Tacitus Quotes
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In all things there is a kind of law of cycles.
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There was more courage in bearing trouble than in escaping from it; the brave and the energetic cling to hope, even in spite of fortune; the cowardly and the indolent are hurried by their fears,' said Plotius Firmus, Roman Praetorian Guard.
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Augustus gradually increased his powers, taking over those of the senate, the executives and the laws. The aristocracy received wealth and position in proportion to their willingness to accept slavery. The state had been transformed, and the old Roman character gone for ever. Equality among citizens was completely abandoned. All now waited on the imperial command.
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By punishing men of talent we confirm their authority.
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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.
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Seek to make a person blush for their guilt rather than shed their blood.
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The most seditious is the most cowardly.
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The unknown always passes for the marvellous.
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Whatever is unknown is magnified.
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Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are repaid with hatred instead of gratitude.
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Conspicuous by his absence.
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We are corrupted by good fortune.
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Following Emporer Nero's command, "Let the Christians be exterminated!:" . . . they [the Christians] were made the subjects of sport; they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights.
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It is a part of the nature of man to resist compulsion.
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None grieve so ostentatiously as those who rejoice most in heart.
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It is of eloquence as of a flame; it requires matter to feed it, and motion to excite it; and it brightens as it burns.
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That cannot be safe which is not honourable.
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If you would know who controls you see who you may not criticise.
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Some might consider him as too fond of fame; for the desire for glory clings even to the best men longer than any other passion.
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Eloquence wins its great and enduring fame quite as much from the benches of our opponents as from those of our friends.
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Every great example of punishment has in it some injustice, but the suffering individual is compensated by the public good.
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The wicked find it easier to coalesce for seditious purposes than for concord in peace.
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All inconsiderate enterprises are impetuous at first, but soon lanquish.
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More faults are often committed while we are trying to oblige than while we are giving offense.