--- title: "4 Ancient rome Quotes By Steven Saylor" description: "4 Ancient rome quotes by Steven Saylor. Plus more from Steven Saylor and more Ancient rome sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mo_616525.jpg" --- > [“The strands (the gods) weave out of our mortal lives are like a pattern visible only from the heavens; we here on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mortal-lives-are-like-a-pattern/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mo_616525.jpg) > [“But sometimes...sometimes I wake with a mad thought in my head: What if that boy's life mattered as much as anyone else's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-mad-thought-in-my-head-what-if/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-ma_1303127.jpg) > [“I kept secrets from you. I let you believe a lie. I am an impious son. But I made my choice, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believe-a-lie-i-am-an-impious-son/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believ_2225218.jpg) > [“Men like Caesar and Pompey--they're not heroes, Meto. They're monsters. They call their greed and ambition "honour," and to satisfy their so-called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-heroes-meto-they-re-monsters/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-h_2505980.jpg) ## Other authors on Ancient rome - [M.C. Scott 26 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-rome/m-c-scott/) - [Jennifer McKeithen 8 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-rome/jennifer-mckeithen/) - [Anthony Riches 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-rome/anthony-riches/) ## More by Steven Saylor > [All writing is an act of self-exploration. Even a grocery list says something about you; how much more does a novel say?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/all-writing-is-an-act-of-self-exploration-even-a-grocery-list-says/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [When I was a boy, my grandfather taught me the list of kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius the Elder, Servius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/when-i-was-a-boy-my-grandfather-taught-me-the-list-of-kings-romulus/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [Even the crudest, most derivative novel is an expression of the author's hopes and fears and ideas about good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/even-the-crudest-most-derivative-novel-is-an-expression-of-the-author/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [“The strands (the gods) weave out of our mortal lives are like a pattern visible only from the heavens; we here on earth can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mortal-lives-are-like-a-pattern/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [“on and on, he wasn’t the ranting sort,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/on-and-on-he-wasn-t-the-ranting-sort/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [I can't say I had an ideal father, and I'm not a father myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/i-can-t-say-i-had-an-ideal-father-and-i-m-not-a-father-myself/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [Im like the painter with his nose to the canvas, fussing over details. Gazing from a distance, the reader sees the big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/im-like-the-painter-with-his-nose-to-the-canvas-fussing-over-details/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [In politics, reality and appearance are of equal importance. You cannot attend to one and neglect the other. A man must determine both what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/in-politics-reality-and-appearance-are-of-equal-importance-you-cannot/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [Some men are one thing on the surface and another underneath. The true poet shows not just the exterior of his subject, but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/some-men-are-one-thing-on-the-surface-and-another-underneath-the-true/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [“But sometimes...sometimes I wake with a mad thought in my head: What if that boy's life mattered as much as anyone else's, even Caesar's?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-mad-thought-in-my-head-what-if/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [Adrienne Mayor's inquiry into the myth--and surprising reality--of Amazon women begins with the fierce Greek huntress Atalanta, but takes us deep into the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/adrienne-mayor-s-inquiry-into-the-myth-and-surprising-reality-of/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [I'm like the painter with his nose to the canvas, fussing over details. Gazing from a distance, the reader sees the big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/i-m-like-the-painter-with-his-nose-to-the-canvas-fussing-over-details/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [“Why have two figures of such remarkable interest been so scanted by the annalists and historians, so overlooked by philosophers, poets, and priests? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/why-have-two-figures-of-such-remarkable-interest-been-so-scanted-by/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [“men ran to fill all ten positions. To pull that off required the cooperation of men who would normally have been your rivals.” “And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/men-ran-to-fill-all-ten-positions-to-pull-that-off-required-the/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) > [There is a fine sense of freedom that comes from wandering about a familiar city with no particular destination in mind, with no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/there-is-a-fine-sense-of-freedom-that-comes-from-wandering-about-a/) [Steven Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-saylor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-rome/steven-saylor/#itemlist", "name": "4 Ancient rome Quotes By Steven Saylor", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The strands (the gods) weave out of our mortal lives are like a pattern visible only from the heavens; we here on earth can only guess at their designs”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Saylor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mortal-lives-are-like-a-pattern/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mo_616525.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mo_616525.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_the-strands-the-gods-weave-out-of-our-mo_616525.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The strands (the gods) weave out of our mortal lives are like a pattern visible only from the heavens; we…” — Steven Saylor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But sometimes...sometimes I wake with a mad thought in my head: What if that boy's life mattered as much as anyone else's, even Caesar's? What if I were offered a choice: to doom that boy to the misery of his fate, or to spare him, and by doing so, to wreck all Caesar's ambitions? I'm haunted by that thought - which is ridiculous! It's self-evident that Caesar matters infinitely more than that Gaulish boy; one stands poised to rule the world, and the other is a miserable slae, if he even still lives. Some men are great, others are insignificant, and it behooves those of us who are in-between to ally ourselves with the greatest and to despise the smallest. To even begin to imagine that the Gaulish boy maters as much as Caesar is to presume that some mystical quality resides in every man and makes his life equal to that of any other, and surely the lesson life teaches us is quite the opposite! In stength and intellect, men are anything but equal, and the gods lavish their attention on some more than on others.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Saylor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-mad-thought-in-my-head-what-if/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-ma_1303127.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-ma_1303127.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_but-sometimes-sometimes-i-wake-with-a-ma_1303127.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But sometimes...sometimes I wake with a mad thought in my head: What if that boy's life mattered as much as…” — Steven Saylor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I kept secrets from you. I let you believe a lie. I am an impious son. But I made my choice, as C(aesar) did, and once the Rubicon is crossed, there can be no turning back (Meto, Caesar's scribe, to his father Gordianus the Finder)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Saylor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believe-a-lie-i-am-an-impious-son/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believ_2225218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believ_2225218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_i-kept-secrets-from-you-i-let-you-believ_2225218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I kept secrets from you. I let you believe a lie. I am an impious son. 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The consequences and the suffering still spread to the innocent (Gordianus the Finder to his son Meto)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Saylor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-saylor/men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-heroes-meto-they-re-monsters/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-h_2505980.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-h_2505980.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/steven-saylor-22882_ancient-rome_men-like-caesar-and-pompey-they-re-not-h_2505980.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men like Caesar and Pompey--they're not heroes, Meto. They're monsters. 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