The Devil's Pawn Quotes

“Walter Isaacson’s gripping biography and Stefan Klein’s Leonardo’s Legacy: How Da Vinci Reimagined the World,”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn

“disciples of a messiah.”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn

“This morning, I went past the Mons Palatinus,” said Karl one evening as they sat together over bread, olives, and cheese. “There, some commoners still pray to Romulus and Remus.” He shook his head. “Allegedly, there are remains of a cave where the two brothers were nursed by a she-wolf. What a ridiculous notion!” “Really?” Johann smiled. “Weren’t those brothers abandoned as infants and washed ashore in a willow basket on the banks of the Tiber? And didn’t Romulus kill his brother later on before founding Rome?” “Yes, I think that’s how the story goes.” Karl frowned. “Why?” “Well, Moses was also abandoned in a willow basket on a river, and Cain killed his brother, Abel. So, the one story is a ridiculous notion while the other is true belief? Where is the difference?” “Debating with you is probably more exhausting than debating that Luther.” “I’m not debating, merely posing questions,” replied Johann. “Just like the Greek philosopher Socrates used to do. Questions bring light to the darkness of the world.”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn

“It took a few days for Johann to find his bearings in this city. He had been to many large cities before—Nuremberg, Augsburg, Venice—but Rome was different, inspiring and draining at once. Enormous ruins rose at every corner, the imposing Colosseum only one of many. Rome was like a wasteland where thousands of new blossoms sprouted from the earth. Under the rule of the last two popes especially, plentiful new and magnificent churches and palaces had been erected, but in between, the citizens continued to live in foul-smelling hovels.”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn

“Man carries both sides within himself—he is angel and demon at once.”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn

“The trade in indulgences financed not only the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s but also the wealth of paintings, altars, and frescoes that prettied the face of the old whore that was Rome. Leo thought back to the day he had ascended the papal throne. The procession alone had cost a hundred thousand ducats—a seventh of the pope’s possessions. But it had been worth it.”
― Oliver Pötzsch, The Devil's Pawn