“Was none who would be foremost
To lead such dire attack;
But those behind cried, "Forward!"
And those before cried, "Back!"”

—  Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay , book Lays of Ancient Rome

Horatius, st. 50
Lays of Ancient Rome (1842)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Was none who would be foremost To lead such dire attack; But those behind cried, "Forward!" And those before cried, …" by Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay?
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay photo
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay 101
British historian and Whig politician 1800–1859

Related quotes

“The world cries for men who are strong; strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer.”

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) American missionary

Source: The Mark of a Man

Jack Black photo

“[cries] I just want my friend back!”

Jack Black (1969) American actor, comedian, musician, music producer
Jens Stoltenberg photo

“But the answer to the attacks must be more democracy and more openness. Otherwise, those who were behind them will have achieved their goals.”

Jens Stoltenberg (1959) Norwegian politician, 13th Secretary-General of NATO, 27th Prime Minister of Norway

Men svaret på angrepene må være mer demokrati og mer åpenhet. I motsatt fall vil de som sto bak, ha oppnådd sine mål.
Following the attacks of 22 July 2011 in Oslo and Utøya
"Statsministeren: – Svaret er enda mer åpenhet." http://dt.no/nyheter/statsministeren-svaret-er-enda-mer-apenhet-1.6379832 dt.no. 23 July 2011. (In Norwegian.)
2010s

John F. Kerry photo

“I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did. I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium.”

John F. Kerry (1943) politician from the United States

Unidentified 31 October 2006 statement
Quoted in [Jennifer, Loven, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061031/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_kerry, White House spokesman slams Kerry remark, Associated Press (via Yahoo! News), 2006-10-31, 2006-10-31, http://web.archive.org/web/20061109183304/news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061031/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_kerry, 2006-11-09]

P.G. Wodehouse photo

“She cried in a voice that hit me between the eyebrows and went out at the back of my head.”

P.G. Wodehouse book Right Ho, Jeeves

Right Ho, Jeeves (1934)

Simon Sinek photo

“There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or influence. Those who lead inspire us.”

Simon Sinek (1973) British/American author and motivational speaker

Source: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury photo

“So long as we have government by party, the very notion of repose must be foreign to English politics. Agitation is, so to speak, endowed in this country. There is a standing machinery for producing it. There are rewards which can only be obtained by men who excite the public mind, and devise means of persuading one set of persons that they are deeply injured by another. The production of cries is encouraged by a heavy bounty. The invention and exasperation of controversies lead those who are successful in such arts to place, and honour, and power. Therefore, politicians will always select the most irritating cries, and will raise the most exasperating controversies the circumstances will permit.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician

Quarterly Review, 131, 1873, p. 578
1870s

Zhuangzi photo

“Moreover, I have heard that those who are fond of praising men to their faces are also fond of damning them behind their backs.”

Zhuangzi (-369–-286 BC) classic Chinese philosopher

Source: The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu

Faisal of Saudi Arabia photo

“Be honey to those who seek your friendship, but deadly poison to those who dare attack you.”

Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1906–1975) King of Saudi Arabia

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/26/archives/faisal-rich-and-powerful-led-saudis-into-20th-century-and-to-arab.html

Ludovico Ariosto photo

“She who can stand against an armament
Of gold and silver and still pure remain,
Would find a thousand swords' attack less dire
A peril, or survive in raging fire.”

Ludovico Ariosto book Orlando Furioso

Che quella che da l'oro e da l'argento
Difende il cor di pudicizia armato,
Tra mille spade via più facilmente
Difenderallo, e in mezzo al fuoco ardente.
Canto XLIII, stanza 68 (tr. B. Reynolds)
Orlando Furioso (1532)

Related topics