We only become beasts—we become worse than beasts—when we torment others. — Iain M. Banks

Pain, or even just discomfort, is like the warning sent by a frontier guard, sir. You are free to choose to ignore it, but you should not be unduly surprised if you are subsequently over-run by invaders.

Truth, I have learned, differs for everybody. Just as no two people ever see a rainbow in exactly the same place—and yet both most certainly see it, while the person seemingly standing right underneath it does not see it at all—so truth is a question of where one stands, and the direction one is looking in at the time.

“I had formed the impression the Protector valued your counsel.”

“It is most valued when it most closely accords with his own view.”