"That made them milk brothers for as long as they lived."
"He had dreamed of a large family, like those of other dons in the region."
"Normality returned to the hacienda at the same rate that Regina recovered her health."
"The entire house was saturated with the odor of sage."
"The fear that something bad would happen to that one irreplaceable son, as it did to so many small children who died before they learned to walk, kept de la Vega awake at night."
"They asked the Great Spirit of the Indians, and Padre Mendoza’s God, to allow them to be granted okahue."
"Whenever Regina appeared in the Indian village with Diego and Bernardo, grandmother White Owl abandoned her chores and devoted herself completely to them."
"The five basic virtues: honor, justice, respect, dignity, and courage."
"He worried that Diego, too tied to his mother’s apron strings, to Bernardo, and to the Indian servants, would not assume the position that was his by birth."
"In those moments she thought she despised him, but later, in bed, surrounded by the warmth and scents of their intimacy, they found a short-lived reconciliation."
"Despite the tremendous pain in his chest, Diego got to his feet and stumbled forward, coughing and calling his mother."
"She devoted herself exclusively to the task of adoring her son and serving her patrones, in line with her humble existence and with no resentment in her heart."
"The floor was dirt; a wool serape served as a door; light and air entered through two small windows."
"Ana did not struggle. She bore in dead silence everything they wanted to do to her."
"He was curled up in the basket, his mind a blank, sweating bile, shaken with nausea."
"The boy sat down beside her and took her hand, calm, and silent."
"Time passed without change in the tunnel; because there was no daylight, it was impossible to judge time in that eternal darkness."
"Knowing that his mother was alive gave him new life; a wave of happiness swept over him."
"Diego could not tell what was going on in the house because he couldn’t hear sounds or smell the smoke of the fire."
"Padre Mendoza concluded that the trauma had shocked the poor boy senseless, and gave up."
"The world they lived in grew very small, and they began to dream of countries and adventures beyond the horizon."
"He did not know how he would give the terrible news to Alejandro de la Vega."
"She didn’t have the strength to ask what had happened, or to console him with lies."
"Diego, despite himself, ended up becoming a good student, at which point he understood for the first time his father’s mania for education."
"People talked and behaved in front of him as if he did not exist, giving him the opportunity to observe and learn about the duplicity of human beings."
"Barcelona was still the most interesting city in Spain, and that it offered the best possible education for a young man, because they were living in fascinating times."
"Only the primitive patriotism of ignorant masses stirred up by minor clergy and a few fanatics could oppose the liberal ideas of the French, who wanted to bring an end to feudalism and religious oppression."
"Their influence, he said, was a fresh, renewing wind that was sweeping away medieval institutions like the Inquisition and the privileges of nobles and military."
"The birthday sarao began with a mass conducted by Padre Mendoza horse races, and a bullfight, in which Diego himself made several passes with the cape before the professional torero entered the ring."
"The guests came from the four cardinal points, and for the first time in history there was congested carriage traffic along the Camino Real."
"The mothers of marriageable girls were greatly disappointed when they realized that Diego was not even remotely ready to think about a sweetheart; he was much younger than one might expect of a fifteen-year-old."
"With eyes gleaming with ageless wisdom, the girl took off her necklaces of seeds and feathers, the red sash around her waist, her rabbit-skin boots, and her kidskin tunic, and stood naked in the golden light filtering through the leaves of the trees."
"Bernardo sobbed and murmured her name 'Lightin-the-Night' the first words she had ever heard from him."
"He sketched a rough map on the ground with a stick but he could not help her understand the enormous distances that separated her village from that mythic land of Spain, because he himself could not imagine them."
"Childhood is a miserable period filled with unfounded fears, such as being afraid of imaginary monsters, and of ridicule."
"Furthermore, they have no power; adults decide for them, and they do it badly; they drive home into their little ones their own mistaken ideas about reality, and then their offspring spend the rest of their lives trying to break free of those beliefs."
"He reached the age of fifteen with no great vices or virtues, except for a disproportionate love of justice, though whether that is a vice or a virtue, I am not sure."
"Life is short; there is never enough time to learn."
"The problem of the ears was the inspiration for wearing a mask; it filled the dual purpose of hiding both his identity and those fawn-like appendages."
"Isabel sighed, thinking that Diego was going to be a long-term project; he would have to be remade almost entirely, but fortunately she had good raw material to work with: pleasant personality, well-proportioned body, and those amber eyes."
"In the confusion of Europe tones of gray predominated."
"The people, who distrust in equal measure the French, the liberals, the nobles, and change in any form, are determined to expel the invaders and fight with whatever they have at hand: axes, clubs, knives, picks, and hoes."
"There is nothing noble or glorious about war."
"You must never fight in anger. The firmness and stability of the blade depend on equanimity of mind. Do not forget that."
"There's no point in looking for justice, Bernardo, because there is none, anywhere. The only positive thing to do is to try to prevent more violence."
"In the instant that he took his position, with his body in profile so as to present the minimum target to his opponent, the image of White Owl came to his mind with such clarity that he actually saw her standing beside Bernardo."
"Diego did not think of his parents or of Juliana. In the instant that he took his position...the image of White Owl came to his mind...and he could look Moncada in the face."
"In the fever of combat, the essential personality emerges: there is little advantage in being expert with the blade if the swordsman is not imbued with sufficient courage and serenity to confront danger."
"He believed that the only occupations worthy of a gentleman were those without tangible products."
"He was pitiful to see, poor man; it would have been better had Juliana loathed him."
"The heart is a capricious organ that can make a sudden turn, but warm, sisterly affection is nearly impossible to reverse."
"She could capture a remarkable likeness, but she made her subjects better-looking than they were, giving them more teeth, fewer wrinkles, and a dignified expression they seldom possessed."
"The last thing the leaders of the guerrilla forces could understand was this sudden mercy for hostages, and they were so confused that for a week no new attempts against the French were carried out in Catalonia."
"Once those hills had been covered with vineyards that produced a wine comparable to the best of France, but during the war no one had tended them, and now nothing was left but dried-up, insect-infested runners."
"With every advance, Napoleon left behind scorched earth."
"Soldiers were forced to eat their horses, their boots, at times even the corpses of their comrades."
"When he saw his destroyed army, Napoleon knew that the star that had shone so brightly in his prodigious ascent to power was beginning to fade."
"She planned to sell cocoa, almond paste, preserved nutmeats, and refined aromatic sugar to chocolatiers in Europe and the United States."
"No canary tongues for him; he preferred robust Catalan dishes: escudella, a soup to raise the dead, esto fat de toro, a stew with the firepower of a bomb, and the divine butifarra del obispo, a blood sausage blacker and fatter than most."
"The purpose of a duel is to cleanse a stain. Once two gentlemen have fought, no rancor remains between them."
"She was waiting for the hero from her books, courageous and tragic, who would rescue her from everyday boredom."
"Every day it became more evident that the end of the war was near."
"In view of the fact that he would not see his beauty at dinner, Diego, too, retired to his rooms."
"Never forget that you are Diego de la Vega, a flesh-and-blood person, while that Zorro is a creature of your imagination."
"The world is round, and if I travel around it one day I will come to your house."
"So I hope, my friend. For the good of Spain and of yourself."
"One by one she read all the books in her father’s library, and then asked for more."
"The last thing we espouse is the unfortunate mania for thinking."
"I have come to free you, maestro. I am the fox. Zorro."
"That stupid move could cost him the favor of the king."
"No one ever knew exactly the course of their negotiations; afterward Juliana explained only the basic points of the agreement they reached."
"I am prepared to run that risk. She is the only woman in my entire lifetime who has ever interested me."
"The deal is simple and straightforward: as soon as you get the money, you leave."
"Soon, child. I will notify you when I arrange the interview."
"I am not without heart, child. I am a father, too."
"Courage! I do not want to see any more tears."
"This confirms what I already know. I will not leave here alive."
"If my daughters are in your care, I can die in peace."
"For the second time, I have the pleasure of sparing your life, Senor Moncada."
"No losing his breath. Tranquility of mind, clear thinking, firm arm."
"We are not going to repay him in the same coin, because we are better persons than he is."
"The only light in the hut entered through the door opening."
"Anyone can see that you are genteel folk. I do not want to know what you are running from, but here is some free advice."
"You cannot trust anyone. Best if the girls are not seen. Cover their faces, at least."
"He felt an infinite tenderness for their aching bodies and a tremendous desire to erase their fatigue, to shelter them from the cold, to save them from danger."
"She had fallen asleep curled up in a corner of the shed, shivering beneath the sheepskins, but as she got warm and wriggled to find a comfortable spot on the corn, her head emerged."
"The peace and silence forced them to listen, to look at the trees and the mountains through new eyes, to open their hearts to the unique experience of following in the footsteps of the thousands of pilgrims who had walked that road for nine centuries."
"The journey to the tomb of the apostle James became an exploration of their own souls."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; you pay for everything in this life, or in hell."
"They never lacked for a welcome. Sometimes they slept in the houses of peasants, other times in monasteries and convents. And perfect strangers always shared their bread or soup with them."
"She was free to invent ardent, star-crossed love affairs and choose the ending. She preferred the tragic ones, which made her weep more."
"The sweet metaphors would mellow Juliana, preparing her for the moment he took her hand and held it in his."
"Different fish would be stranded on the deck, and more than one ended up fried in Galileo and Nuria’s galley."
"He thought how ludicrous humankind was to dare defy the elements."
"The sailors tied themselves down any way they could as they fought the storm; one slip meant sure death."
"The ship was so damaged that it was impossible to make repairs at sea."
"At dawn, Diego went on deck to get some air. The sky was beginning to show tones of orange, and a veil of fog blurred the world’s outlines."
"Even if he were sleeping in his wife’s arms this would never have happened."
"No one, least of all the government, could claim a slice of what was his."
"In New Orleans cheating was punished with a knife between the ribs."