158 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
Thucydides judged his own account by the evidence he could check, and admitted that the distant past could not be known clearly.
Thucydides observed that fertile land invited invasion and let a few individuals grow powerful, and that this rivalry was a steady source of ruin.
Thucydides saw that the love of gain would reconcile the weaker to the rule of the stronger, and that accumulated capital let the powerful bring smaller towns under their rule.
Thucydides warned that appearances mislead, since a city built of villages can look weaker than it is, so judge power by what it actually did.
Thucydides noticed that the great expedition failed more from a shortage of money and supplies than of men, and that scattering into plunder and farming undid the siege.
Thucydides observed that rulers who look only to their own comfort and family standing make safety their whole aim, and so achieve nothing great.
Thucydides argued that the long wars gave both sides hard practice, because experience learnt in the school of danger is the kind that peace cannot teach.
Thucydides warned that most people accept tradition as it is handed down, applying no critical test, so it is worth checking what you hear before you repeat it.
Thucydides tested each account against several witnesses and wrote for readers who want an exact knowledge of the past to help them read the future.
Thucydides held that the real cause of the war was the one least openly admitted: Athens's growing power and the fear it caused in Sparta.
In Thucydides, the Corcyraean envoys say anyone asking for help must first show that granting it is sensible for the other side, and that they will remember the kindness.
In Thucydides, the Corinthian speakers argue that a claim to honesty is only proved by conduct, by giving and taking what is just, and that isolation can hide wrongdoing.
In Thucydides, the Corinthians advise that avoiding injustice towards powerful neighbours is a greater strength than a quick gain bought at the cost of lasting peace.
Thucydides noticed that after the sea battle at Sybota both sides claimed the victory, each reading the same events in its own favour.
Thucydides has a Corinthian speaker argue that responsibility for harm lies not only with the one who acts but with the one who could prevent it and does not.
Thucydides has a Corinthian speaker argue that improvement prevails in statecraft as in art, because constant necessity demands constant improvement of methods.
Thucydides notes that people feel a wrong done under cover of law more sharply than open force, because it feels like being cheated by an equal.
Thucydides warns that going to war is a common mistake of acting first and waiting for disaster before discussing it, when chance plays a large part and the outcome is risked in the dark.
In Thucydides, the Spartan king Archidamus counts the ships, money and supplies before any war, warning that hope of a quick victory is a fatal trap against a richer rival.
Thucydides has Archidamus argue that war is decided less by arms than by money, so a careful leader secures resources before being carried along by the urging of allies.
Thucydides has Archidamus say that a decision touching many lives should be made calmly rather than in a day, and that wise moderation is not the same as cowardice.
Thucydides notes the Spartans voted for war less because the allies argued well than because they feared Athens's growing power, which is how fear often decides what reasons only dress up.
Thucydides has Themistocles warn that rumours deceive, so send trusted people to inspect the facts for themselves instead of believing what they hear.
In Thucydides, Pausanias loses his allies by acting like a despot, and they turn to Athens, which shows how quickly a leader's arrogance can cost the trust that holds a coalition together.
Thucydides observed that allies who paid money instead of providing their own ships were left without resources or experience when revolt came, so the power that kept the skills kept the control.
Thucydides shows how an unspoken suspicion can turn a partner into an enemy: Sparta dismissed its Athenian allies without saying why, and they went over to Argos.
Thucydides records the great Athenian expedition to Egypt ending in ruin after six years, a sober warning about how a campaign stretched far from home can outrun its supplies and support.
In Thucydides, a Corinthian speaker notes that plans look safe on paper and that fear causes failure once action begins, so test a plan against what it will take to carry it out.
In Thucydides, a Corinthian speaker says war follows no fixed rules, so the side that keeps its temper and meets each emergency calmly fares best.
Thucydides has a Corinthian speaker say that what was won through hardship should not be lost in comfort, so a little extra wealth is no reason to drop the habits that built the success.
Thucydides notes that Pausanias betrayed his ambition in small things, through his pride, his unapproachability and his temper, and that people judge a leader by trifles long before any grand act.
Thucydides describes Spartan ephors who would not act against a citizen on suspicion alone, and wanted indisputable proof before a decisive step, even when the case against Pausanias looked strong.
Pericles argues in Thucydides that giving way on a small demand invites a larger one, so a firm refusal on a minor point shows others how they must treat you.
Pericles observes in Thucydides that a common cause quietly decays when each member assumes someone else will look after it, and that capital sustains a long effort better than forced contributions.
Pericles tells the Athenians in Thucydides that houses and land do not gain men, but men gain them, so the real loss to grieve is of lives, not property.
Pericles tells the Athenians in Thucydides that he fears their own blunders more than the enemy's schemes, so the biggest threat is often how you yourself act under pressure.
Thucydides observed that zeal is always at its height at the start of an undertaking, so the early enthusiasm of a project is no measure of how it will go in the long middle.
Archidamus tells his army in Thucydides that confidence suits an invader only when paired with precaution, since overconfidence that despises preparation is how larger forces get beaten.
Pericles, in Thucydides, declares in advance that he would hand over his own estate to the state if it were spared, so no one could suspect him of favour. Declaring a conflict early keeps trust intact.
In Thucydides, Pericles refuses to call an assembly while anger runs high, because a debate driven by passion rather than prudence is dangerous. Sometimes the wise move is to let the heat pass first.
Pericles tells the Athenians in Thucydides that men can bear hearing others praised only while they believe they could match the deeds; past that point envy and disbelief set in.
Pericles says in Thucydides that freedom in ordinary life is safe only when citizens also keep the laws and the unwritten code, because easy private habits do not excuse lawlessness in public.
Pericles, in Thucydides, says the real disgrace of poverty lies in declining the struggle against it, not in admitting it, and that a generous person wins friends by giving rather than receiving.
In Thucydides' funeral speech, Pericles calls discussion an indispensable step before any wise action, not an obstacle to it, and says a citizen who takes no part in public judgment is useless, not modest.
Thucydides shows that in a crisis people who think tomorrow is uncertain drop long-standing standards and chase present enjoyment, a warning to keep your principles when times are hardest.
When Athens turned on Pericles after its losses, Thucydides shows him calling an assembly to calm the anger and restore confidence, rather than simply defending himself.
Pericles tells the Athenians in Thucydides that they backed his plan in good times and then blamed it under misfortune, and that a resolution made in comfort often gives way to a sudden reverse.
Pericles argues in Thucydides that confidence grounded in a clear view of your own resources is sounder than hope, which is the prop of the desperate.
Thucydides says Athens dropped Pericles's advice to wait quietly, guard its navy and avoid new conquests, and let private ambitions lead it into projects that ruined it.
Thucydides shows that when Athens's leaders each grasped for supremacy, their private rivalries paralysed the work in hand and did more damage than any honest miscalculation of the enemy.
Thucydides says Pericles led the people rather than being led by them, because he never flattered them and so could afford to contradict them when they were wrong.
In Thucydides, the Plataeans remind Sparta that a promise made by its fathers still binds it, and that breaking the oath dishonours the men who made it.
Thucydides describes the Plataeans building a second wall behind the first, so that if the outer defence fell, the attackers would face the whole job again. Plan a fallback before you need it.
In Thucydides, the Chaonians rush ahead alone, keen to take the glory for themselves, and are routed by an ambush because they would not wait for the rest of the army.
Thucydides shows Phormio beating a larger fleet by circling it, waiting for the wind to throw its formation into confusion, then striking at the moment of advantage. Patience and timing can beat size.
In Thucydides, Cnemus tells his crews that fear steals presence of mind, so skill counts for little without the courage to use it.
Phormio tells his men in Thucydides that a rival who leans on numbers trusts strength more than resolution, and that choosing to face long odds calls on deep inner reserves.
Phormio refuses to fight in the cramped strait, where crowded ships turn the contest into one decided by numbers. Choose the ground that suits your strengths before the contest begins.
Thucydides shows Sitalces giving up a campaign that had achieved none of its aims once his army ran short of supplies. Knowing when to cut losses on a venture that is not working is a discipline in itself.
Thucydides notes that the Athenians first refused to believe a warning about Lesbos because they wished it were not true. Wishful thinking delays the response to bad news.
