Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotuswas a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Cariaand lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. He is widely referred to as "The Father of History"; he was the first historian known to have broken from Homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation—specifically, by collecting his materials systematically and critically, and then arranging them into a historiographic narrative. The Histories is the only work which he is known to have produced, a record...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionHistorian
war father military
In peace sons bury fathers, but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons.
eye men his-eyes
A man trusts his ears less than his eyes.
horse rain journey
It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a days journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.
inspirational men gains
All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
block archer fighting
Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, their arrows would block out the sun. Dienekes, however, undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, 'Good. Then we will fight in the shade.
health two soul
If you have two loaves of bread, keep one to nourish the body, but sell the other to buy hyacinths for the soul.
time history eternity
Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.
passion risk action
All of life is action and passion, and not to be involved in the actions and passions of your time is to risk having not really lived at all.
persuasion convinced
We are less convinced by what we hear than by what we see.
perseverance giving-up suicidal
Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.
greatness lows surpassing
It is the gods' custom to bring low all things of surpassing greatness.
war giving perfect
And now for the vapor-bath: on a framework of three sticks, meeting at the top, they stretch pieces of woolen cloth, taking care to get the joints as perfect as they can, and inside this little tent they put a dish with red-hot stones in it. Then they take some hemp seed, creep into the tent, and throw the seed on to the hot stones. At once it begins to smoke, giving off a vapor unsurpassed by any vapor-bath one could find in Greece. The Sythians enjoy it so much that they howl with pleasure. This is their substitute for an ordinary bath in water, which they never use.
business fall men
Those who are skilled in archery bend their bow only when they are preparing to use it; when they do not require it, they allow it to remain unbent, for otherwise it would remain unserviceable when the time for using it arrived. So it is with man. If he were to devote himself unceasingly to a dull round of business, without breaking the monotony by cheerful amusements, he would fall imperceptibly into idiocy, or be struck by paralysis
opportunity views decision
Unless a variety of opinions are laid before us, we have no opportunity of selection, but are bound of necessity to adopt the particular view which may have been brought forward.