“It is a bad plan that cannot be altered.” Publilius Syrus(85 BC to 43 BC) was a Latin writer, best known for his Sententiae. He was a Syrian who was brought to Italy as a slave, but by his wit and talent he won the favour of his master, who freed and educated him. Alternatives include:… Read More
“Never fight when you can’t win. Never fight when it’s not worth winning. Never fight for anger alone.” Unknown
“I am more afraid of our own mistakes than of our enemies’ designs.” Pericles (Greek Statesman, Orator & General) in a speech to the Athenian Ecclesia I, 432 B.C. Reference Jowett, B. (1900) Pericles To The Athenian Ecclesia I. Thucydides: The Jowett Translation. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/thucydides/thucydides-passages.php?pleaseget=1.140-1.144&passageid=Pericles%20To%20The%20Athenian%20Ecclesia%20I. [Accessed: 31 July, 2016].
“Good tactics not only leave your enemy defeated, but confused!” General Al Gray (29th Commandant of the US Marine Corps, 1987-1991).
“Whether people agree with you or not, is not as important as whether they believe you.” Unknown In a military context, it is important that personnel trust their commander is going to do/or is doing the right thing.
“And what they say about a disease applies here. What is at first easy to cure but difficult to recognize is later, left unrecognized and untreated, easy to recognize but difficult to cure.” Attributed to Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (In this context we are talking about military operations, either at the strategic or tactical level)
“A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is not possible.” Polybius (200 B.C. to 118 B.C.; Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BC in detail) The Rise of the Roman Empire, circa 125 BC
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