All Quotes

"I'm English, so obviously do not have a philosophy. I am a Christian, though, if you want to know about important beliefs."

"Attila the Hun remains to this day a byword for savagery and destruction. His is one of the few names from antiquity that still prompt instant recognition, putting him alongside the likes of Alexander, Caesar, Cleopatra and Nero. Attila has become the barbarian of the ancient world."

"It is widely believed that Christianity remained an essentially urban cult and that the population of the countryside clung for generations to the old beliefs. The word 'pagan' comes from paganus, or someone who lived in the countryside (pagus). Unfortunately, we know so little about the religious life in rural areas that this remains conjectural. Paganus was usually derogatory – something like 'yokel' or 'hick' would give the right idea – and may just reflect the common belief of urban dwellers that countrymen were dull and backward."

"On 2 August 216 BC the Carthaginian General Hannibal won one of the most complete battlefield victories in history. Outnumbered nearly two to one, his heterogeneous army of Africans, Spaniards and Celts not merely defeated, but virtually destroyed the Roman army opposing them....The scale of the losses at Cannae was unrivalled until the industrialised slaughter of the First World War."

"Most battles from the Ancient World are now all but forgotten, for military as well as civil education has ceased to be based fundamentally on the Classics. Yet Cannae is still regularly referred to in the training programmes of today's army officers. Hannibal's tactics appear almost perfect, the classic example of double envelopment, and ever since many commanders have attempted to reproduce their essence and their overwhelming success. Nearly all have failed."

"Hannibal won the battle through not only his dynamic leadership and the high quality of his army, but also because of a good deal of luck. Cannae was not an exercise in pure tactics, but, like all battles, a product both of the military doctrines and technology of the time and the peculiar circumstances of a specific campaign."

"It was very difficult to disable an opponent with a single blow; either a heavy strike to the head, a massive thrust past shield and through any armour to the body, or a hit on the leg breaking the bone and causing the victim to fall. Attempting to deliver such a strong cut or thrust exposed the attacker to greater risk of wounding, especially as his right arm, and perhaps part of his right side, lost the protection of his shield. It was less risky to deliver weaker attacks to the unprotected extremities of an opponent, even though this was unlikely to kill him quickly."

"The Roman legion was supposed to operate with wide gaps between its maniples and significant intervals between each of the three lines. The openness of its formation allowed the legion to advance without falling into disorder even over comparatively rough terrain. It is impossible, even for well drilled troops, to march in a perfectly straight line, and the more uneven the terrain, the more probable that a unit will veer to one side or the other. The wide intervals between the maniples of the legion allowed them to cope with such deviation without units colliding and merging together and ceasing to be independent tactical entities. The unusual formation adopted by the Roman infantry at Cannae sacrificed this openness and with it most of the flexibility of the manipular system."

"Hasdrubal had led his close order cavalry in a devastatingly brutal charge against the Roman right wing, shattering and virtually destroying it in a brief pursuit. The Carthaginian had kept his men under tight control and, when they had rested and reformed, he led them behind the Roman main line, moving against Varro on the left, and ignoring the massed infantry in the enemy centre. Varro's allied horsemen were still engaged in their stand-off with the Numidians, but the sight of the lines of Hasdrubal's Gauls and Spaniards approaching from the rear utterly shattered their spirit. Without waiting for the Carthaginians to charge home, the Roman left wing dissolved into a panicked flight in which the consul joined. Their position was untenable, and, if they had in fact formed with their flank on the hills around Cannae, any delay in flight might have resulted in their being trapped. They could not have won any combat with a more numerous enemy attacking from two sides, but their flight sealed the fate of the Roman army."

"There is a nightmarish quality about many of the descriptions of the aftermath of Cannae....Later sources would invent further horrors, claiming that Hannibal bridged the River Aufidius with Roman corpses. The reality of Cannae was probably even more appalling than such horrific inventions, for it remains one of the bloodiest single day's fighting in history, rivalling the massed slaughter of the British Army on the first day of the Somme offensive in 1916."

"Although he paid attention to the effectiveness of the Roman military system, Polybius believed that Rome's success rested far more on its political system. For him the Republic's constitution, which was carefully balanced to prevent any one individual or section of society from gaining overwhelming control, granted Rome freedom from the frequent revolution and civil strife that had plagued most Greek city-states. Internally stable, the Roman Republic was able to devote itself to waging war on a scale and with a relentlessness unmatched by any rival. It is doubtful that any other contemporary state could have survived the catastrophic losses and devastation inflicted by Hannibal, and still gone on to win the war."

"Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a man of striking appearance, with exceptionally fair skin, piercing grey eyes and reddish hair. In later life his appearance was marred by a skin condition that speckled his face with red patches. (An obscure piece of military law from several centuries later also claims that he had only one testicle, and that his achievements make it clear that such a defect was no bar to becoming a successful soldier.) Sulla could be very charming, winning over soldier and senator alike, but many aristocrats remained deeply uncertain of him. In spite of his late entry into public life he had been reasonably successful, and demonstrated his military skill on repeated occasions. His consulship came when he was fifty, which was unusually old for a first term, and in the preceding decade it had taken two attempts for him to win the praetorship. Many senators probably found it hard to forget the poverty of his youth and the decay of his family. It is common for those who flourish under any system to feel that the failure of others is deserved. Sulla had been poor and revelled in the company of actors and musicians, professions considered extremely disreputable. Such behaviour was bad enough in his youth, and far worse for a senator and magistrate, but Sulla remained loyal to his old friends throughout his life. He was a heavy drinker, enjoyed feasting and was widely believed to be very active sexually, taking both men and women as lovers. For much of his life he publicly associated with the actor Metrobius, who specialised in playing female roles on stage, and the pair were believed to be having an affair."

"Roman laws tended to be long and complex — one of Rome's most enduring legacies to the world is cumbersome and tortuous legal prose."

"The Ptolemies were Macedonians, with an admixture of a little Greek and via marriage with the Seleucids a small element of Syrian blood. (There is no evidence to make us question the paternity of any of the line and suggest that they were the product of an illicit liaison between the queen and a man other than her husband. This remains possible, if not very likely, but an uncertain basis for any argument.) The Macedonians were not an homogenous people and seem to have varied considerably in appearance and colouring. Alexander the Great was fair-haired, although it is always difficult to know precisely what this meant. A Roman copy of an earlier mosaic shows him with medium-brown hair. Fair might simply mean not black or very dark brown. On the other hand, several of the early Ptolemies were blond and comparisons of their hair to gold suggest this was more than simply not black-haired."

"Cleopatra may have had black, brown, blonde, or even red hair, and her eyes could have been brown, grey, green or blue. Almost any combination of these is possible. Similarly, she may have been very light skinned or had a darker more Mediterranean complexion. Fairer skin is probably marginally more likely given her ancestry."

"There were no political parties at Rome as we would understand them, nor were elections primarily contests about policy. Quite openly, voters selected on the basis of perceived character and past behaviour rather than the views a candidate expressed. Where an individual's nature was not obvious, the Roman people tended to be drawn to a famous name, for there was a sense that virtue and ability were inherited."

"When Crassus left for his province he was hounded by a tribune who formally called on the gods to curse the proconsul and the unjust war he planned. Personal hatreds and rivalry loomed larger in most senators' minds than the good of the Republic."

"Augustus pursued power relentlessly and then clung to it, whatever he might pretend in public. Such ambition is surely the hallmark of any successful political leader – and no doubt plenty of less successful ones. Yet in his case he made use of that power for the common good. He worked hard to make the res publica function again, and we cannot deny that he succeeded, since the peace and stability he imposed brought ever greater levels of prosperity. At a basic level more people were better-off under his principate than they had been for several generations. The concerns he dealt with were traditional ones, even if some of his methods were innovative. Julius Caesar had tried to address several of these issues, as had others, but none had the chance to deal with them as thoroughly as Augustus. In the process he made sure that it was well known that he was working for the common good, but once again such advertising was what any Roman politician would have done. By doing favours for individuals and whole communities he placed them in his debt, and so, as so often, personal advantage was intertwined with the wider good. That does not alter the fact that he did rule well, whatever his motivation."

"'I have not heard you swear.Waste of good anger,' Ferox said without looking at him. It was something his grandfather had often said. Do not waste rage. Nurture it, cherish it and use the strength it gives. Hot anger gets a man killed. Cold anger will put the other man in the earth."

"A man who keeps asking you to trust him is always hiding something."

"Untrustworthy people tend to be selfish, which makes them simple to understand."

"I would call it inhuman cruelty if that made sense, but it cannot because it was done by men and not monsters."

"Volentem me parvo subvectum navigio oram tranquilli litoris stringere et minutos de priscorum, ut quidam ait, stagnis pisciculos legere, in altum, frater Castali, laxari vela compellis relictoque opusculo, quod intra manus habeo, id est, de adbreviatione chronicorum, suades, ut nostris verbis duodecem Senatoris volumina de origine actusque Getarum ab olim et usque nunc per generationes regesque descendentem in uno et hoc parvo libello choartem: dura satis imperia et tamquam ab eo, qui pondus operis huius scire nollit, inposita. Nec illud aspicis, quod tenuis mihi est spiritus ad inplendam eius tam magnificam dicendi tubam: super omne autem pondus, quod nec facultas eorundem librorum nobis datur, quatenus eius sensui inserviamus, sed, ut non mentiar, ad triduanam lectionem dispensatoris eius beneficio libros ipsos antehac relegi. Quorum quamvis verba non recolo, sensus tamen et res actas credo me integre retinere. Ad quos et ex nonnullis historiis Grecis ac Latinis addedi convenientia, initium finemque et plura in medio mea dictione permiscens."

"Post quorum obitum cum Bleda germano Hunnorum successit in regno, et, ut ante expeditionis, quam parabat, par foret, augmentum virium parricidio quaerit, tendens ad discrimen omnium nece suorum. Sed librante iustitia detestabili remedio crescens deformes exitus suae crudelitatis invenit. Bleda enim fratre fraudibus interempto, qui magnae parti regnabat Hunnorum, universum sibi populum adunavit, aliarumque gentium, quas tunc in dicione tenebat, numerositate collecta, primas mundi gentes Romanos Vesegothasque subdere praeoptabat."

"Vir in concussione gentium natus in mundo, terrarum omnium metus, qui, nescio qua sorte, terrebat cuncta formidabili de se opinione vulgata. Erat namque superbus incessu, huc atque illuc circumferens oculos, ut elati potentia ipso quoque motu corporis appareret; bellorum quidem amator, sed ipse manu temperans, consilio validissimus, supplicantium exorabilis, propitius autem in fide semel susceptis; forma brevis, lato pectore, capite grandiore, minutis oculis, rarus barba, canis aspersus, semo nasu, teter colore, origenis suae signa restituens. Qui quamvis huius esset naturae, ut semper magna confideret, addebat ei tamen confidentia gladius Martis inventus, sacer apud Scytharum reges semper habitus."

"Marcia Jean Kurtz - School Clerk"

"Post victorias tantarum gentium, post orbem, si consistatis, edomitum, ineptum iudicaveram tamquam ignaros rei verbis acuere. Quaerat hoc aut novus ductor aut inexpertus exercitus. Nec mihi fas est aliquid vulgare dicere, nec vobis oportet audire. Quid autem aliud vos quam bellare consuetum? Aut quid viro forti suavius, quam vindicta manu querere? Magnum munus a natura animos ultione satiare. Adgrediamur igitur hostem alacres: audaciores sunt semper, qui inferunt bellum. Adunatas dispicite dissonas gentes: indicium pavoris est societate defendi. En ante impetum nostrum terroribus iam feruntur, excelsa quaerunt, tumulos capiunt et sera paenitudine in campos monitiones efflagitant. Nota vobis sunt quam sint levia Romanorum arma: primo etiam non dico vulnere, sed ipso pulvere gravantur, dum in ordine coeunt et acies testudineque conectunt. Vos confligite perstantibus animis, ut soletis, despicientesque eorum aciem Alanos invadite, in Vesegothas incumbite. Inde nobis cita victoria quaerere, unde se continet bellum. Abscisa autem nervis mox membra relabuntur, nec potest stare corpus, cui ossa subtraxeris. Consurgant animi, furor solitus intumescat. Nunc consilia, Hunni, nunc arma depromite: aut vulneratus quis aduersarii mortem reposcat aut inlaesus hostium clade satietur. Victuros nulla tela conveniunt, morituros et in otio fata praecipitant. Postremo cur fortuna Hunnos tot gentium victores adseret, nisi ad certaminis huius gaudia praeparasset? Quis denique Meotidarum iter maiores nostros aperuit tot saeculis clausum secretum? Quis adhuc inermibus cedere faciebat armatos? Faciem Hunnorum non poterat ferre adunata collectio. Non fallor eventu: hic campus est, quem nobis tot prospera promiserunt. Primus in hoste tela coiciam. si quis potuerit Attila pugnante otio ferre, sepultus est."

"Many young people from the countryside have moved to the cities but have not found work there. This is, among other things, a major challenge at a pastoral level. The ideal would be to create vocational training opportunities for these people. However, the Church alone does not have the means to do this."

"It is time to place an end to the iniquity and as human persons who preach love and peace, we lift our voices in favor of life and no more abortion. The effort that we all make will be rewarded in Heaven and our names will be written in the Book of Life."

"Early Christian inscriptions confirm the Catholic doctrine of the Resurrection, the sacraments, the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, and the primacy of the Apostolic See. It would be difficult to over-estimate the importance of these evidences, for they are always entirely incidental elements of the sepulchral inscriptions, all of which were pre-eminently eschatological in their purpose."

"There is much tenderness and beauty in many of the poems, but the writers wrote in a language which they did not command, but by which they were commanded, as all who try to write ancient Greek are."

"I would beg any possible, but improbable, reader who desires to peruse the Anthology as a whole, to read first the epigrams of Meleager's Stephanus, then those of that of Philippus, and finally the Byzantine poems. In the intervals the iron hand of History had entirely recast and changed the spirit and the language of Greece, and much misunderstanding has been caused by people quoting anything from the "Greek Anthology" as specifically "Greek." We have to deal with three ages almost as widely separated as the Roman conquest, the Saxon conquest, and the Norman conquest of England. It is true that the poems of all the epochs are written in a language that professes to be one, but this is only due to the consciousness of the learned Greeks, a consciousness we still respect in them to-day, that the glorious language of old Greece is their imperishable heritage, a heritage that the corruption of the ages should not be permitted to defile."

"Death at the headlands, Hesiod, long ago Gave thee to drink of his unhonied wine: Now Boreas cannot reach thee lying low, Nor Sirius' heat vex any hour of thine: The Pleiads rising are no more a sign For thee to reap, nor, when they set, to sow: Whether at morn or eve Arcturus shine, To pluck or prune the vine thou canst not know.Vain now for thee the crane's autumnal flight, The loud cuckoo, the twittering swallow—vain The flow'ring scolymus, the budding trees, Seedtime and Harvest, Blossoming and Blight, The mid, the early, and the latter rain, And strong Orion and the Hyades."

"}}, at the meeting of the held on January 17th last, made an interesting communication on the treatment of carbuncle by carbolised spray. ... He stated that in 1883, in a severe case of carbuncle, he directed that carbonized spray be frequently applied in order to thoroughly disinfect the parts previously to an operation being performed. To his surprise, he found that under the use of the carbolised spray such improvement had declared itself that surgical interference became unnecessary. Henceforth he exclusively resorted to the carbolised spray on all cases of carbuncle. Whether they were large or small, painful or indolent, complicated or not with diabetes, previously opened by surgery, by sloughing, or with the skin as yet unbroken, in every case the same local treatment was applied, and always with a successful result."

"A is a deep, necrotizing form of with involvement of the subcutaneous tissue. Several furuncles may coalesce to form a carbuncle. ' (S. aureus) is the causative agent. Predisposing factors are obesity, , prolonged sitting, tight irritating pants, or i. Recurrent furunculosis is the sequential occurrence of many furuncles. Nasal colonization with community-associated (CA-MRSA) interspersing the is a very strong risk factor for recurrent furunculosis. Antibiotics systemically are given in furuncles or carbuncles associated with surrounding or those >5 cm diameter and/or associated with fever or located on the forehead, nose, cheeks, or upper lid in recurrent furunculosis and immunocompromised patients."

"He continued at work until March, 1853, when he had an accident—a fall while descending some steps. A few weeks later a carbuncle appeared on the neck, and proved fatal April 25. ... You do well, citizens of St. Louis and member of our profession, to cherish the memory of ."

"Carbuncle is a confluent folliculitis that is affecting multiple s leading to multiple sinuses discharging pus. Optimisation of such as diabetes, , and s and are mainstay of initial treatment. Surgical intervention in the form of and desloughing followed by is the next line of management."

"When the cook came in he was in a bad mood. He had a developing carbuncle on the back of his neck and the skin from the inside of an eggshell stretched over it to draw it to a head. He didn't want anybody in his kitchen, feeling the way the way he did."

"The starting-point of this lecturing trip around the world was Paris, where we had been living for a year or two. We sailed for America, and there were made certain preparations. This took but little time. Two members of my family elected to go with me, also a carbuncle. The dictionary says a carbuncle is a kind of jewel. Humour is out of place in a dictionary."

"I do not mind that I have changed. I recognize that I have changed and accept it."

"I just want to change the narrative or convince them that there is nothing wrong. It’s totally fine."

"I believe we are always striving to improve ourselves."

"Growing up taught me to be true to myself. Even if I change next year, that's fine."

"I wasn’t affected. I just hope I can help them change their perspective about change."

"It's okay to change. Don't let anyone stop you from changing. This is your life."

"My inspiration for this song is the people who destroyed me, the people who broke my heart."

"It's not about a specific person. It could be about a friend or someone who has disappointed you. But it's all rage."

"I really want to go back home. That's where I was born."

"This means the world to me. I can't put this into words jud. If I could only make you feel what I feel."

"I can only write it in words now but everything I've done and will do is in gratitude."