The government will take the fairest of names, but the worst of realities--mob rule. — Polybius Copy Share Image
In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing… — Polybius Copy Share Image
A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible. — Polybius Copy Share Image
The common people feel themselves oppressed by the grasping of some, and their vanity is flattered by others. Fired with evil passions, they are… — Polybius Copy Share Image
The government will take the fairest of names, but the worst of realities--mob rule. — Polybius Copy Share Image
Nor ought we ever to allow any growing power to acquire such a degree of strength as to be able to tear from us,… — Polybius Copy Share Image
From this I conclude that the best education for the situations of actual life consists of the experience we acquire from the study of… — Polybius Copy Share Image
Monarchy degenerates into tyranny, aristocracy into oligarchy, and democracy into savage violence and chaos. — Polybius Copy Share Image
Knowing how to win is the first step. We must also know how to make use of our victories. — Polybius Copy Share Image
When the ancients said a work well begun was half done, they meant to impress the importance of always endeavoring to make a good… — Polybius Copy Share Image
“They want the centurions not so much to be venturesome and daredevils, as to be natural leaders, of a steady and reliable spirit. They… — Polybius Copy Share Image
“At the sight of the city utterly perishing amidst the flames Scipio burst into tears, and stood long reflecting on the inevitable change which… — Polybius Copy Share Image
[There can be no] rational administration of government when good men are held in the same esteem as bad ones. — Polybius Copy Share Image
![“At the sight of the city utterly perishing amidst the flames Scipio burst into tears, and stood long reflecting on the inevitable change which awaits cities, nations, and dynasties, one and all, as it does every one of us men. This, he thought, had befallen Ilium, once a powerful city, and the once mighty empires of the Assyrians, Medes, Persians, and that of Macedonia lately so splendid. And unintentionally or purposely he quoted---the words perhaps escaping him unconsciously--- "The day shall be when holy Troy shall fall And Priam, lord of spears, and Priam's folk." And on my asking him boldly (for I had been his tutor) what he meant by these words, he did not name Rome distinctly, but was evidently fearing for her, from this sight of the mutability of human affairs. . . . Another still more remarkable saying of his I may record. . . [When he had given the order for firing the town] he immediately turned round and grasped me by the hand and said: "O Polybius, it is a grand thing, but, I know not how, I feel a terror and dread, lest some one should one day give the same order about my own native city.” quote by Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a96/polybius-21895_quote_at-the-sight-of-the-city-utterly-perishi_1424086.jpg)
![“[There can be no] rational administration of government when good men are held in the same esteem as bad ones.” quote by Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e51/polybius-21895_administration_there-can-be-no-rational-administration_1598886.jpg)