I do not have the freedom of the historian, my friend; you may recount the movements of men and armies, trace the intricate course of state intrigues, balance victories and defeats, relate births and deaths—and yet still be free, in the wise simplicity of your task, from the awful weight of a kind of knowledge that I cannot name but that I more and more nearly apprehend as the years draw on.
-- Maecenas (Book 1, Chapter 1)

Importance: This long sentence brings to the forefront the novel’s fascination with historicizing. When each character narrates their section of the story, their words are inherently emotional. It is impossible to separate their biases from their absolute truths, if there are any truths to be found at all. Maecenas, who is himself a writer, states here that he is envious of historians, who are able to look at and tell others’ stories without the burden of emotion...