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It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.

Thucydides

Remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in action.
THUCYDIDES

Action Courage Greatness Man Remember Win
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
People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don’t desire to exhaustive thinking.
THUCYDIDES

Desire Habit People Subject Thinking Trust
Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.
THUCYDIDES

Action Assasination Best Brave
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
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
I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.
THUCYDIDES

Blame Greatness Myself Ready Rule Submit
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
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 happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Freedom Happiness Secret
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
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
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
But the prize for courage will surely be awarded most justly to those who best know the difference between hardship and pleasure and yet are never tempted to shrink from danger.
THUCYDIDES

Award Best Courage Dangerous Difference Hard Time Prize Temptation
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
Love of power, operating through greed and through personal ambition, was the cause of all these evils.
THUCYDIDES

Ambition Evil Love Operation Personal Power Reason

It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.

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It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.

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