“ Free time, time to do whatever you liked, or to do absolutely nothing, alone or in company you valued: of all the luxuries in the Empire, perhaps this was the greatest. Lindsey Davis
“ We managed to make a good night of it, in the desperate way people do when the choice is between dogged survival or sliding under the morass. Lindsey Davis
“ Emperors may come and go, bringing more or less chaos, but the bureaucrats keep the wheels turning. Lindsey Davis
“ He listened with the mild demeanour of a man who had waited eight years for his town council to draw up a specification for emergency repairs. Lindsey Davis
“ Even the impetuous Helena Justina was an advocate of traditional family councils. However, every Roman matron knows that domestic councils were devised by our foremothers purely so the views of the ma… Lindsey Davis
“ Dictators love to talk. It is remarkable how men who wield excessive sole power will be consistent in this: Given a captive audience, they all drone on for hours. And hours. The human brain can only c… Lindsey Davis
“ As well as her benevolence toward the nation as a whole, a busy task, Salus also guards every individual. I was going to need her myself today. Lindsey Davis
“ The plumber plodded along in silence, like a man who has learned to be polite to lunatics through dealing with civil engineers. Lindsey Davis
“ I had been right in the first place. Getting involved with politicians is complete stupidity. Lindsey Davis
“ He had the kind of personality that makes you think a boy will grow up to be a public torturer. However, Lindsey Davis
“ This was a solitary walk where the sun and the scents of wild flowers would act on a tortured mind like a soothing drug. Lindsey Davis
“ I would rather see Rome ruled by a man who once had to ask his accountant tricky questions before his steward could pay the butcher’s bill than by some mad limb like Nero, who was brought up believing… Lindsey Davis
