Thucydides

Men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them.

— Thucydides

The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.

— Thucydides

When tremendous dangers are involved, no one can be blamed for looking to his own interest.

— Thucydides

Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.

— Thucydides

The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage.

— Thucydides

Mankind apparently find it easier to drive away adversity than to retain prosperity.

— Thucydides

Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

— Thucydides

Three of the gravest failings, want of sense, of courage, or of vigilance.

— Thucydides

Remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in…

— Thucydides

When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged…

— Thucydides

For they had learned that true safety was to be found in long previous training, and not in eloquent exhortations uttered when…

— Thucydides

I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession…

— Thucydides

In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something…

— Thucydides

Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the…

— Thucydides

“The Athenians were the first to lay aside their weapons, and to adopt an easier and more luxurious mode of life;”

— Thucydides

Love of power, operating through greed and through personal ambition, was the cause of all these evils.

— Thucydides

“People are inclined to accept all stories of ancient times in an uncritical way -even when those stories concern their own native…

— Thucydides

Athens' biggest worry was the sheer recklessness of its own democratic government. A simple majority of the citizenry, urged on and incensed…

— Thucydides

The Peloponnesian War turns out to be no dry chronicle of abstract cause and effect. No, it is above all an intense,…

— Thucydides

For if many ill-conceived plans have succeeded through the still greater lack of judgment of an opponent, many more, apparently well laid,…

— Thucydides

Indeed men too often take upon themselves in the prosecution of their revenge to set the example of doing away with those…

— Thucydides

... Athenians are addicted to innovation. They are daring beyond their judgment they toil on with little opportunity for enjoying, being ever…

— Thucydides

“este evident ca atat omul, cat si Zeii, oriunde dispun de putere si-o exercita dintr-un invincibil impuls al firii. si voi, ca…

— Thucydides

One's sense of honor is the only thing that does not grow old, and the last pleasure, when one is worn out…

— Thucydides

“The absence of romance in my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest, but if it is judged worthy by…

— Thucydides

“Revolution thus ran its course from city to city, and the places which it arrived at last, from having heard what had…

— Thucydides

“Think, too, of the great part that is played by the unpredictable in war: think of it now, before you are actually…

— Thucydides

We secure our friends not by accepting favours but by doing them.

— Thucydides

You shouldn't feel sorry for the lifestyle you haven't tasted, but for the one you are about to lose

— Thucydides

concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of…

— Thucydides

It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even…

— Thucydides

It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters…

— Thucydides

We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the…

— Thucydides

It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.

— Thucydides

Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the…

— Thucydides

It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who…

— Thucydides

In generosity we are equally singular, acquiring our friends by conferring, not by receiving, favours.

— Thucydides

I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion; haste usaully goes hand in hand with folly,…

— Thucydides

Wars spring from unseen and generally insignificant causes, the first outbreak being often but an explosion of anger.

— Thucydides

For the love of gain would reconcile the weaker to the dominion of the stronger, and the possession of capital enabled the…

— Thucydides