20 quotes
Men make promises according to their hopes and keep them according to their fears.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Self-interest, acting in divergent directions, can in time make the bitterest foes of the firmest friends and the closest kinsmen.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Demon land has no fury like that of a priest who is asked to pay taxes as ordinary folk must.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Three things should not be counted upon: the level of a river, the tameness of a lion, and the promise of a king.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
A king’s wrath is as lasting as the hills, but his favor is as dew upon the grass.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
The only sure defense against reproach, sir, is obscurity.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
To be kind to the tiger is to be cruel to the lamb.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Folly is mortals’ self-chosen misfortune.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
That which seems but meet and proper to us may appear odd to our friends, eccentric to strangers, and barbarous to foreigners.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
While a hundred wives and concubines may satisfy the vanity of a king, you would search the wide world over ere you found a king who could satisfy a hundred wives and concubines.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
“How goes the City of the Persians?”
“The same as ever: plots and intrigues in the palace; Persian arrogance in the streets; peasant ignorance in the countryside.”
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
My master Herakleitos used to say: Most men might as well be blind and deaf, for all that they comprehend what lies about them. If you would gain wisdom, he said, get about, see things for yourself, and subject the impressions thus gained to the divine power of reason.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Bessas scowled. “I trust, sir banker, that you seek not to take advantage of our simplicity to squeeze unwonted wealth from us. You money-grubbers would pick a farthing from a dunghill with your teeth.”
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
The moving shadow saith: “Swift Time doth run,
And soon he’ll hale thee where there is no sun.”
Well then, am I Time’s slave? I’ll mock the fiend,
And gaily revel till my course be done!
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
Some give their dead to earth, and some to fire,
And some to beasts that roam the deserts dire;
But since the dead do not return to rail,
For aught I care, my guts may string a lyre!
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
In the early years of his reign, everyone praised you-know-who to the skies. And indeed he did well at the outset. But I suppose the responsibilities and the temptations of kingship, acting together, in time break down the strongest character.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
“You make me feel very ignorant, my Greek friend.”
“I am sorry—”
The First Prophet cackled. “Tsk, tsk; apologize not. I, like other men, own up to minor failings in hope of convincing others that I have no major ones.”
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
“Why told you not the entire tale?”
“It is foolish to entangle oneself, any more deeply than can be helped, in the struggles of the great. The man who is down today may be up tomorrow, and rancor outlasts gratitude as stone outlasts wood.”
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
If a man tell you that the streets of India are paved with pearls, cast the lie back in his teeth. Nor do pigs run about the streets ready roasted. To be sure, the kings and priests are rich, but that is the case in other lands, and the vulgus has as much ado to keep ahead of hunger as elsewhere.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
“Now, cut your arm a little and swear by all your gods that you will adhere faithfully to me and be my friend, helper, and defender, sharing in need and standing fast in danger, until our quest be done or until death part us!”
“If you like; though it’s the man who makes us believe the oath, not the oath the man.”
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)