I go to Prague every year if I can, value my relationships there like gold, and feel myself in a sense Czech, with all their hopes and needs. They are a people I not only love, but admire.

One century's saint is the next century's heretic ... and one century's heretic is the next century's saint. It is as well to think long and calmly before affixing either name to any man.

I have always known that the best of the Saracens could out-Christian many of us Christians.

Bitter though it may be to many, Cadfael concluded, there is no substitute for truth, in this or any case.

Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies all problems.