Talk:Thucydides

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• Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved.

• Men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them.
  • Variant translation: 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.

• The secret of freedom, courage.
  • Variant translations:

    The secret of happiness is freedom.

    The secret of freedom is courage.

• The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.
  • Variant translations:

    For the majority, to be educated is to be a coward, and to be strong is to be a fool.

    If a man does not appreciate the importance of both knowledge and strength, he is condemed to be a coward or a fool.

• The standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel it.

• Those who are politically apathetic can only survive if they are supported by people who are capable of taking action.

• Those who make wise decisions are more formidable to their enemies than those who rush madly into strong action.

• War takes away the easy supply of daily wants, and so proves a rough master, that brings most men's characters to a level with their fortunes.

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