Philip II

"A man's faith is tested not in moments of triumph, but in moments of defeat."

"I prefer the company of God to the company of men, for God judges fairly."

"The price of peace is paid in the currency of eternal watchfulness."

"Those who seek to understand me must first understand my kingdom."

"I have learned that the most dangerous man is the one who believes he is righteous."

"To rule is to live in perpetual awareness of one's own mortality and irrelevance."

"The legacy of a monarch is measured in the stability of what he leaves behind."

"I have found that the greatest curse of power is the inability to trust."

"A kingdom built on fear alone will collapse the moment that fear is removed."

"The man who loves Spain more than himself is the only man fit to rule Spain."

"I have learned that the true measure of faith is what one sacrifices for it."

"To understand the present, one must study the past with ruthless honesty."

"The greatest victory is not over enemies, but over one's own doubts."

"I prefer to be remembered as just rather than as great."

"Those who would challenge my authority must first prove they can carry the burden I bear."

"The man who never admits error is a man incapable of learning."

"I have found that the cost of absolute power is the absolute loss of peace."

"To be king is to be the servant of something greater than oneself."

"The strength of a kingdom is the strength of the convictions that bind it."

"I have learned that the greatest gift a king can give is the gift of order."

"Those who understand history know that all kingdoms are temporary, but their lessons are eternal."

"A man's true character is revealed not by his triumphs, but by his response to failure."

"I prefer silence to the empty rhetoric of flatterers and courtiers."

"The divine will works through human agency, and I am merely an instrument of providence."

"To rule justly is to make peace between competing claims of righteousness."

"I have found that the greatest power is the power to influence what men believe about themselves."

"The burden of the crown is that it separates one from the common joys of common men."