Thucydides
Greek · c. 460–400 BCE
Athenian historian and general, author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, considered the father of scientific history and political realism.
Wikipedia ↗“κτῆμά τε ἐς αἰεὶ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγώνισμα ἐς τὸ παραχρῆμα ἀκούειν ξύγκειται.”
Ancient Greek
“My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last forever.”
“τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἀληθεστάτην πρόφασιν, ἀφανεστάτην δὲ λόγῳ, τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἡγοῦμαι μεγάλους γιγνομένους καὶ φόβον παρέχοντας τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ἀναγκάσαι ἐς τὸ πολεμεῖν.”
Ancient Greek
“It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.”
“πεφύκασι γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸ μὲν θεραπεῦον ὑπερφρονεῖν, τὸ δὲ μὴ ὑπεῖκον θαυμάζειν.”
Ancient Greek
“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.”
“βίαιος διδάσκαλος ὁ πόλεμος καὶ πρὸς τὰ παρόντα τὰς ὀργὰς τῶν πολλῶν ὁμοιοῖ.”
Ancient Greek
“War is a violent teacher. It reduces most people's characters to the level of their circumstances.”
“αἰτία δ᾽ ἦν πάντων ἀρχὴ ἡ διὰ πλεονεξίαν καὶ φιλοτιμίαν· ἐκ δ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐς τὸ φιλονικεῖν καθισταμένων τὸ πρόθυμον.”
Ancient Greek
“The cause of all these evils was the desire for power which greed and ambition inspire. From these arose the fanaticism which attended the rivalries of parties.”
“ἐν μὲν γὰρ εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἀγαθοῖς πράγμασι βελτίους τὰς γνώμας ἔχουσι καὶ αἱ πόλεις καὶ οἱ ἰδιῶται διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐς ἀκουσίους ἀνάγκας πίπτειν.”
Ancient Greek
“In times of peace and prosperity, cities and individuals alike have better dispositions because they are not forced into desperate straits; but war, which strips away the comfortable provisions of daily life, is a violent teacher and assimilates most men's passions to their conditions.”
“οἱ δυνατοὶ πράσσουσι καὶ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς ξυγχωροῦσι.”
Ancient Greek
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”