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Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

Thucydides

Knowledge without understanding is useless.
THUCYDIDES

Knowledge Understand Wasted
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
We know that there can never be any solid friendship between individuals, or union between communities that is worth the name, unless the parties be persuaded of each others honesty
THUCYDIDES

Community Each Other Friendship Honesty Name Party Solid Worth
Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes.
THUCYDIDES

Experience Reason Success Time
I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy’s intentions.
THUCYDIDES

Enemy Intention Mistake Myself
Concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of security.
THUCYDIDES

Adversity Avoid Chance End Greatness Security Strict
Mankind apparently find it easier to drive away adversity than to retain prosperity.
THUCYDIDES

Drive Easy Finding Kind Man Prosperity
Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.
THUCYDIDES

Better Expensive Hope Item Preparation Sense
It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.
THUCYDIDES

Affair Brilliant Charge Expectation Man Misfortune
Hope, danger’s comforter.
THUCYDIDES

Comfortable Dangerous Hope
He passes through life most securely who has least reason to reproach himself with complaisance toward his enemies.
THUCYDIDES

Enemy Himself Life Reason Secure
Indeed it is generally the case that men are readier to call rogues clever than simpletons honest, and are ashamed of being the second as they are proud of being the first.
THUCYDIDES

Call Honesty Man Proud Shame
The secret of freedom, courage.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Freedom One Liner Secret
When tremendous dangers are involved, no one can be blamed for looking to his own interest.
THUCYDIDES

Blame Dangerous Interest
For they had learned that true safety was to be found in long previous training, and not in eloquent exhortations uttered when they were going into action.
THUCYDIDES

Action Learning Safety Training True
In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something not quite fair about it.
THUCYDIDES

Democracy Election Failure Fair Office Quite

Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

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Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

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