"Have you ever thought what a God would be like who actually ordained and executed the cruelty that is in [the biblical Book of Revelation]? A holocaust of mankind. Yet so many of these Bible-men accep..."
- C.J. Sansom
"Many [Tudor-era religious radicals] believed then, exactly as Christian fundamentalists do today, that they lived in the 'last days' before Armageddon and, again just as now, saw signs all around in t..."
"Around thrones the thunder rolls."
"We of alien looks or words must stick together."
"How men fear the chaos of the world, I thought, and the yawning eternity hereafter. So we build patterns to explain its terrible mysteries and reassure ourselves we are safe in this world and beyond."
"If a ruler who wants to act honourably is surrounded by unscrupulous men, his downfall is inevitable."
"The lives God gives to us, the awful things we can’t escape from. Sometimes I think that sort of God would enjoy making hell for us after we die."
"Like all lawyers, I was delighted by gratitude. It happened so rarely."
"Six wives the King's had now.' Barak's words dragged me from my reverie. 'We can't even get one between us."