Christmas Every Day

“I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.”

— Edward Gibbon

History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.

— Edward Gibbon

“We Greeks believe that a man who takes no part in public affairs is not merely lazy, but good for nothing”

— Pericles, in Herodotus Histories

“All ancient history was written with a moral object; the ethical interest predominates almost to the exclusion of all others.”

— Tacitus

“They have plundered the world, stripping naked the land in their hunger… they are driven by greed, if their enemy be rich; by ambition, if poor… They ravage, they slaughter, they seize by false pretenses, and all of this they hail as the construction of empire. And when in their wake nothing remains but a desert, they call that peace.”

— Tacitus

“If you would know who controls you see whom you may not criticise.”

— Tacitus

It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.

— Herodotus

“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.”

– Thucydides

It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.

— Thucydides