“Men's indignation, it seems, is more exited by legal wrong than by violent wrong; the first looks like being cheated by an equal, the second like being compelled by a superior.”

“...when these matters are discussed by practical people, the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel...”

“Think, too, of the great part that is played by the unpredictable in war: think of it now, before you are actually comitted to war. The longer a war lasts, the more things tend to depend on accidents. Neither you nor we can see into them: we have to abide their outcome in the dark. And when people are entering upon a war they do things the wrong way round. Action comes first, and it is only when they have already suffered that they begin to think.”

“Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.”

“You may be sure that we are as well aware as you of the difficulty of contending against your power and fortune, unless the terms be equal. But we trust that the gods may grant us fortune as good as yours, since we are just men fighting against unjust, and that what we want in power will be made up by the alliance of the Lacedaemonians, who are bound, if only for very shame, to come to the aid of their kindred. Our confidence, therefore, after all is not so utterly irrational.”

“Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

“It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.”