking time.”

“But I called, as we came near, to one who stood beside the water's edge, asking him what men did in Astahahn and what their merchandise was, and with whom they traded. He said, "Here we have fettered and manacled Time, who would otherwise slay the gods." I asked him what gods they worshipped in that city, and he said, "All those gods whom Time has not yet slain." (from "Idle Days on the River Yann")”