An Echo In The Darkness Quotes
"Alexander Democedes Amandinus stood at the Door of Death waiting for the chance to learn more about life."
"No one seemed to notice that the stench of blood was no less strong than the stench of lust and fear permeating the very air they breathed."
"He had heard all the arguments in favor of the games. The people sent to the arena were criminals, deserving of death. Those now before him belonged to a religion that encouraged the overthrow of Rome. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if a society that murdered helpless children did not deserve to be undone."
"You have to harden yourself against those tender feelings if you are to succeed."
"Thankful? No, that was one thing he would never feel regarding the games."
"He was torn between wanting to forget her and fear that he would."
"When Hadassah had died, something within him had died with her."
"It had been fourteen months since Hadassah had died, yet the anguish of it swept over him as though it had been yesterday."
"Her voice had become an insistent presence, echoing throughout the darkness in which he now lived."
"Had she been different, Marcus, you would never have loved her the way you do, with all your heart and mind and soul."
"How can I?" she said in sorrow. "You are my son, and no matter what Julia's done, she remains my daughter. I love you both. I love Hadassah."
"Hadassah is dead, Mother." He glared down at her. "Did she die because of any crime she committed? No! She was murdered out of petty jealousy by a whore."
"The only kind of eternal life anyone can expect is in the heart of another. Hadassah is alive, and she'll remain so as long as I live. She's alive in me."
"Peace is an illusion. There is no true peace."
"She was a temple prostitute, my lord. She said they performed a purification ceremony on her, and when it didn't work, they put her out."
"He set no fees for his patients, accepting only what they could afford to give him in exchange for his help."
"Perhaps he's trying to teach you to trust him."
"Sometimes the Lord answers prayer in swift, unexpected ways."
"People weren't created to live independent from God."
"The Law was given that man might recognize his sinfulness and turn away from wickedness to the Lord."
"Our relationship with God affects our body, yes. But it affects our emotions and our mind, as well."
"I believe true healing can only happen when a person is restored to God himself."
"You promised me once you would love me no matter what I did."
"It's not the place that interests me as much as the god that resided there."
"Their God cannot be contained in a building."
"God had sent his only begotten Son to live among men and be crucified for our sins so that we might be restored and live in the heavens with the Father-God."
"I want to know who you are," he whispered through gritted teeth. "I want to know...."
"It seems God has not sent me an apprentice after all, Hadassah. He has sent you a protector."
"All I have left is this lapis and gold ring my father gave me when I was a child."
"I prayed that the dogs and snakes would come to her, though the very thought of either terrified her."
"You can't manipulate God, Alexander. Don't ever think it. You can't pray in hopes of getting what you want. It's God's will that prevails."
"Hadassah wouldn't approve your means of protection. In fact, it would cause her tremendous grief."
"She covers her scars because they disturb others. No other reason than that."
"As long as her compassion was limited to commoners or slaves like you, we've had no problem other than more patients than we can handle. Now there's danger."
"She's a strange one. She can see into people and know things about them."
"She was like the slaves at the Asklepion: cast away and forgotten, her life meaningless in the scheme of things. And yet her sweetness and humility were like a beacon."
"The fact that she's alive is a testimony to her god's power."
"There aren't enough men left in all Judea to make any serious trouble for Rome. Not for generations."
"God, wherever he is, whatever he is doing, watch over him and protect him."
"What if she had married Adonijah? Would disaster have come from such a union?"
"A pity you aren't a small wiry man, Roman. Then I could hoist you over my shoulder."
"You can't clothe and feed everyone, my lady."
"I'm not trying to take care of the whole world!"
"I am defeated, Lord. What can I do? O God, what can I do?"
"How do you bear us, Lord, when we are so stubborn and foolish?"
"God was there in the darkness with me, just as he is with her now."
"It's God who decides whether a man lives or dies."
"Not a sparrow falls from the sky without God knowing. He already knows the moment and reason for Phoebe Valerian's death. Nothing is hidden from God."
"She will be completely dependent upon others to care for her physical body. That requires great compassion and love, Alexander."
"Have I ever lacked for compassion? Hasn't my sole desire been to learn all I can in order to help people?"
"Life was too short to waste on someone else's tragedy."
"I had possessed everything I needed to be happy: money, position, beauty, complete freedom to do whatever I wanted. Hadn't I taken control of unfortunate circumstances and overcome them by my own will?"
"If she had it to do over again, what would she have done differently? How could she have changed anything and retained control over her own life?"
"With me, you'll always have your freedom. You can do whatever you want."
"A slave to others' expectations, a slave to her own passions ... to circumstances, to fear."
"Sometimes she was so cold even the hot waters of the tepidarium were not enough to warm her."
"She wanted to forget the past and not be afraid of the future."
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth."
"Jesus is the pathway to death. Believe me. I know."
"No one is righteous, Mother. Not even one," Taphatha said softly. "Only the Lord himself is righteous."
"Serve me as I wish? Considering your previous position in my household, that's quite a proposition."
"Do you not realize you broke poor Primus' heart when you so cruelly deserted him. He was madly in love with you."
"For all Primus' politic charm and public gaiety, Prometheus, he is a vicious and vindictive man who uses people for his own ends."
"You should be ashamed to have treated your master so unkindly."
"I've come to beg your forgiveness, my lady, and ask that I may return to serve you."
"I know, my lady. But it was right that I return, whatever the consequences."
"How can you serve me? I don't know if my life is worth anything at all. No one cares what happens to me."
"In a manner of speaking, I gave my mind away."
"This doctor of whom I have heard is said to have an assistant who has worked miracles."
"Many of her symptoms bespoke of a life of dissipation and self-indulgence."
"Yet she saw none of what was happening to her as consequences of her choices, of her lifestyle, of seeking pleasure at every altar known to mankind."
"For over an hour she had talked about herself, her ailments, her grievances, her pain, her suffering."
"Alexander felt no pity for such a woman as this."
"All he could think of was Hadassah, body torn and racked with pain, suffering months of convalescence."
"The sound of Julia's strident voice raised the hair on the back of his neck."
"Hadassah limped over to him and put her hand on his arm. 'Alexander.'"
"Outside in the cool night air, Alexander breathed deeply."
"Marcus awakened beneath a beam of sunlight through the high window."
"The most ordinary things of life are extraordinary. The sunrise, the rain."
"Just for today, old woman, speak to me of other things than God. Or better yet, don't speak at all."
"Nothing is important in this world except as it pertains to the Lord."
"You won't find Hadassah's spirit in this house, Marcus."
"I am an ordinary woman who loves the Lord. That's all I am."
"Then let your thoughts dwell upon her. Remember the words she said. Remember what she did, how she lived."
"Because if any god has reason to bear a grudge against me, it is this one."
"I will never leave you, Lady Julia, nor forsake you. Not as long as I draw breath in this body."
"Every moment, she lived with fear. Death was a most terrifying fact of life, but what she had feared most was facing it alone."
"I know what it is to be afraid," Hadassah said.
"God gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but would have everlasting life."
"Don't measure God by man. He loves you. He died for you."
"God sees your pain and your struggle, and God will give you the strength to overcome it. God alone can do it."
"Despite the way she appears, she is not without her wits. She understands what happens around her and what is said."
"Your prayers have been answered. I found Christ."
"I have come home, Mother. To you. And to God."
"The despair and emptiness I felt... I know I felt resurrected."
"I'm jealous by nature, it's not something of which I'm proud."
"You are more to her than that. You are her dearest friend."
"The Lord has given you an opportunity to perform an act of kindness."
"Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus."
"What was his motivation? He had wealth enough to last a lifetime now. And his mother needed him."