Aramis opens his seduction of Philippe with his method: he has never spoken to a man “sans pénétrer sa pensée au travers de ce masque vivant jeté sur notre intelligence, afin d’en retenir la manifestation” Everyone wears a living mask over their mind; the operator's skill is reading through it. His order's motto is the institutional version of the same idea: “Patiens quia aeternus!” — patient because eternal. You don't need to be stronger than your enemy, only longer-lived than his attention span.

— In our words · Source: The Man in the Iron Mask (Alexandre Dumas)