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I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy’s intentions.

Thucydides

I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion; haste usaully goes hand in hand with folly, passion with coarseness and narrowness of mind.
THUCYDIDES

Goodness Hands Mindset Passion Thinking
The whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men.
THUCYDIDES

Earth Fame Famous Man Place
Men’s indignation, it seems, is more exited by legal wrong than by violent wrong; the first looks like being cheated by an equal, the second like being compelled by a superior.
THUCYDIDES

Equality Exit Legal Man Superior Violence
What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.
THUCYDIDES

Fear Growth Reason War
The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Freedom Happiness Secret
Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Deep Freedom Happiness
Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.
THUCYDIDES

Better Expensive Hope Item Preparation Sense
We secure our friends not by accepting favours but by doing them.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Action Friendship Security
Mankind apparently find it easier to drive away adversity than to retain prosperity.
THUCYDIDES

Drive Easy Finding Kind Man Prosperity
Speculation is carried on in safety, but, when it comes to action, fear causes failure.
THUCYDIDES

Action Carry Failure Fear Safety
Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes.
THUCYDIDES

Experience Reason Success Time
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.
THUCYDIDES

Attention Deserve Enjoyment Human Justice People Praise Situation
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.
THUCYDIDES

Attack Man Prevent Rest Superior
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.
THUCYDIDES

Brave Dangerous Happiness Pain Spirit
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
I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire.
THUCYDIDES

Capable Democracy Empire
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.
THUCYDIDES

Ambition Content Engagement Evil Lust Party Power Rise Violence
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
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
History is Philosophy teaching by example.
THUCYDIDES

Example History Teaching
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
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.
THUCYDIDES

Concession Human Nature People Rule Treat
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
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
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
You shouldn’t feel sorry for the lifestyle you haven’t tasted, but for the one you are about to lose.
THUCYDIDES

Feeling Life Lose Style Taste Yourself

I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy’s intentions.

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I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy’s intentions.

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