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Don’t confuse meaning with truth.

Thucydides

People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don’t desire to exhaustive thinking.
THUCYDIDES

Desire Habit People Subject Thinking Trust
They whose minds are least sensitive to calamity, and whose hands are most quick to meet it, are the greatest men and the greatest communities.
THUCYDIDES

Calm Community Greatness Hands Man Mindset Sensitive
I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.
THUCYDIDES

Blame Greatness Myself Ready Rule Submit
We secure our friends not by accepting favours but by doing them.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Action Friendship Security
Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Deep Freedom Happiness
Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.
THUCYDIDES

Brave Consequence Freedom Happiness Light Serious War
Concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of security.
THUCYDIDES

Adversity Avoid Chance End Greatness Security Strict
I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy’s intentions.
THUCYDIDES

Enemy Intention Mistake Myself
We Greeks are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness.
THUCYDIDES

Beautiful Cultivate Loss Lover Man Simplicity
When a man finds a conclusion agreeable, he accepts it without argument, but when he finds it disagreeable, he will bring against it all the forces of logic and reason.
THUCYDIDES

Agreement Finding Force Logic Man Reason
Don’t confuse meaning with truth.
THUCYDIDES

Confusion Meaning One Liner Truth
It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
THUCYDIDES

Infrastructure Man Wall
When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are.
THUCYDIDES

Angry Hurt Injury Justice
Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved.
THUCYDIDES

Bold Ignorance Knowledge Reservation
It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position.
THUCYDIDES

Attack Conquer Control Failure Man Position Worst
Three of the gravest failings, want of sense, of courage, or of vigilance.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Failure Need Sense

Don’t confuse meaning with truth.

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Don’t confuse meaning with truth.

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