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Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.

Thucydides

Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes.
THUCYDIDES

Experience Reason Success Time
And it is certain that those who do not yield to their equals, who keep terms with their superiors, and are moderate towards their inferiors, on the whole succeed best.
THUCYDIDES

Behavior Best Equality Success Superior Treat
War is a matter not so much of arms as of money.
THUCYDIDES

Arms Money War
It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
THUCYDIDES

Infrastructure Man Wall
Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.
THUCYDIDES

Equality Power Question Right Strong Suffering Weakness World
Still hope leads men to venture; and no one ever yet put himself in peril without the inward conviction that he would succeed in his design.
THUCYDIDES

Design Hope Man Misery Success
The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Freedom Happiness Secret
The whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men.
THUCYDIDES

Earth Fame Famous Man Place
The Thracian people, like the bloodiest of the barbarians, being ever most murderous when it has nothing to fear.
THUCYDIDES

Blood Fear Murder Nature People
Speculation is carried on in safety, but, when it comes to action, fear causes failure.
THUCYDIDES

Action Carry Failure Fear Safety
Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.
THUCYDIDES

Attack Man Prevent Rest Superior
Now the only sure basis of an alliance is for each party to be equally afraid of the other.
THUCYDIDES

Afraid Basis Equality Fear Party
I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time.
THUCYDIDES

Essay Moments Myself Possession Time Win Writing
An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful.
THUCYDIDES

Effort Escape Grace Man Poverty
So little trouble do men take in the search after truth; so readily do they accept whatever comes first to hand.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Hands Man Search Trouble Truth
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
It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position.
THUCYDIDES

Attack Conquer Control Failure Man Position Worst
Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.
THUCYDIDES

Better Expensive Hope Item Preparation Sense
Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.
THUCYDIDES

Fact Finding Hear People Story Trouble Truth
Amassing of wealth is an opportunity for good deeds, not hubris.
THUCYDIDES

Action Goodness Opportunity Wealth
And where the rewards for merit are greatest, there are found the best citizens.
THUCYDIDES

Best Citizenship Greatness Reward
The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Strong Weakness
When a man finds a conclusion agreeable, he accepts it without argument, but when he finds it disagreeable, he will bring against it all the forces of logic and reason.
THUCYDIDES

Agreement Finding Force Logic Man Reason
We Greeks believe that a man who takes no part in public affairs is not merely lazy, but good for nothing.
THUCYDIDES

Believe Goodness Man Public
The sufferings that fate inflicts on us should be borne with patience, what enemies inflict with manly courage.
THUCYDIDES

Born Courage Fate Man Patience Suffering
The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the vine.
THUCYDIDES

Beginning Cultivation Learning People
Knowledge without understanding is useless.
THUCYDIDES

Knowledge Understand Wasted

Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.

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Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.

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Popular Authors

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