They are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense of both the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger.
THUCYDIDESLove of power, operating through greed and through personal ambition, was the cause of all these evils.
More Thucydides Quotes
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I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.
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We Greeks are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness.
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You should punish in the same manner those who commit crimes with those who accuse falsely.
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The cause of all these evils was the lust for power arising from greed and ambition; and from these passions proceeded the violence of parties once engaged in contention.
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I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire.
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Amassing of wealth is an opportunity for good deeds, not hubris.
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And where the rewards for merit are greatest, there are found the best citizens.
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knowing the secret of happiness to be freedom, and the secret of freedom a brave heart, not idly to stand aside from the enemy’s onset.
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Of the gods we believe, and of men we know, that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can.
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Those who really deserve praise are the people who, while human enough to enjoy power, nevertheless pay more attention to justice than they are compelled to do by their situation.
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Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.
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Concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of security.
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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.
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It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who make no concessions.
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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.
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What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.
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He passes through life most securely who has least reason to reproach himself with complaisance toward his enemies.
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Don’t confuse meaning with truth.
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It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position.
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Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and respect of self, in turn, is the chief element in courage.
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The whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men.
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The Thracian people, like the bloodiest of the barbarians, being ever most murderous when it has nothing to fear.
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The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.
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We Greeks believe that a man who takes no part in public affairs is not merely lazy, but good for nothing.
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Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
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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