By Aeschylus

I think the slain care little if they sleep or rise again.

A people's voice is dangerous when charged with wrath.
In war, truth is the first casualty.

[edit] By Aristotle

War, as the saying goes, is full of false alarms

We make war so that we may live in peace
The wise man speaks because he has something to say, the fool because he has to
say something

[edit] By Cicero

The sinews of war are infinite money.

Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home.
Silent enim leges inter arma (Laws are silent in times of war).

[edit] By Euripides

Courage may be taught as a child is taught to speak.

Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes.
The god of war hates those who hesitate.
A large army is always disorderly.

[edit] By Julius Caesar

War gives the right of the conquerors to impose any conditions they please upon
the vanquished.
Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).
In war important events result from trivial causes.
Alea iacta est (The die is cast).

[edit] By Hermocrates

The true contempt of an invader is shown by deeds of valour in the field.

When there is mutual fear, men think twice before they make aggression upon one
another.
They have an abundance of gold and silver, and these make war, like other things,
go smoothly.
Nobody is driven in to war by ignorance, and no one who thinks he will gain
anything from it is deterred by fear.

[edit] By Herodotus
 In peace, sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury their sons.
Far better it is to have a stout heart always and suffer one's share of evils, than to
be ever fearing what may happen.

[edit] By Hippocrates

War is the only proper school of the surgeon.

[edit] By Homer

Even the bravest cannot fight beyond his strength.

Ye gods, what dastards would our host command? Swept to the war, the lumber of
the land.
Noble and manly music invigorates the spirit, strengthens the wavering man, and
incites him to great and worthy deeds.
He serves me most, who serves his country best.
To those that flee comes neither power nor glory.
Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing sooner than war.
The blade itself incites to violence.
So ends the bloody business of the day.
A glorious death is his who for his country falls.

[edit] By Horace

Adversity reveals the genius of a general; good fortune conceals it.

A wise man in times of peace prepares for war.
Bella detesta matribus (Wars are the dread of mothers).
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (It is a sweet and seemly thing to die for
one's country).
Quae caret ora cruore nostro? (What coast knows not our blood?)

[edit] By Livy

To a good general luck is important.

The outcome corresponds less to expectations in war than in any other case
whatsoever.
Vae victis (Woe to the vanquished).

[edit] By Ovid

The gods favour the bold.

Fas est et ab hoste doceri (It is right to learn, even from the enemy).

[edit] By Pericles
 I am more afraid of our own mistakes than of our enemies' designs.
I do not have much time for exhortation, but to the brave a few words are as good
as many...

[edit] By Plato

The rulers of the Senate are the only ones who should have the privilege of lying.
Every care must be taken that our auxiliaries, being stronger than our citizens,
may not grow too much for them and become savage beasts.
Only the dead have seen the end of war.

[edit] By Plautus

Ah, yes, mere infantry - poor beggars...

The valiant profit more their country than the finest, cleverest speakers.
Victi vincimus (Conquered, we conquer).

[edit] By Polybius

A good general not only sees the way to victory, he also knows when victory is
impossible.
In war we must always leave room for strokes of fortune, and accidents that
cannot be foreseen.

[edit] By Publilius Syrus

The cruelty of war makes for peace.

Pardon one offence and you encourage the commission of many.
We should provide in peace what we need in war.
Necessity knows no law except to conquer.
It is a bad plan that cannot be altered.
He is best secure from dangers who is on his guard even when he seems safe.

[edit] By Seneca the Younger

If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no wind is favourable.

The fortunes of war are always doubtful.
Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them.

[edit] By Sophocles

Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.

It is the brave man's part to live with glory, or with glory die.

[edit] By Sun Tzu

 All warfare is based on deception.
He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.
Generally management of the many is the same as management of the few. It is a
matter of organization.
In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer
military power.

[edit] By Tacitus

Even the bravest are frightened by sudden terrors.

The proper arts of a general are judgement and prudence.
A bad peace is even worse than war.
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.
Valour is the contempt of death and pain.
Great empires are not maintained by timidity.
They make a solitude and call it peace.

[edit] By Thucydides

War is not so much a matter of weapons as of money.

A collision at sea can ruin your entire day.
Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief
element in courage.
The strong did what they could, and the weak suffered what they must.

[edit] By Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus

Few men are born brave; many become so through training and force of
discipline.
A general is not easily overcome who can form a true judgement of his own and
the enemy's forces.
What can a soldier do who charges when out of breath?
Valour is superior to numbers.
Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum (Let him who desires peace prepare for
war).
An ambush, if discovered and promptly surrounded, will repay the intended
mischief with interest.
An adversary is more hurt by desertion than by slaughter.
We die today not only for our friends and family but for our gods and for our
forefathers and men before them so pray to them to make us victorious

[edit] By Virgil

Bella, horida bella (Wars, horrid wars!)

Let all be present and expect the palm, the prize of victory.
[edit] By Xenophon

When one side goes against the enemy with the gods' gift of stronger morale, then
their adversaries, as a rule, cannot withstand them.
Willing obedience always beats forced obedience.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Brave men are a city's strongest tower of defence - Alcaeus

Against danger it pays to be prepared - Aesop
The Spartans do not ask how many but where they are - Agis II of Sparta
A dead enemy always smells good - Alus Vitellus
War spares not the brave but the cowardly - Anacreon
It is the noblest and safest thing for a great army to be visibly animated by one
spirit - Archidamus of Sparta
Ah! The generals! They are numerous but not good for much! - Aristophanes
If a man does not strike first, he will be the first struck - Athenogoras of Syracuse
Come home with this shield or upon it - A Spartan woman equips her son
Varus, give me back my legions - Augustus Caesar : After the defeat and
annihilation of Varus's column in Teutoberg Forest
Let them hate us as long as they fear us - Caligula
To lead untrained people to war is to throw them away - Confucius
Only the brave enjoy noble and glorious deaths - Dionysius
To an imperial city nothing is inconsistent which is expedient - Euphemus of
Athens
The walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the
chariots - Ezekiel, XXVI, 10
Alta sedent civilis vulnera dextrae (Deep are the wounds that civil strife inflicts) -
Lucan
It is pleasant, when the sea is high and the winds are dashing the waves about, to
watch from the shores the struggles of another - Lucretius
To brave men, the prizes that war offers are liberty and fame - Lycurgus of Sparta
Hannibal knew how to gain a victory, but not how to use it - Maharbal
The man who runs away will fight again -Menander
A small country cannot contend with a great; the few cannot contend with the
many; the weak cannot contend with the strong - Mencius
Soldiers do not like being under the command of one who is not of noble birth -
Onosander
He conquers who endures - Persius
An alliance with the powerful is never to be trusted - Phaedrus
In the moment of action remember the value of silence and order - Phormio of
Athens
War is sweet to those who have never experienced it - Pindar
Extraordinary rains pretty generally fall after great battles - Plutarch
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle! - II Samuel, I, 25
 Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war - Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, III, 1
In war we must be speedy - Silius Italicus
A disorderly mob is no more an army than a heap of building materials is a house
- Socrates
Learn to obey before you command - Solon of Athens
Fortes fortuna adiuvat (Fortune favours the brave) - Terence
Who was the first that forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his savage soul
was made - Tibullus

[edit] Proverbs and Maxims

Other quotes from Rome: Total War are proverbs and maxims. Here are some of them.

[edit] Maxims

March divided and fight concentrated.

Divide and conquer.

[edit] Proverbs

After the war is over, make alliances - Greek proverb

Flet victus, victor interiit (The conquered mourns, the conqueror is undone) -
Latin proverb
Timidi mater non flet (A coward's mother does not weep) - Latin proverb
Arms keep peace - Latin proverb
Fortis cadere, cedere non potest (A brave man may fall, but he cannot yield) -
Latin proverb
To blunder twice is not allowed in war - Latin proverb
Victory loves prudence - Latin proverb (In this case "Victory" is the Roman
goddess Victoria)