Quotations about Thucydides Thucydides

a statue of thucydides in front of austrian parliament building.

and after [the time of herodotus], thucydides, in opinion, vanquished in artfulness of style: concentrates copious material matches number of words number of thoughts. in words, further, apposite , compressed not know whether matter being illuminated diction or words thoughts. (cicero, de oratore 2.56 (55 bc)

in preface 1628 translation of thucydides, entitled, 8 bookes of peloponnesian warres, political philosopher thomas hobbes calls thucydides politic historiographer ever wrote .

a hundred years later, philosopher david hume, wrote that:

the first page of thucydides is, in opinion, commencement of real history. preceding narrations intermixed fable, philosophers ought abandon them embellishments of poets , orators. ( of populousness of ancient nations , 1742)

friedrich nietzsche wrote best antidotes platonism found in thucydides:

my recreation, predilection, cure, after platonism, has been thucydides. thucydides , perhaps machiavelli s principe closely related me owing absolute determination show of refusing deceive , of seeing reason in reality—not in rationality, , still less in morality. there no more radical cure thucydides lamentably rose-coloured idealisation of greeks... writings must studied line line, , unuttered thoughts must read distinctly says. there few thinkers rich in unuttered thoughts... thucydides great summing up, final manifestation of strong, severe positivism lay in instincts of ancient hellene. after all, courage in face of reality distinguishes such natures thucydides plato: plato coward in face of reality—consequently takes refuge in ideal: thucydides master of himself—consequently able master life. (twilight of idols, trans. anthony m. ludovici)

w. h. auden s poem, september 1, 1939 , written @ start of world war ii, contains these lines: