Cultural references in Swain's voiceover

I've been anticipating the VO ever since Interlocutioner hinted there would be a Nietzsche quote. I dug until I found it, but then decided to go all the way and dig out other references that may be useful in understanding Swain's character.

Here's a list of all I've recognized/found. It's quite interesting to think about, because many of his lines are references to or plays on famous quotes (which means I might be imagining some). Many are improvements on Swain's old VO and the majority (I think) are just pure sass.

##"All roads lead to Noxus, but all visions, to Demacia." ##"They flee Noxus on the roads we built!" Both of these allude to the famous saying "All roads lead to Rome". It can both be interpreted as "many routes can lead to a given result" and as an interesting bit of info about Noxus: they maintain their empire through revolutionary infrastructure, they connect cities and cultures. I remember a further post on /r/SwainMains very aptly comparing Noxus to Rome. An interesting read. ##"Diplomacy is a subtle art." Could refer to a Ronald Reagan quote: Ronald Reagan “Diplomacy, of course, is a subtle and nuanced craft, so much so that it's said that when the most wily diplomat of the nineteenth-century passed away, other diplomats asked, on reports of his death, What do you suppose the old fox meant by that?” ##"Only this, and nothing more." Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", of course.

##"You can sit on a throne, that doesn't make you a ruler. It only means you have an arse." ##"Any man who must say "We are winning," is not truly winning." These both sound like something Tywin Lannister would say. Specifically him addressing Joffrey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sJY7BTIuPY ##"I'm not smiling. I'm threatening to smile. It's still a threat." Added by Epicurus and Warlord Dienekes, another Tywin one: "Every once in a very long while, Lord Tywin Lannister would actually threaten to smile; he never did, but the threat alone was terrible to behold." ##"A riddle wrapped in a mystery, hidden within us all." Now this was a treat, because it is the words Churchill used to describe Russia: "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." I guess it could be used to draw comparisons between Noxians and Russians? I enjoy the idea of Noxians being part slavic.

##"Leave the survivors to their officers." ##"I often kill in my visions. When I close my eyes, do not come near." These are almost direct quotes by Cao Cao. Relevant /r/SwainMains discussion.

##"More than what we do not understand, we fear being understood." ##"Some say the darkness stares back, because they cannot see me." Here we go, the Nietzsche references. The first one alludes to the quote: "Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood". To that I'd like to add another phrase by Niezsche: "Tout comprendre—c'est tout mépriser [To understand all—is to despise all]". The second one, I think, has something to do with: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.” and may allude to now Swain met his demon?

##"The demon is always in the details." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_devil_is_in_the_detail - a saying. I wonder if it's important for his lore?

##"The ends of war are death." "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato misattributed quote?

##"Weak of body; weak of mind." Could be a reference to a Jefferson quote or a reversal of a Latin phrase?

##“Better to be feared than loved.” Added by Warlord Diekenes, a Machiavelli quote. The complete line is _“And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” _

Let me know if you find more. Truly, Swain is so omniscient that if there was to be two omnisciences, he would be both.