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For we both alike know that into the discussion of human affairs the question of justice enters only where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must.
Thucydides
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Thucydides
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Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.
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Hope, danger's comforter
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If it had not been for the pernicious power of envy, men would not so have exalted vengeance above innocence and profit above justice... in these acts of revenge on others, men take it upon themselves to begin the process of repealing those general laws of humanity which are there to give a hope of salvation to all who are in distress.
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Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.
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It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position.
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I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion haste usaully goes hand in hand with folly, passion with coarseness and narrowness of mind.
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They are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense of both the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger.
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The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta, made war inevitable.
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