Cicero

And yet gentleness of spirit and forbearance are to be commended only with the understanding that strictness may be exercised for the good of the state; for without that, the government cannot be well administered.

For nothing is more commendable, nothing more becoming in a pre-eminently great man than courtesy and forbearance.

Besides, he will not expose anyone to hatred or disrepute by groundless charges, but he will surely cleave to justice and honour so closely that he will submit to any loss, however heavy, rather than be untrue to them, and will face death…

Now, those who care for the interests of a part of the citizens and neglect another part, introduce into the civil service a dangerous element--dissension and party strife.

For there are men who for fear of giving offence do not dare to express their honest opinion, no matter how excellent.

It is, therefore, only a madman who, in a calm, would pray for a storm; a wise man's way is, when the storm does come, to withstand it with all the means at his command, and especially, when the advantages to be expected in case of a…

Accordingly, in encountering danger we should do as doctors do in their practice: in light cases of illness they give mild treatment; in cases of dangerous sickness they are compelled to apply hazardous and even desperate remedies.

For whereas there are many, as I have said before, who place the achievements of war above those of peace, so one may find many to whom adventurous, hot-headed counsels seem more brilliant and more impressive than calm and well-considered…

And it is a great man's duty in troublous times to single out the guilty for punishment, to spare the many, and in every turn of fortune to hold to a true and honourable course.

As to destroying and plundering cities, let me say that great care should be taken that nothing be done in reckless cruelty or wantonness.

Yet when the stress of circumstances demands it, we must gird on the sword and prefer death to slavery and disgrace.

But to mix rashly in the fray and to fight hand to hand with the enemy is but a barbarous and brutish kind of business.

But it takes a brave and resolute spirit not to be disconcerted in times of difficulty or ruffled and thrown off one's feet, as the saying is, but to keep one's presence of mind and one's self-possession and not to swerve from the path of…

War, however, should be undertaken in such a way as to make it evident that it has no other object than to secure peace.

And in this way, the men who in a civil capacity direct the affairs of the nation render no less important service than they who conduct its wars: by their statesmanship oftentimes wars are either averted or terminated; sometimes also they…

That moral goodness which we look for in a lofty, high-minded spirit is secured, of course, by moral, not by physical, strength.

There are, therefore, instances of civic courage that are not inferior to the courage of the soldier.

For arms are of little value in the field unless there is wise counsel at home.

Although it is thought that it was by their achievements that Sparta gained her supremacy, yet these are not even remotely to be compared with the legislation and discipline of Lycurgus.

For Themistocles's victory served the state once and only once; while Solon's work will be of service for ever.

But if we will face the facts, we shall find that there have been many instances of achievement in peace more important and no less renowned than in war.

For many men have sought occasions for war from the mere ambition for fame.

Most people think that the achievements of war are more important than those of peace; but this opinion needs to be corrected.

At the same time, let him take care not to lose heart too readily through discouragement nor yet to be over-confident through ambition.

If anyone is entering public life, let him beware of thinking only of the honour that it brings; but let him be sure also that he has the ability to succeed.