Thucydides

Thucydides was a Greek Historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C.

Even former Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew read him as he has quoted Thucydides.

The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.

The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage.

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 favours but by doing them.


A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and fighting done by fools. 

The sufferings that fate inflicts on us should be borne with patience, what enemies inflict with manly courage. 

An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful. 

Men naturally despise those who court them; but respect those who do not give way to them. 

We must remember that one man is much the same as another and that he is best who is trained in the severest school.

It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first and wait for disasters to discuss the matter.

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.

Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.

Two translations For we are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness. We are lovers of beauty without extravagance, and lovers of wisdom without unmanliness.

Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

The secret of Happiness is Freedom, And the secret of Freedom, Courage.

Men's indignation, it seems, is more excited by legal wrong than by violent wrong the first looks like being cheated by an equal, the second like being compelled by a superior.

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.

History is Philosophy teaching by example.
Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved.

Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

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

Once again, I hope that you will gain immensely from such wisdom. Remember that despite the great wisdom of Greek philosophers, Athens and Greece are suffering somewhat today. So how much more wisdom do we need everyday. Make wisdom a daily effort.