Publius Cornelius Tacitus
30 quotations
Greater things are believed of those who are absent.
Custom adapts itself to expediency.
The love of fame is the last weakness which even the wise resign.
The hatred of relatives is the most violent.
Even the bravest men are frightened by sudden terrors.
Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor.
Seek to make a person blush for their guilt rather than shed their blood.
It is a weakness of your human nature to hate those whom you have wronged.
All bodies are slow in growth but rapid in decay.
Those in supreme power always suspect and hate their next heir.
In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.
The more corrupt the state, the more laws.
Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.
It is less difficult to bear misfortunes than to remain uncorrupted by pleasure.
Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin.
When a woman has lost her chastity she will shrink from nothing.
Things are not to be judged good or bad merely because the public think so.
Posterity will pay everyone their due.
They make a wilderness and call it peace.
Posterity gives every man his true value.
Forbidden things have a secret charm.
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.
So, as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants.
Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.