Tacitus
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The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.
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It is human nature to hate him whom you have injured.
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A bad peace is even worse than war.
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A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man.
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Abuse, if you slight it, will gradually die away; but if you show yourself irritated, you will be thought to have deserved it.
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All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued with great vigor at first, but are sure to collapse in the end.
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Those will be thy best friends, not to whom thou hast done good, but who have done good to thee.
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Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth; when perfect sincerity is expected, perfect freedom must be allowed; nor has anyone who is apt to be angry when he hears the truth any cause to wonder that he does not hear it.
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Greater things are believed of those who are absent.
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He that fights and runs away, may turn and fight another day; but he that is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again.
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In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.
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It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured.
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It is only necessary to make war with five things: with the maladies of the body, with the ignorances of the mind, with the passions of the body, with the seditions of the city, with the discords of families.
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Love of fame is the last thing even learned men can bear to be parted from.
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Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable.
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No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.
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Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.
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Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor.
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Prosperity is the measure or touchstone of virtue, for it is less difficult to bear misfortune than to remain uncorrupted by pleasure.
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Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
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The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.
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To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it.
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Truth is confirmed by inspection and delay; falsehood by haste and uncertainty.
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When men are full of envy they disparage everything, whether it be good or bad.