In stirring up tumult and strife, the worst men can do the most, but peace and quiet cannot be established without virtue.
TACITUSThey terrify lest they should fear.
More Tacitus Quotes
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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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Even the bravest men are frightened by sudden terrors.
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Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable.
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The sciences throw an inexpressible grace over our compositions, even where they are not immediately concerned; as their effects are discernible where we least expect to find them.
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Conspicuous by his absence.
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The principal office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity.
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A shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all.
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Custom adapts itself to expediency.
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The unknown always passes for the marvellous.
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Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor.
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The lust of fame is the last that a wise man shakes off.
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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.
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To rob, to ravage, to murder, in their imposing language, are the arts of civil policy. When they have made the world a solitude, they call it peace.
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The lust for power, for dominating others, inflames the heart more than any other passion.
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We accomplish more by prudence than by force. [Lat., Plura consilio quam vi perficimus.]
TACITUS






