When undeniable crime had been committed, justification was the act of a coward. And it was cowardice that permitted such crimes in the first place. … - Steven Erikson

No tyrant could thrive where every subject said no. The tyrant thrives when the first fucking fool salutes.

Self-righteous wrath had planted more corpses in the ground than an empire could lay claim to,

When I began this journey, I was young. I believed in one thing. I believed in glory. I know now, 'Siballe, that glory is nothing. Nothing. This is what I now understand.'
'What else do you now understand, Karsa Orlong?'
'Not much. Just one other thing. The same cannot be said for mercy.

Take a thousand soldiers. Four hundred will stand in a fight but do nothing. Two hundred will run given the chance. Another hundred will get confused. That leaves three hundred you can count on. Your task in commanding that thousand is all down to knowing where to put that three hundred.