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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

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
Peace is an armistice in a war that is continuously going on.
THUCYDIDES

Peace War
Wars spring from unseen and generally insignificant causes, the first outbreak being often but an explosion of anger.
THUCYDIDES

Angry Break Reason See War
He who graduates the harshest school, succeeds.
THUCYDIDES

Difficult Graduation Himself School Success
It is from the greatest dangers that the greatest glory is to be won.
THUCYDIDES

Dangerous Glory Greatness Win
For so remarkably perverse is the nature of man that he despises whoever courts him, and admires whoever will not bend before him.
THUCYDIDES

Admire Court Himself Man Nature Remark
For men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them.
THUCYDIDES

Man Natural Respect Way
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
Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and respect of self, in turn, is the chief element in courage.
THUCYDIDES

Chief Control Courage Element Respect
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
The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta, made war inevitable.
THUCYDIDES

Alarm Growth Power War
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
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
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
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
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
War is a matter not so much of arms as of money.
THUCYDIDES

Arms Money War
I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire.
THUCYDIDES

Capable Democracy Empire
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
It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
THUCYDIDES

Infrastructure Man Wall
Don’t confuse meaning with truth.
THUCYDIDES

Confusion Meaning One Liner Truth
It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter.
THUCYDIDES

Beginning Disaster Discussion Mistake War
Of the gods we believe, and of men we know, that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can.
THUCYDIDES

Believe God Law Man Nature Necessary Rule
Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
THUCYDIDES

Courage Deep Freedom Happiness
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
The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.
THUCYDIDES

Acceptance Strong Weakness
You should punish in the same manner those who commit crimes with those who accuse falsely.
THUCYDIDES

Commitment Crime Fake Punishment

People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don’t desire to exhaustive thinking.

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People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don’t desire to exhaustive thinking.

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Popular Authors

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