And it came to Marcus suddenly that slaves very seldom whistled. They might sing, if they felt like it or if the rhythm helped their work, but whistling was in some way different; it took a free man to make… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“Always, in these times, I am wretched save when sleep comes to me. Therefore, I have come to look upon sleep as the best of all gifts.” - Helen, about the war” — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share
“See now, for a good blade, one that will not betray the man in battle, rods of hard and soft iron must be heated and braided together. Then is the blade folded over and hammered flat again, and maybe yet again, many times for the finest blades... So the hard and soft iron are mingled without blending, before the blade… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share
“So Aquila took his father’s service upon him. It wasn’t as good as love; it wasn’t as good as hate; but it was something… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“Who so pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil is trueborn King of all Britain.” — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
But tonight, because Rome had fallen and Felix was dead, because of Valerius’s shame, the empty hut seemed horribly lonely, and there was a… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
Esca tossed the slender papyrus roll onto the cot, and set his own hands over Marcus's. "I have not served the Centurion because I… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“The gilded wreaths and crowns that the Legion had won in the days of its honour were gone from the crimson-bound staff; the furious… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
Better to be a laughing-stock than lose the fort for fear of being one. — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“Let you sing of us all by name, that we may live as long as the song." "All three hundred of you?" Aneirin said,… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“That is our Shield Ring, our last stronghold; not the barrier fells and the totter-moss between, but something in the hearts of men.” — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
“Before he left Rome, Marcus had been in a fair way to becoming a charioteer, in Cradoc's sense of the word, and now desire… — Rosemary Sutcliff Copy Share Image
