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Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

Thucydides

It is the habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what they do not desire.
THUCYDIDES

Desire Habit Hope Kind Man Reason
Knowledge without understanding is useless.
THUCYDIDES

Knowledge Understand Wasted
Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes.
THUCYDIDES

Experience Reason Success Time
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
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
Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.
THUCYDIDES

Action Assasination Best Brave
I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire.
THUCYDIDES

Capable Democracy Empire
It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
THUCYDIDES

Infrastructure Man Wall
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
Hope, danger’s comforter.
THUCYDIDES

Comfortable Dangerous Hope
Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and respect of self, in turn, is the chief element in courage.
THUCYDIDES

Chief Control Courage Element Respect
We secure our friends not by accepting favours but by doing them.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Action Friendship Security
We know that there can never be any solid friendship between individuals, or union between communities that is worth the name, unless the parties be persuaded of each others honesty
THUCYDIDES

Community Each Other Friendship Honesty Name Party Solid Worth
Those who really deserve praise are the people who, while human enough to enjoy power, nevertheless pay more attention to justice than they are compelled to do by their situation.
THUCYDIDES

Attention Deserve Enjoyment Human Justice People Praise Situation
Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.
THUCYDIDES

Attack Man Prevent Rest Superior
I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time.
THUCYDIDES

Essay Moments Myself Possession Time Win Writing

Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

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Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

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Popular Authors

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