215 Quotes by Thucydides

To be an object of hatred and aversion to their contemporaries has been the usual fate of all those whose merit has raised them above the common level. The man who submits to the shafts of envy for the sake of noble objects pursues a judicious course for his own lasting fame. Hatred dies with its object, while merit soon breaks forth in full splendor, and his glory is handed down to posterity in never-dying strains.

When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are.

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.

The whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men.

An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful.

They whose minds are least sensitive to calamity, and whose hands are most quick to meet it, are the greatest men and the greatest communities.

If you give way, you will instantly have to meet some greater demand, as having been frightened into obedience in the first instance; while a firm refusal will make them clearly understand that they must treat you more as equals.

He who graduates the harshest school, succeeds.

What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.