What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.

I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion; haste usaully goes hand in hand with folly, passion with coarseness and narrowness of mind.

Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.

Mankind apparently find it easier to drive away adversity than to retain prosperity.

It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who make no concessions.

The superior gratification derived from the use and contemplation of costly and supposedly beautiful products is, commonly, in great measure a gratification of our sense of costliness masquerading under the name of beauty.

Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just contempt of an enemy can alone arise in those who feel that they are superior to their opponent by the prudence of their measures.