Thucydides Redux

A couple of days ago, I made the claim that the ancient Greek historian, Thucydides, would be able to appear on Fareed Zakaria GPS - hell, even Charlie Rose - and be right in the swing of things in no time.

Thought I would use today to give you a sampling of quotes from :

For the love of gain would reconcile the weaker to the dominion of the stronger, and the possession of capital enabled the more powerful to reduce the smaller cities to subjection. Book I, 1.8

So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand. Book I, 1.21

It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disaster to discuss the matter. Book I, 1.78

I could have wished that the reputations of many brave men were not to be imperilled in the mouth of a single individual, to stand or fall according as he spoke well or ill. For it is hard to speak properly upon a subject where it is even difficult to convince your hearers that you are speaking the truth. Book II, 2.35

I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion; haste usually goes hand in hand with folly, passion with coarseness and narrowness of mind. Book III, 3.42

Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them. Reckless audacity came to be considered the courage of a loyal ally; prudent hesitation, specious cowardice; moderation was held to be a cloak for unmanliness; ability to see all sides of a question, inaptness to act on any. Frantic violence became the attribute of manliness; cautious plotting, a justifiable means of self-defence. The advocate of extreme measures was always trustworthy; his opponent a man to be suspected. To succeed in a plot was to have a shrewd head, to divine a plot a still shrewder; but to try to provide against having to do either was to break up your party and to be afraid of your adversaries. Book III, 3.82

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