Greatest Ancient Greek Philosopher Thucydides Life Lessons Men Learn Too Late The Man Who Takes..

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and, yet notwithstanding go out to meet it. We must remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school. The secret of happiness is freedom. The nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools. Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared. Love of power, operating through greed and through personal ambition, was the cause of all these evils. The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept. Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear. Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved. One's sense of honor is the only thing that does not grow old, and the last pleasure, when one is worn out with age, is not, as the poet said, making money, but having the respect of one's fellow men. 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. So little trouble do men take in the search after truth, so readily do they accept whatever comes first to hand. 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. It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs, they expect too much of ordinary men. We secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them. It is from the greatest dangers that the greatest glory is to be won. When a man finds a conclusion agreeable, he accepts it without argument, but when he finds it disagreeable, he will bring against it all the forces of logic and reason. It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled, even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position. We Greeks believe that a man who takes no part in public affairs is not merely lazy, but good for nothing. I dread our own mistakes more than the enemy's intentions. It is the habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what they do not desire. 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. Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought. 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. When tremendous dangers are involved, no one can be blamed for looking to his own interest. People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don't desire to exhaustive thinking. Friendship, or enmity, is everywhere an affair of time and circumstance. You should punish in the same manner those who commit crimes with those who accuse falsely. Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times, have every reason to be skeptical of successes.