1. Thucydides, The History of The Peloponnesian War, 7.77.2-7.77.3 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 7.77.2. I myself who am not superior to any of you in strength—indeed you see how I am in my sickness—and who in the gifts of fortune am, I think, whether in private life or otherwise, the equal of any, am now exposed to the same danger as the meanest among you; and yet my life has been one of much devotion towards the gods, and of much justice and without offence towards men. 7.77.3. I have, therefore, still a strong hope for the future, and our misfortunes do not terrify me as much as they might. Indeed we may hope that they will be lightened: our enemies have had good fortune enough; and if any of the gods was offended at our expedition, we have been already amply punished. |
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2. Xenophon, The Persian Expedition, 3.2.12, 5.1.15 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 3.2.12. And while they had vowed to Artemis that for every man they might slay of the enemy they would sacrifice a goat to the goddess, they were unable to find goats enough; According to Herodotus ( Hdt. 6.117 ) the Persian dead numbered 6,400. so they resolved to offer five hundred every year, and this sacrifice they are paying even to this day. 5.1.15. Furthermore, they got a fifty-oared warship from the Trapezuntians, and put it under the command of Dexippus, a Laconian perioecus. The perioeci were the inhabitants of the outlying Laconian towns; they were free, but not Spartan citizens. This fellow, however, paying no heed to the duty of collecting vessels, slipped away with his man-of-war and left the Euxine. He did indeed get his deserts afterwards; for while engaged in some intrigue at the court of Seuthes See Xen. Anab. 7.2.31-34 . in Thrace he was killed by Nicander the Laconian. |
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3. Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, 1.6.25 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 1.6.25. You mean to say, father, said he, that in everything the general must show more endurance than his men. Yes said he, that is just what I mean; however, never fear for that, my son; for bear in mind that the same toils do not affect the general and the private in the same way, though they have the same sort of bodies; but the honour of the general’s position and the very consciousness that nothing he does escapes notice lighten the burdens for him. |
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4. Anon., 1 Enoch, 59-61, 58 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 58. And I began to speak the third Parable concerning the righteous and elect.",Blessed are ye, ye righteous and elect, For glorious shall be your lot.,And the righteous shall be in the light of the sun. And the elect in the light of eternal life: The days of their life shall be unending, And the days of the holy without number.,And they shall seek the light and find righteousness with the Lord of Spirits: There shall be peace to the righteous in the name of the Eternal Lord.",And after this it shall be said to the holy in heaven That they should seek out the secrets of righteousness, the heritage of faith: For it has become bright as the sun upon earth, And the darkness is past.,And there shall be a light that never endeth, And to a limit (lit. ' number ') of days they shall not come, For the darkness shall first have been destroyed, [And the light established before the Lord of Spirits] And the light of uprightness established for ever before the Lord of Spirits. |
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5. Cicero, Pro Murena, 38 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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6. Polybius, Histories, 10.3.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
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7. Plutarch, Alexander The Great, 4.4-4.6 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 4.4. And in Alexander’s case, it was the heat of his body, as it would seem, which made him prone to drink, and choleric. But while he was still a boy his self-restraint showed itself in the fact that, although he was impetuous and violent in other matters, the pleasures of the body had little hold upon him, and he indulged in them with great moderation, while his ambition kept his spirit serious and lofty in advance of his years. 4.5. For it was neither every kind of fame nor fame from every source that he courted, as Philip did, who plumed himself like a sophist on the power of his oratory, and took care to have the victories of his chariots at Olympia engraved upon his coins; nay, when those about him inquired whether he would be willing to contend in the foot-race at the Olympic games, since he was swift of foot, Yes, said he, if I could have kings as my contestants. |
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8. Plutarch, Cato The Younger, 9.9 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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9. Plutarch, Pelopidas, 2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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10. Suetonius, Iulius, 57 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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11. Tacitus, Annals, 13.35 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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12. Tacitus, Histories, 2.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.5. Vespasian was energetic in war. He used to march at the head of his troops, select a place for camp, oppose the enemy night and day with wise strategy and, if occasion demanded, with his own hands. His food was whatever chance offered; in his dress and bearing he hardly differed from the common soldier. He would have been quite equal to the generals of old if he had not been avaricious. Mucianus, on the other hand, was eminent for his magnificence and wealth and by the complete superiority of his scale of life to that of a private citizen. He was the readier speaker, experienced in civil administration and in statesmanship. It would have been a rare combination for an emperor if the faults of the two could have been done away with and their virtues only combined in one man. But Mucianus was governor of Syria, Vespasian of Judea. They had quarrelled through jealousy because they governed neighbouring provinces. Finally at Nero's death they had laid aside their hostilities and consulted together, at first through friends as go-betweens; and then Titus, the chief bond of their concord, had ended their dangerous feud by pointing out their common interests; both by his nature and skill he was well calculated to win over even a person of the character of Mucianus. Tribunes, centurions, and the common soldiers were secured for the cause by industry or by licence, by virtues or by pleasures, according to the individual's character. |
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13. Cassius Dio, Roman History, 52.34.1, 52.39.3-52.39.4, 68.23 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 52.34.1. "Whatever you wish your subjects to think and do, this you should always say and do yourself. In this way you will be educating them, rather than intimidating them through the punishments prescribed by the laws. The former policy inspires zeal, the latter fear; and one finds it easier to imitate that which is good when he sees it actually practised than to avoid that which is evil when he hears it forbidden by mere words. 52.39.3. For how can men help regarding you with affection as father and saviour, when they see that you are orderly and upright in your life, successful in war though inclined to peace; when you refrain from insolence and greed; when you meet them on a footing of equality 68.23. 1. the senate voted to him all the usual honours in great plenty and furthermore bestowed upon him the title of Optimus, or Most Excellent. He always marched on foot with the rank and file of his army, and he attended to the ordering and disposition of the troops throughout the entire campaign, leading them sometimes in one order and sometimes in another; and he forded all the rivers that they did.,2. Sometimes he even caused his scouts to circulate false reports, in order that the soldiers might at one and the same time practise military manoeuvres and become fearless and ready for any dangers. After he had captured Nisibis and Batnae he was given the name of Parthicus; but he took much greater pride in the title of Optimus than in all the rest, inasmuch as it referred rather to his character than to his arms. |
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