Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies' resources, and minimized their own.
Envy is blind. -Caeca invidia est
Fame opportunely despised often comes back redoubled.
Fortune blinds men when she does not wish them to withstand the violence of her onslaughts.
Bad beginnings, bad endings.
This above all makes history useful and desirable; it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.