Author describes one monarch's impressive table but conveys a contemporary's observation, "the weightiest thing at dinner was the conversation".

— Peter Heather

Foreign policy often involved nothing more than the decision whom to make war upon.

— Peter Heather

He was a stylist, not a thinker. He spent time trying to say things in as complicated a way as possible.

— Peter Heather

Never base motivation or fear, entirely.

— Peter Heather

Reality confounds image.

— Peter Heather

The cornerstone of the Roman legionnaires' astonishing fighting spirit can be attributed to their training.

— Peter Heather

The factor that made him so powerful was also his greatest liability.

— Peter Heather

The way to a landowner's heart was to tax gently.

— Peter Heather

With ancient history writers most immediately in view, the author indicates "tendency to look to the virtues and vices of individuals when seeking causes.

— Peter Heather