He could tell by the quality of her silence that she did not believe him, but if there was an advantage to being emperor, it was that she could not c… - Sarah Monette

The oaths were no more than a formal deterrent to troublemaking, but they were better than no deterrent at all.

It is the nature of all persons to hold on to power when they have it, Shulivar said. Thus it stagnates and becomes clouded, poisonous. Radical action is necessary to free it.

"We have thought you were too rule-abiding to be a good ruler—a paradox, you see—but perhaps we were wrong."
"But you're the Witness for the Judiciate!" Maia protested, which made everyone laugh.
"We said rule, not law," Pashavar said tartly. "There is a difference, Serenity. An emperor who breaks laws is a mad dog and a danger, but an emperor who will never break a rule is nearly as bad, for he will never be able to recognize when a law must be changed."