Politicians From Rome

"The glory of Pertinax equaled and even surpassed the splendor of his dignities. He had proven himself equally capable of military and civilian employment. A good and skilled warrior, his name had become the terror of the Barbarians; and he had at the same time been able to maintain discipline with severity among the restless and seditious troops. In the Government of Rome he conducted himself with such sweetness, affability and goodness that he won the love of everyone. Simple model with such a sign, which even then recognized Lolliano Avito as his protector This senator from Vittore is called Lollio Genziano. But he is certainly the same one that Capitolinus in the life of Pertinax n. 1 names Lolliano Avito. [N.d.A.] </ Ref>, to whom he had become at least equal, but for whom he always retained great reverence and gratitude, having been the first author of his fortune; enemy of luxury, and lover of frugality, History accuses him of nothing other than excessive economy, and the habit of promising more than he intended to keep in order to please with nice words those whom he could not satisfy with the work. (Jean-Baptiste-Louis Crevier)"

"All men should not covet all things."

"Si sine uxore pati possemus, Quirites, omnes ea molestia careremus; Set quoniam ita natura tradidit, ut nec cum illis satis commode, nec sine illis ullo modo vivi possit"

"To do harm is proper of the evil spirits; to do good without taking risks is proper of the ordinary spirits; the man of heart never ever deflects from what is fair and honest, never looking to rewards or to threats."

"We gaze up at the same stars; the sky covers us all; the same universe encompasses us. What does it matter what practical system we adopt in our search for the truth? The heart of so great a mystery cannot be reached by following one road only."

"My grandfather had a plan, a strategy. He had to gain consensus. He was not a turncoat."

"It's not a question of right or left. Turncoats go where the power is."

"You are a bastard."

"Women in politics are too obedient. On the left they are really obedient, they don't believe in themselves. We are very, very few. And some of us don't want to go up against the leader of the party. But sometimes you have to say what you have to say. I don't like compromise. In politics you have to always choose a compromise and sometimes that I don't like."

"Why are they afraid of the young people who have discovered their country and their flag and the outstretched arm salute? This is not nostalgia but regrets for bygone days that have taught much about ideals and honesty and even about morality."

"What does seeing a bit of music, a bit of Pride [Parade], a bit of freedom take away from you? Lock yourself up at home, take a Bible and read it."

"The National Alliance is no longer to the right, it is in the centre. There is a huge space in the society of the right for me to occupy. For the first time a woman is the leader of a political party [in Italy]."

"Once again Italy needs a strong man. With my grandfather, at least there was a stand, a sense of responsibility, common sense and a love for Italy which is no more."

"Not only Gianfranco Fini, but the entire world, including the Vatican and the pope, should beg forgiveness of Israel."

"My grandfather is the greatest of them all; I will continue to believe this all my life."

"In life we all change: on the basis of our experiences, of things that happen. Talking to my kids, I understood that for [them], sexual orientation isn't even a topic: it's like putting on a dress that you can change, and nobody cares what it's like."

"If the situation is resolved, the Lega [Nord] will disappear."

"I work with the people in the piazza, where there is reality. Here in Parliament, often there is a mystification of reality. They are not representatives of the people. They represent themselves and their own interests."

"(Referring to Claude Juncker) Who is this Juncker guy?! He looks like a yoghurt to me!"

"I am a Mussolini, but I believe in democracy."

"Monica Cirinnà? Long live Cirinnà. She did well to display that sign saying “God, Country and Family”. But deep down it's true: life is “shit” because there are crazy constraints. In Italy, we are too conditioned. Cirinnà is a bit like the Emma Bonino of our times. If it weren't for Bonino, we women would still be under the thumb. With a noose around our necks. You've had enough, long live to Bonino, long live to Cirinnà."

"Enough with sex and sexuality, everyone is as fluid as they want. You want to see me become fluid too?"

"(Referred to Luxuria) He dresses like a woman and thinks he can say whatever he wants. Better a fascist than a faggot!"

"Bruno Vespa is just like my grandfather, he has a distinctive feature of the Mussolini family: the line from his nostril to his mouth. Sooner or later he will come out."

"Hey Matteo, you're nosy, you wear an earring and you're jealous. Wash your mouth out before you speak. You're a beggar, so don't bother us!"

"(Concerning Antonio Di Pietro) He is the only true national leader, the authentic expression of civil society."

"Berlusconi loves [Mussolini] because she is so good at the spectacle of politics."

"Feltri is very clever. He has gold in his hands. He has gold in his hands. He has valid insights."

"I like journalists. Journalists are like confessors."

"Men... they're the same as always... they think that violence can solve problems. Make way for the women."

"I love Berlusconi. And I'll say it: I like Berlusconi. He's someone who greets you, listens to you, hears what you have to say. He creates a team. We don't do that here."

"Hannibal said that he had more to fear from Fabius who would not fight than from Marcellus who would."

"To his friends he said that he thought the man who feared gibes and jeers was more of a coward than the one who ran away from the enemy."

"Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem. Noenum rumores ponebat ante salutem; Ergo plusque magisque viri nunc gloria claret."

"I would rather save the life of one citizen than kill a thousand enemies."

"I am mindful of human weakness, and I reflect upon the might of Fortune and know that everything that we do is exposed to a thousand chances. But, just as I should admit that I were acting with arrogance and violence if, before I had crossed over to Africa, I were to reject you when you were voluntarily withdrawing from Italy and, while your army was already on shipboard, you were coming in person to sue for peace, so now, when I have dragged you to Africa, resisting and shifting ground as we almost came to blows, I am under no obligation to respect you. Therefore, if to the terms upon which peace was formerly about to be made, as it seemed, you are adding some kind of compensation for the ships loaded with supplies that were taken by force during the armistice, and for violence done to my envoys, I have reason to bring it before the council. But if that addition also seems too severe, prepare for war, since you have been unable to endure a peace [bellum parate, quoniam pacem pati non potuistis]."

"According to Cato the Elder, Scipio Africanus was wont to say that he was never less at leisure than when at leisure, nor less lonely than when alone."

"Ingrata patria, ne ossa quidem mea habes."

"The art of generalship does not age, and it is because Scipio's battles are richer in stratagems and ruses — many still feasible today — than those of any other commander in history that they are an unfailing object-lesson to soldiers."

"Scipio had a clear grasp of what is just dawning on the mind of the world today — that the true national object in war, as in peace, is a more perfect peace. War is a result of a menace to this policy, and is undertaken to remove the menace, and by the subjugation of the will of a hostile State. "to change this adverse will into a compliance with our own policy, and the sooner and more cheaply in lives and money we can do this, the better chance of national prosperity in the widest sense. The aim of a nation in war is, therefore, to subdue the enemy's will to resist with the least possible human and economic loss to itself.""

"...in truth Publius Scipio was one, who was himself enthusiastic, and who inspired enthusiasm. He was not one of the few who by their energy and iron will constrain the world to adopt and to move in new paths for centuries, or who at any rate grasp the reins of destiny for years till its wheels roll over them. Publius Scipio gained battles and conquered countries under the instructions of the senate; with the aid of his military laurels he took also a prominent position in Rome as a statesman; but a wide interval separates such a man from an Alexander of a Caesar. As an officer, he rendered at least no greater service to his country than Marcus Marcellus; and as a politician, although not perhaps himself fully conscious of the unpatriotic and personal character of his policy, he injured his country at least as much as he benefited it by his military skill."

"[Despite all this] mingled credulity and adroitness.. With quite enough of enthusiasm to warm men's hearts, and enough of calculation to follow in every case the dictates of intelligence, while not leaving out of account the vulgar; not naive enough to share the belief of the multitude in his divine inspirations, nor straightforward enough to set it aside, and yet in secret thoroughly persuaded that he was a man specially favored by the gods - in a word, a genuine prophetic nature; raised above the people, and not less aloof from them; a man steadfast to his word and kingly in his bearing, who thought that he would humble himself by adopting the ordinary title of a king, but could never understand how the constitution of the republic should in his case be binding; so confident in his own greatness that he knew nothing of envy or of hatred, courteously acknowledged other men's merits, and compassionately forgave other men's faults; an excellent officer and a refined diplomatist uniting Hellenic culture with the fullest national feeling of a Roman, an Accomplished speaker and of graceful manners - Publius Scipio won the hearts of soldiers and of women, of his countrymen and of the Spaniards, of his rivals in the senate and of his greater Carthaginian antagonist"

"We cannot separate the nobility of Scipio's moral conduct, throughout his career, from the transcendent clearness of his mental vision — they blended to form not only a great general but a great man."

"Faber est quisque fortunae suae (or) Faber est suae quisque fortunae (or) Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae."

"Let the prince be ever mindful of Sallust's teaching that neither soldiers nor money can defend a king but only friends won by good deeds, merit, and honesty."

"I think Sallust inferior to both Livy and Tacitus in the talents of an historian. There is a lecturing, declaiming, tone about him which would suit a teacher of rhetoric better than a statesman engaged in recording great events. Still, he is a good writer; and the view which he here gives of the state of parties at Rome, and the frightful demoralization of the aristocracy, is full of interest."

"Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought."

"Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude."

"He that will be angry for anything, will be angry for nothing."

"Sed res docuit id verum esse, quod in carminibus Appius ait, fabrum esse suae quemque fortunae."