“It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disaster to discuss the matter.”
Book I, 1.78-[3]
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book I
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Thucydides 76
Greek historian and Athenian generalRelated quotes
Source: Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1963), p. 352
Context: It is often asserted that discussion is only possible between people who have a common language and accept common basic assumptions. I think that this is a mistake. All that is needed is a readiness to learn from one's partner in the discussion, which includes a genuine wish to understand what he intends to say. If this readiness is there, the discussion will be the more fruitful the more the partner's backgrounds differ.
“Life is always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act.”
Source: Veronika Decides to Die
“When diplomacy ends, War begins.”
“I am waiting for something to go wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve”
Expo '86
Transatlanticism (2003)
“Defense is the first act of war.”
Your Inner Awakening
“Reserve the great matters till the end, and the small matters give at the beginning.”
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XXI Letters. Personal Records. Dated Notes.