“He answered some governors who had written to recommend an increase in the burden of provincial taxation, with: "A good shepherd shears his flock; he does not flay them."”

—  Sueton , book The Twelve Caesars

Source: The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius, Ch. 32

Original

Praesidibus onerandas tributo provincias suadentibus rescripsit boni pastoris esse tondere pecus, non deglubere.

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Sueton 28
Roman historian 70–126

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