Ursula Quotes

″‘Here is what I want,’ she exclaimed. ‘How to set and mend a broken bone in a man’s arm.’ Embarrassment forgotten in her enthusiasm, she went on. ‘If it can be done for a man’s arm, why not for a dog’s leg?‘”

“That she should be reading at all- a young girl like her- it’s against nature. And in that book! It looks like witchcraft to me.”

″‘You mustn’t excite yourself, please Mistress. Remember your health. And the health of the innocent babe you carry.’ ‘Innocent babe,’ Ursula muttered. ‘A woman like that is more apt to be carrying a demon.‘”

″‘You can’t mend a dog’s leg if it’s broken. Everyone knows that,’ the boy answered. His eyes became suspiciously bright, but if he was fighting back tears, he didn’t let her know. ‘Why not? Why not at least try? Come, give him a pat.‘”

“Usury was a sin, according to Christian teachings. Apparently, though, while lending money was sinful, borrowing was not, so many of these same Christians availed themselves of the Jewish money-lenders’ services, with the result that they were deeply in debt to them.”

“Samson- one of the most powerful and feared figures in the Old Testament. It was rather a grand name for such a scruffy, nondescript dog.”

“She was determined that her efforts to help him would be successful. Then Mistress Elke and all the others like her would see. They’d see that girl or not- young or not- she was a healer.”

″‘He’s already lacking a finger. He has stolen before. He must have known the punishment. If he valued his hand so much, why did he steal?’ ‘How do we know? How do we know what has driven the poor wretch to steal? How do we know what he has to bear?‘”