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Bart nodded. “A wife must be led by her husband.” “That’s why a girl must choose very carefully.” This pointed remark went over Bart’s head.
Rollo was driven mad by the idea that people—ignorant, uneducated, stupid ordinary people—had the right to make up their own minds about religion. If such a naïve idea ever gained currency, civilization would collapse. People had to be told what to do.
Spain was the richest country in the world but also the most conservative: there were laws against gaudy clothing. The rich dressed in black while the poor wore washed-out browns. It was ironic, Barney thought, how similar extreme Catholics were to extreme Protestants.
slavery was not enforceable under English law. Spain was different. There were thousands of slaves in Seville: Barney guessed they were about one in ten of the population.
Trials rarely found men not guilty. The general view was that if a man were innocent he would not have got into trouble in the first place.
royal children enjoyed every good thing in life, except freedom.
“When a man is certain that he knows God’s will, and is resolved to do it regardless of the cost, he is the most dangerous person in the world.”
But Ned thought the majority were mad, and people who believed as Elizabeth did were the only sane ones.
In the eyes of the church, the Bible was the most dangerous of all banned books—especially
They understood the crucial importance of being physically close to the king.
“I believe in God,” Nath said. “But God isn’t in the church.”
Her well-being was more important to me than my own. I have learned, during the course of a long life, that that is the meaning of love.
They did not practice the tolerance they preached.
Roger’s welfare was more important than Ned’s: that was what it meant to be a parent.
“We did, at the start. But now, when we catch secret priests, we execute them, regardless of whether they threaten the queen.
there are no saints in politics, but imperfect people can make the world a better place.” “Did I say that?”
In the manner of young men, Alfo was not saying a lot about the help he had received; and, in the manner of kindly aunts, she did not remind him.
Evil men had always frustrated the efforts of the peacemakers.
Mary had killed them for their beliefs, whereas Elizabeth had killed them for treason, but the line was too often blurred.
