Antiquity Quote by Anonymous

The wise men of antiquity, when they wished to make the whole world peaceful and happy, first put their own States into proper order.…

— Confucius

There are some examples of medieval kings who were terrible human beings but were nevertheless good kings.

— George R. R. Martin

“It was the verdict of ancient writers that men afflict themselves in evil and weary themselves in the good, and that the same effects…

— Niccolò Machiavelli

There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.

— Thomas Jefferson

Later, with time, I learned that although all men are capable of good and evil, the worst among them are those who, when they…

— Arturo Pérez-Reverte

“In place of the clear and rigid ancient law, You [oh Lord] made man decide about good and evil for himself, with no other…

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Kings are more prone to mistrust the good than the bad; and they are always afraid of the virtues of others.

— Sallust

Laws, however divine in origin and institution, would be found of little coercion among men, were the administration of them not committed to mortals.

— Norm MacDonald

“Men are not gentle and graceful beings solely oriented towards good. They are physical, coarse, contradictory, stretched between desires and temptations. In an unnatural…

— Alija Izetbegović

What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…

— Jean Paul

Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which…

— Niccolo Machiavelli

“Good men can make terrible kings,' Tindwyl noted. 'But bad men cannot make good kings.' Sazed said. 'It is better to start with a…

— Brandon Sanderson