3000 BCE – 500 CE
Classical antiquity — Greece, Rome, and the great empires of the Mediterranean and East.
The wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win.
— Zhuge Liang
"The wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win."
In commanding troops, the more the better.
— Han Xin
"In commanding troops, the more the better."
Wine before us, let us sing; how brief is the span of mortal life.
— Cao Cao
"Wine before us, let us sing; how brief is the span of mortal life."
Place soldiers where there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight.
"Place soldiers where there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight."
Ungrateful fatherland, you shall not even have my bones.
— Scipio Africanus
"Ungrateful fatherland, you shall not even have my bones."
Come and take them.
— Leonidas I
"Come and take them."
All warfare is based on deception.
— Sun Tzu
"All warfare is based on deception."
I came, I saw, I conquered.
— Julius Caesar
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.
"Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in per..."
I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.
"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me."
It is better that the guilty go unpunished than that the innocent be condemned.
— Trajan
"It is better that the guilty go unpunished than that the innocent be condemned."
I have lived long enough, for I die unconquered.
— Epaminondas
"I have lived long enough, for I die unconquered."
