“If we must fall, we should boldly meet our fate.”

A bad peace is even worse than war.

Who the first inhabitants of Britain were, whether natives or immigrants, remains obscure; one must remember we are dealing with barbarians.

The repose of nations cannot be secure without arms, armies cannot be maintained without pay, nor can the pay be produced without taxes

When men of talents are punished, authority is strengthened. [Lat., Punitis ingeniis, gliscit auctoritas.]

In the struggle between those seeking power there is no middle course.

Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor.

Rulers always hate and suspect the next in succession. [Lat., Suspectum semper invisumque dominantibus qui proximus destinaretur.]

All bodies are slow in growth but rapid in decay.

Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.

Conspicuous by his absence.

A man in power, once becoming obnoxious, his acts, good or bad, will work out his ruin.

Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.

They make solitude, which they call peace.

Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family

Victor and vanquished never unite in substantial agreement.

All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued with great vigor at first, but are sure to collapse in the end.

The easiest and quickest path into the esteem of traditional military authorities is by the appeal to the eye, rather than to the mind. ‘The polish and pipeclay’ school is not yet extinct, and it is easier for the mediocre intelligence to become an authority on buttons, than on tactics.

Under Syrian law, a journalist is not allowed to report on military matters. This may be wrong or right, but that’s just the way it is.

For even the best of peace training is more theoretical than practical experience … indirect practical experience may be the more valuable because infinitely wider.

While the nominal strength of a country is represented by its numbers and resources, this muscular development is dependent on the state of its internal organs and nerve-system – upon its stability of control, morale, and supply.

People are fond of using military terms to describe what they do. We call it bombing when we go out painting, when of course it’s more like entertaining the troops in a neutral zone, during peacetime in a country without an army.

I find skydiving really hard. I broke my back while skydiving when I was in the military, and for 18 months all my nightmares were about falling.

Direct pressure always tends to harden and consolidate the resistance of an opponent.

The effect to be sought is the dislocation of the opponent’s mind and dispositions – such an effect is the true gauge of an indirect approach.