
A lecture at Königsberg (1775), as quoted in A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources (1946) by H. L. Mencken, p. 1017
Cato the Elder
Roman Apophthegms
A lecture at Königsberg (1775), as quoted in A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources (1946) by H. L. Mencken, p. 1017
“Serious affairs and history are carefully laid snares for the uninformed.”
"Game III," p. 98
The Sun Watches the Sun (1999), Sequence: “A Game”
Source: The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations (1965 [1962]), Ch.VII Further Observations on Homer
Letter to Lord Grenville (25 May 1809) on the Duke of Wellington's successes in the Peninsular War, quoted in Rory Muir, Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 1807-1815 (Yale University Press, 1996), p. 94.
1800s
“I try not to underestimate my opponents, no matter how ridiculous their beards.”
Source: Death Bringer
Source: Esther: A Novel (1884), Ch. VII
“Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.”
"What The Dead Men Say" (1964)
“War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men.”
La guerre! C’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.
Variant translation: War is too important a matter to be left to the military.
As quoted in Soixante Anneés d'Histoire Française (1932) by Georges Suarez
War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.
As quoted in Clemenceau and the Third Republic (1946) by John Hampden Jackson, p. 228; this has also become commonly paraphrased as: War is too important to be left to the generals.
Post-Prime Ministerial