Livy Quotations

There is always more spirit in attack than in defence.

They are more than men at the outset of their battles; at the end they are less than the women.

A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.

Many difficulties which nature throws in our way, may be smoothed away by the exercise of intelligence.

It is better that a guilty man should not be brought to trial than that he should be acquitted.

All things will be clear and distinct to the man who does not hurry; haste is blind and improvident.

Luck is of little moment to the great general, for it is under the control of his intellect and his judgment.

Men are only clever at shifting blame from their own shoulders to those of others.

There is nothing worse than being ashamed of parsimony or poverty.

The old Romans all wished to have a king over them because they had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom.

It is easier to criticize than to correct our past errors.

In difficult and desperate cases, the boldest counsels are the safest.

We can endure neither our vices nor the remedies for them.

This above all makes history useful and desirable; it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.

The populace is like the sea motionless in itself, but stirred by every wind, even the lightest breeze.

There is nothing that is more often clothed in an attractive garb than a false creed.

There are laws for peace as well as war.

Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness.

There is nothing man will not attempt when great enterprises hold out the promise of great rewards.

Men are slower to recognize blessings than misfortunes.

Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies' resources, and minimized their own.

No law can possibly meet the convenience of every one: we must be satisfied if it be beneficial on the whole and to the majority.

Favor and honor sometimes fall more fitly on those who do not desire them.

It is easy at any moment to surrender a large fortune; to build one up is a difficult and an arduous task.

Nowhere are our calculations more frequently upset than in war.

The troubles which have come upon us always seem more serious than those which are only threatening.

Toil and pleasure, dissimilar in nature, are nevertheless united by a certain natural bond.

Envy like fire always makes for the highest points.

The sun has not yet set for all time.

Fortune blinds men when she does not wish them to withstand the violence of her onslaughts.

Truth, they say, is but too often in difficulties, but is never finally suppressed.

He will have true glory who despises it.

No crime can ever be defended on rational grounds.

Resistance to criminal rashness comes better late than never.

The result showed that fortune helps the brave.

Nothing is so uncertain or unpredictable as the feelings of a crowd.

The name of freedom regained is sweet to hear.

Envy, like flames, soars upwards.

The best known evil is the most tolerable.

Toil and pleasure, in their natures opposite, are yet linked together in a kind of necessary connection.

Temerity is not always successful.

Potius sero quam nunquam. Better late than never.

We feel public misfortunes just so far as they affect our private circumstances, and nothing of this nature appeals more directly to us than the loss of money.

A person under the firm persuasion that he can command resources virtually has them.

No law is sufficiently convenient to all.

The real power behind whatever success I have now was something I found within myself - something that's in all of us, I think, a little piece of God just waiting to be discovered.

This was the Athenians' war against the King of Macedon, a war of words. Words are the only weapons the Athenians have left.

We survive on adversity and perish in ease and comfort.

Once let good faith be abandoned, and all social existence would perish.

There is an old saying which, from its truth, has become proverbial, that friendships should be immortal, enmities mortal.

Envy, like fire, soars upward.

Many things complicated by nature are restored by reason.

As soon as she (woman) begins to be ashamed of what she ought not, she will not be ashamed of what she ought.

The worst kind of shame is being ashamed of frugality or poverty.

A woman's mind is affected by the meanest gifts.

Treachery, though at first very cautious, in the end betrays itself.

Passions are generally roused from great conflict.

Nature has ordained that the man who is pleading his own cause before a large audience, will be more readily listened to than he who has no object in view other than the public benefit.

No one wants to be excelled by his relatives.

Present sufferings seem far greater to men than those they merely dread.

Nothing hurts worse than the loss of money.

It is when fortune is the most propitious that she is least to be trusted.

Fame opportunely despised often comes back redoubled.

He is truly a man who will not permit himself to be unduly elated when fortune's breeze is favorable, or cast down when it is adverse.

Better and safer is an assured peace than a victory hoped for. The one is in your own power, the other is in the hands of the gods.

Woe to the conquered.

Good fortune and a good disposition are rarely given to the same man.

War is just to those to whom war is necessary.

Law is a thing which is insensible, and inexorable, more beneficial and more profitious to the weak than to the strong; it admits of no mitigation nor pardon, once you have overstepped its limits.

Never is work without reward, or reward without work.

...war is just to those for whom it is necessary, and arms are clear of impiety for those who have no hope left but in arms.

Wit is the flower of the imagination.

Bad beginnings, bad endings.

When Tarquin the Proud was asked what was the best mode of governing a conquered city, he replied only by beating down with his staff all the tallest poppies in his garden.

Events of great consequence often spring from trifling circumstances.

An honor prudently declined often returns with increased luster.

A gentleman is mindful no less of the freedom of others than of his own dignity.

Luck rules every human endeavor, especially war.

Greater is our terror of the unknown.

Prosperity engenders sloth.

By flying, men often rush into the midst of calamities.

That business does not prosper which you transact with the eyes of others.

Friends should be judged by their acts, not their words.

No wickedness proceeds on any grounds of reason.

Men's minds are too ready to excuse guilt in themselves.

Certain peace is better and safer than anticipated victory.

The army from Asia introduced a foreign luxury to Rome; it was then the meals began to require more dishes and more expenditure . . . the cook, who had up to that time been employed as a slave of low price, become dear: what had been nothing but a metier was elevated to an art.

That sense – the only true patriotism – comes slowly and springs from the heart: it is founded upon respect for the family and love for the soil. Premature ‘liberty’ of this kind would have been a disaster: we should have been torn to pieces by petty squabbles before we had ever reached political maturity, which, as things were, as made possible by the long quiet years under monarchical government; for it was that government which, as it were, nursed our strength and enabled us ultimately to produce sound fruit from liberty, as only a politically adult nation can.

Envy is blind. -Caeca invidia est

We can endure neither our vices nor their cure.

The less there is of fear, the less there is of danger.

Valor is the soldier's adornment.

Men are least safe from what success induces them not to fear.

The study of History is the best medicine for a sick mind.

Dignity is a matter which concerns only mankind.

No law is quite appropriate for all.

Thus, if there is anyone who is confident that he can advise me as to the best advantage of the state in this campaign which I am about to conduct, let him not refuse his services to the state, but come with me into Macedonia. I will furnish him with his sea-passage, with a horse, a tent, and even travel-funds. If anyone is reluctant to do this and prefers the leisure of the city to the hardships of campaigning, let him not steer the ship from on shore.

Adversity reminds men of religion.

Envy is blind, and she has no other quality than that of detracting from virtue

Persevere in virtue and diligence.