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

Thucydides

The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta, made war inevitable.
THUCYDIDES

Alarm Growth Power War
He passes through life most securely who has least reason to reproach himself with complaisance toward his enemies.
THUCYDIDES

Enemy Himself Life Reason Secure
Speculation is carried on in safety, but, when it comes to action, fear causes failure.
THUCYDIDES

Action Carry Failure Fear Safety
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
Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.
THUCYDIDES

Equality Power Question Right Strong Suffering Weakness World
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
It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
THUCYDIDES

Infrastructure Man Wall
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
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
An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful.
THUCYDIDES

Effort Escape Grace Man Poverty
We must remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school.
THUCYDIDES

Himself Man Remember School Training
What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.
THUCYDIDES

Fear Growth Reason War
For men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them.
THUCYDIDES

Man Natural Respect Way
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
Men’s indignation, it seems, is more exited by legal wrong than by violent wrong; the first looks like being cheated by an equal, the second like being compelled by a superior.
THUCYDIDES

Equality Exit Legal Man Superior Violence
knowing the secret of happiness to be freedom, and the secret of freedom a brave heart, not idly to stand aside from the enemy’s onset.
THUCYDIDES

Brave Enemy Freedom Happiness Heart Secret

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

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

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Popular Authors

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