By punishing men of talent we confirm their authority.
TACITUSThey terrify lest they should fear.
More Tacitus Quotes
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Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth.
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Even for learned men, love of fame is the last thing to be given up.
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Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin.
TACITUS -
The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. [Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.]
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Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies. [Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.]
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When men are full of envy they disparage everything, whether it be good or bad.
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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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Rumor is not always wrong
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Keen at the start, but careless at the end.
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Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.
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Laws were most numerous when the commonwealth was most corrupt
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Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure.
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In stirring up tumult and strife, the worst men can do the most, but peace and quiet cannot be established without virtue.
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Once killing starts, it is difficult to draw the line.
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It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.
TACITUS