We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to office.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

We’re a different sort of thief here, Lamora. Deception and misdirection are our tools. We don’t believe in hard work when a false face and a good line of bullshit can do so much more.

There is an old saying, that there is honour amongst thieves, and so it often proves.

ألا تخشى الخفراء ؟
أخشاهم أكبر خشية يا سيدي لأنه غير مسموح بالسرقة في هذا البلد لغير الأغنياء والحكام

To him, a stilted geometric love of arrangement was “system,” and indefatigable and feverish interest in the pettiest facets of day-to-day bureaucracy was “industry”, indecision when right was “caution”, and blind stubbornness when wrong, “determination.