Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family
TACITUSA shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all.
More Tacitus Quotes
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The injustice of a government is proportional to the number of its laws.
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Secure against the designs of men, secure against the malignity of the Gods, they have accomplished a thing of infinite difficulty; that to them nothing remains even to be wished.
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Deos fortioribus adesse. The gods support those who are stronger.
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The task of history is to hold out for reprobation every evil word and deed, and to hold out for praise every great and noble word and deed.
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Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions.
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Bodies are slow of growth, but are rapid in their dissolution. [Lat., Corpora lente augescent, cito extinguuntur.]
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In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.
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It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.
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Greater things are believed of those who are absent.
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They terrify lest they should fear.
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The desire for glory clings even to the best men longer than any other passion.
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Rumor is not always wrong
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The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. [Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.]
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If we must fall, we should boldly meet our fate.
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Following Emporer Nero’s command, “Let the Christians be exterminated!:” . . . they [the Christians] were made the subjects of sport; they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights.
TACITUS






