“Don Pedro Luis de Borja-Pierluigi Borgia to the Italians—was still in his mid-twenties when he became the first member of his family to be the most hated man in Rome. He did so not by behaving badly in any way of which a credible record has survived, but by carrying out an assignment that made him the enemy of some of the most badly behaved Romans of his time.” Historical Biography Book:The Borgias: The Hidden History Source: The Borgias: The Hidden History
“Upon bullying and bribing his way to the throne at last, this towering but evil-tempered man, a great hater as well as a great patron of Michelangelo, made it one of his purposes to blacken the Borgia name. He had former associates of the Borgias tortured in the quest for blacking material. Though the results must have disappointed him keenly-employment by the Borgias turned out to be no guarantee that one had witnessed unspeakable things-the supply of gossip grew steadily all the same, at a pace that accelerated over time.” The Borgias Book:The Borgias: The Hidden History Source: The Borgias: The Hidden History
“The dark legend of the Borgias, having taken root in Italy, found a wider audience when religious reformers went forth in search of evidence not just that non-Italian popes were a bad idea but that the papacy was an evil institution, illegitimate, and inherently corrupt.” The Borgias Book:The Borgias: The Hidden History Source: The Borgias: The Hidden History
“The troops were cracking because they could not absorb what was happening to them, because they knew themselves to be utterly powerless (bravery had little survival value when one was on the receiving end of a bombardment), and because they had no confidence that the generals who had put them in danger knew what they were doing. Men whose courage was beyond challenge could and did break down if subjected to enough strain of this kind.” PtsdShell Shock Book:A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 Source: A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918