The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)

by James Islington

“‘Every man who holds a sword in his hand, holds murder in his heart.’”

“Everyone has a darker nature, Caeden. Everyone. Good men fear it, and evil men embrace it.

That’s the natural arrogance of man, sadly. We want to believe that free will means complete independence from the plans of our creator.”

“You can put your trust in something that’s obvious, that’s measurable or predictable—but that’s not faith. Nor is believing in something that gives you no pause for doubt, no reason or desire to question. Faith is something more than that. By definition, it cannot have proof as its foundation.”

“Because it strikes me that a man needs to know what he believes before he can really know who he is.”

“Such is the way of weak men,” he murmured. “Daring to believe only in what can be seen, touched, and measured.”

It was always a danger, priests pointing to the abilities of men as proof of the existence of God.