I know not why any one but a school boy in his declamation would whine over the Commonwealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they were rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves and of one another.
Samuel JohnsonIt is not the desire of new acquisitions, but the glory of conquests, that fires the soldier's breast; as indeed the town is seldom worth much, when it has suffered the devastations of a siege.
Samuel JohnsonGreat abilities are not requisite for an Historian; for in historical composition, all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiescent.
Samuel Johnson