“But that day it was raining, and since they couldn't very well sit on the rooftop in the rain to watch the flotilla parade, they stayed in the little room that led to the roof. It had just one tiny...”

“Aboard the gondola, Giacomo Foscarini sat facing Mathias. They were crossing the Canal Grande, then they would navigate around San Marco and return. Foscarini loved to travel around Venice this way...”

“That's what lay behind the feud under way in the Republic: a battle between different noble family factions in a fight for power. Serving this side or the other was of no interest to Mathias. But t...”

“Will there ever come a day when you put yourself first?""No, that day will never come.""You're crazy, my old man.""It will never come because I've finally realized that I want you by my side, now a...”

“Are you afraid a demon has escaped Hell in order to descend upon the Venetians?""I think there are a few who'd deserve it, but I'm also a man of science, and I believe that we all carry our own pri...”

“He thought back to everything that happened the night before: the hooded men, the chase, his tired heart and weak legs. The very moment in which Mathias realized it was over, when he'd decided to s...”

“He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of dispute.”

“Unnecessary Counter arguments. Can expose your ignorance and stupidity.”

“An argument that is the loudest and gets the last word is not always the strongest. Know when to leave your argument on the table. If its a strong argument,”

“how it would be nice if, for every sea waiting for us, there would be a river, for us. And someone -a father, a lover, someone- able to take us by the hand and find that river -imagine it, invent i...”

“Sadness brings delicacy. Happiness brings subliminal terror.”

“I have an acute sense of delicacy. Naturally I am prejudiced in favour of virtue.("The Accursed Cordonnier")”

“Silk is a fine, delicate, soft, illuminating, beautiful substance. But you can never rip it! If a man takes this tender silk and attempts to tear it, and cannot tear it, is he in his right mind to ...”

“The most fragile, unhappy people destine themselves to live lives of constantly reminding themselves to be happy.”

“Let me summarise our delicate position in this universe: Our every word can be our last word; our every look can be our last look! Our every moment can be our last moment! Are we happy about this f...”