For if many ill-conceived plans have succeeded through the still greater lack of judgment of an opponent, many more, apparently well laid, have on the contrary ended in disgrace. The confidence with which we form our schemes is never completely justified in their execution; speculation is carried on in safety, but, when it comes to action, fear causes failure.

Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

Wars spring from unseen and generally insignificant causes, the first outbreak being often but an explosion of anger.

In general, the men of lower intelligence won out. Afraid of their own shortcomings and of the intelligence of their opponents, so that they would not lose out in reasoned argument or be taken by surprise by their quick-witted opponents, they boldly moved into action. Their enemies,on the contrary, contemptuous and confident in their ability to anticipate, thought there was no need to take by action what they could win by their brains.

When a man finds a conclusion agreeable, he accepts it without argument, but when he finds it disagreeable, he will bring against it all the forces of logic and reason.

For they had learned that true safety was to be found in long previous training, and not in eloquent exhortations uttered when they were going into action.