The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests.

A soil, exhausted by the long culture of Pagan empires, was to lie fallow for a still longer period.

The ferocious inroads of the Normans scared many weak and timid persons into servitude.

For a century longer, Rome still retains its outward form, but the swarming nations are now in full career.

When did one man ever civilize a people?

Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries.

History shows how feeble are barriers of paper.

In Gaul were two orders, the nobility and the priesthood, while the people, says Caesar, were all slaves.

The crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs.

With the Germans, the sovereignty resided in the great assembly of the people.

A good lawyer is a bad Christian.

A terrible animal, indeed, is an unbridled woman.

The history of the Franks becomes, therefore, the history of the Netherlands.

Wealth brings strength, strength confidence.

The sword - the first, for a time the only force: the force of iron.

A new civilization was not to be improvised by a single mind.

Thus again the Netherlands, for the first time since the fall of Rome, were united under one crown imperial. They had already been once united, in their slavery to Rome.

The gigantic Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies.

The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty.

Enthusiasm could not supply the place of experience.

A third force, developing itself more slowly, becomes even more potent than the rest: the power of gold.

Thus the liberties of Holland and Flanders waxed, daily, stronger.

Thus the whole country was broken into many shreds and patches of sovereignty.

The rise of the Dutch Republic must ever be regarded as one of the leading events of modern times.

The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests.

In the tenth century the old Batavian and later Roman forms have faded away.

Conservatism is rooted in preservation; progressivism advances alteration. These are different love languages. These languages turn on your view of change itself: When you think of America, do you see a country struggling to be maintained or one striving to be made better?

I'll probably stay in Copenhagen... I can keep writing songs about my local community and about crime.

It is up to you to see the beauty in everyday things.

I hope I can compete in one or two Olympics in my career. Of course I would like to win a medal, but just being there would be awesome.

So writing is a very, very difficult position to obtain... and retain.

After wrestling with myself for six months, I began medical treatment. During that time I started a band with some friends of mine called Jack's Car, but that didn't last.

Should we tolerate debate within feminism's ranks? Undebatable! But it's not so simple: women are socialised to avoid conflict; when we do differ, especially on politics and in public, it's still tediously labelled a 'catfight.'

National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties.

I know for works for me - those wonderful sad love songs.

Medical care is one of the only sectors in which Americans are asked to make significant, long-term decisions without knowing the exact price of those decisions up front. Americans deserve to make informed decisions about their medical options.

I hope that, somewhere, Mom and Dad are proud that little Walter is performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I want people to understand that I intend to continue living and doing all the things that I love to do up until the end. And the end is by no means rushing up on me.

Science stands for rational thought, faith for superstition and unreason.

Sometimes literary critics review the book they wanted you to write, not the book you wrote, and that's very irksome.

I like to be asked about the projects I'm working on. I like to be asked about the books I'm reading, the things I'm interested in, what's exciting me right now, or even politics. Sometimes that's fun.

The best characters to play are the ones who have deep internal conflict.

There are no rules, just really good advice.

My mom wouldn't let me buy clothes she didn't like, so I dressed like a middle-aged woman in high school.

Wolves together stand howling soft and loud at light, singing family songs.

In my personal life, I'm hilarious! I was always a bit of a jokester.

Why is America such a great country. It is because we stand united.

We have to slow the rhythm of rush in our lives so that the best of who are can emerge.

The greatest job I ever had was working on my family farm. Each morning my father would come into my bedroom around 4:30 am and command me to get up and work the fields. I would spend the next two hours before school slopping pigs and cropping tobacco.