Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"In all relations with one's neighbours freedom is the result of being able to hold one's own, and as for these neighbours, who, not content with those close to them, are trying to spread their dominion far and wide, with them we must simply fight it out to the last."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book IV, section 92) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). The quote comes from a speech that Thucydides wrote while in the character of Pagondus. 

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Thucydides

Thucydides (460-400 BCE)

"There is no need to talk about what happened long ago: there our evidence would be that of hearsay rather than that of eyewitnesses amongst our audience."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book I, section 73) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"One cannot regulate fortune to fit in with what one has decided one wants to happen."

• From a speech attributed to the Syracusan general, Hermocrates, in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 78) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"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."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book I, section 76) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"One does not only defend oneself against a superior power when one is attacked; one takes measures in advance to prevent the attack materializing."

• From a speech attributed to Alcibiades (c. 450-404 BCE) in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 18) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Do not be led astray by a false sense of honour - a thing which often brings men to ruin when they are faced with obvious danger that somehow affects their pride."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book V, section 111) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"It is more disgraceful, at least for those who have a name to lose, to gain one's ends by deceit which pretends to be morality than by open violence."

• From a speech attributed to Brasidas in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book IV, section 86) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).  

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people."

• From a speech attributed to Pericles in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book II, section 37) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).  

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Thucydides (speaking as Diodotus)

Thucydides (c.460-400 BCE)

"We should recognize that the proper basis of our security is in good administration rather than in the fear of legal penalties."

• From a speech attributed to Diodotus in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book III, section 46) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). 

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Thucydides (speaking as Alcibiades)

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Democracy is the name given to any force that opposes absolute power."

• From a speech attributed to Alcibiades (c. 450-404 BCE) in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 89) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). 

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Thucydides (in the character of Nicias)

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"It is senseless to go against people who, even if conquered, could not be controlled, while failure would leave us much worse off than we were before we made the attempt."

• From a speech attributed to Nicias in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 11) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"When dealing with an enemy it is not only his actions but his intentions that have to be watched, since if one does not act first, one will suffer first."

• From a speech attributed to Athenagoras of Syracuse in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 38) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Hope is by nature an expensive commodity, and those who are risking their all on one cast find out what it means only when they are already ruined."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book V, section 103) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"The surest way of harming an enemy is to find out certainly what form of attack he is most frightened of and then to employ it against him."

• From a speech attributed to Alcibiades in the History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 91) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Most people, in fact, will not take trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book I, section 20) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Remember that success comes from foresight and not so much is ever gained simply by wishing for it."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book VI, section 13) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"My own opinion is that when the whole state is on the right course it is a better thing for each separate individual than when private interests are satisfied but the state as a whole is going downhill."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book II, section 60) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). 

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"True wisdom is shown by those who make careful use of their advantages in the knowledge that things will change."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book IV, section 18) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). 

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Colonists are not sent abroad to be slaves of those who remain behind, but to be their equals."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book I, section 34) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). The quote was supposedly from a speech delivered by a Corcyraean ambassador to Athens in 433 BCE, when they were seeking help agaisnt Corinth.

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"Once you come forward in the role of liberators, you will find that your strength in the war is enormously increased."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book III, section 13) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). 

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