Slavery is an institution ordaines by Providence, honored by time, sanctioned by the Gospel, and especially favorable to personal and national liberty Calhoun

As for asking Tam Lin, Matt didn't know how to bring up the subject. By the way, is anyone planning to cut me up into T-bone steaks? Even more terrifying was the bodyguard's possible answer: You hit...

humans are endlessly stupid and greedy.

I could do it, Listen boasted. Show me how and I could run the whole damn planet. You can't even reach the on button, said Cienfuegos.

You get used to being evil.

Scar tissue had formed a knot on the bottom of his foot. He inspected the writing frequently-PROPERTY OF THE ALACRÁN ESTATE-but the scar had sliced through the tiny lettering. It was more difficult...

He had no more control over his life than a dog on a chain, but caring for Lucy made him feel…well…strong.

If you squat on a path, you'll get boils on your backside.

For purely selfish reasons, the old man had preserved what the rest of the world had destroyed.

It isn't healthy to care for someone who can never love you back.

I am one for whom dangers are play- thingsOne who empties men of their strength as a nut from its shell The charms you use I chop up for relish on my porridgeBeware! I am a deadly mambaWrestler of...

When you're small, you can choose which way to grow. If you're kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man. The idea that if you were mean, you might stay mean forever had never occurred to...

Tendai remembered his last birthday. It seemed one shouldn't make wishes idly. Who knew which spirits were listening. He considered a moment and then thought, I wish for courage. Because with courage,...

Matt discovered that no matter how terrified he'd been at first, it wasn't possible to stay terrified. It was as though his brain said, Okay. That's enough. Let's find something else to do.

I decided to forgive you after reading The Little Flowers of Saint Francis," María began. "You remember the wolf I talked about? Well, he was a monster who terrorized everybody until Saint Francis...

I remembered what Olaf always said: You must never give up, even if you're falling off a cliff. You never know what might happen on the way down.

Death must be fought with life, and that means courage and that means joy

Life and death are in constant battle. There is no way in this world for happiness to exist alone...

When u are small, u can choose which way to grow. If you are kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man. And if you are like El Patron . . . Just think about it. – Tam Lin

Gods, if they're neglected, tend to fall asleep, but they never really go away.

She took to reading with a fervor so extreme, Baba Joseph had to take the books from her hands by force. 'Your eyes are not tractors. They are not meant to pull heavy loads,' he said sternly.

Knowledge is a house that must be built from the ground up. We know how to make the roof. The information is useless if we don't understand the foundations on which it is to be placed.

How much wickedness could you do in the service of good before it turned into pure evil?

Don't be angry," the Bard said. "Most people live inside a cage of their own expectations. It makes them feel safe. The world's a frightening place full of glory and wonder and, as we've both...

Just say no to pillaging.

I'd guess that you have some purpose to fulfill and that is why you were saved. But don't get a swelled head over it. A cabbage has a purpose when someone needs to make soup.

That was the best kind of story: when the teller was as much under its spell as the listener.

I think people have an instinct for a family. You look until you find a mother, a father, a sister, a brother. They don't have to be blood relatives. They just have to love you. And when you find...

You don't have a soul, so you can't be baptized. All animals are like that. I think it's unfair and sometimes I don't believe it. After all, what would heaven be without birds or dogs or horses? And...

Tam Lin says rabbits give up when they're caught by coyotes, Matt said after he'd calmed enough to trust his voice. He says they consent to die because they're animals and can't understand hope. Hit...