It's all you can say, when the end comes: 'I did not waste my time.' I think that matters. I think it may be all that matters.

History was more than just stories, he reminded himself as the men walked forward with their burdens. It taught lessons as well.

The world cannot be full of lead dogs, or the pack would pull itself apart.

There is a price for all things, my son, for all men. I have merely to find his.

No worthy goal should come easily, he told himself. Suffering created value.

I am not you and all my choices have already been made, good and bad.

I am the rightful khan of the nation. I am the gur-khan. My word is iron and my word is law.

Predators did not need mercy.

Sung Win smiled to himself, enjoying the tension across his shoulders and the way his pulse beat in his veins. All life involved risk.

You have a powerful army, Kublai, but the best force is one you do not have to use.

We are all fools with our sons. We wipe them and suckle them and all we expect is for them to be grateful to the end of their days.

worms have crawled up your nose and eaten your wits.

[W]hen the pleasure is at the sweetest, death is the nearest (461)[.]

Of course, ” the cabbie said, “you don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’re going.

A family is but too often a commonwealth of malignants.

When a professional baseball team asks you to throw out the first pitch, that's an honor, and you do it.

I'm a very open person. I know I open my mouth way too much, but I just do that.

Certainly it's nice to have historic moments like this but eventually somebody will break this record. We're aiming for the end result, otherwise the rest is useless.

Consciousness is not a bunch of thoughts or a certain level of understanding. Consciousness is a dimension that is beyond our physicality.

I'm a very hard-line, angry atheist. Yet I am fascinated by the concept of devotion.

What do you do for ecstasy?