I enjoy most of them on some level or another. But this one is a particular favourite:

Una colisión en alta mar puede arruinarte el día.
- Tucídides

Yes, I play RTW in Spanish. But it will be something like "A collision at high sea can ruin your entire day" in English. By Thucydides.

It appeals to my dry sense of humour.

A disorderly mob is no more an army than a heap of building materials is a house. It passes through my head as my armoured hoplites murder anything that is foolish enough to attack them.

"The blade itself incites to violence."
(Dunno)

It´s so true. Give a kid a stick and it will immediately turn into a sword or a gun. Give anyone a sword or gun and you´re just asking for trouble.

I like this one:
Extraordinary rains pretty generally fall after great battles
because I like when it starts to rain during a battle. My least favourite:
In peace, sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury their sons
And I don't understand the one about collision at sea. It is like from another planet.

i love the one from homer, i believe it goes:

"He serves me most, who serves his country best"

'If a man does not know which port he is sailing too, no wind is favourable'
(Greek Proverb)
Not sure why but it just made sense :L

Also, randomly declaring it in a conversations make you feel rathe pleased with your self and very clever...does get you funny looks though

"The sinews of war are infinite money." -Cicero
"A wise man in times of peace prepares for war." -Horace
"Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum (Let him who desires peace prepare for war)." -Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
"Brave men are a city's strongest tower of defense." -Alcaeus

An explanation for the collision at sea:
A collision at sea can ruin your entire day

Basically if you hit another ship at sea, aka out of port and in deep water, your boats will sink, or be heavily damaged. Neither option is good, thus it is best to avoid that situation.
And for the no wind is favorable, it means that if you don't know what the end result is, nothing can help you achieve it.


My personal favorites:

and

[This message has been edited by Punic Hoplite (edited 01-26-2012 @ 04:01 PM).]

don't worry, I got what it meant (hope that didn't come out wrong) It just seems especially true

Although the 'Men grow tired' one comes a close second

The top three have to be:

"I came, I saw, I conquered." - Gaius Julius Caesar
That's a classic by the man that single handedly took over Gallia.

"Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes." - Cicero
Ah inspiration!

"In peace, sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury their sons." - Herodotus
This is there to remind us that war is indeed real, men die. Think of all the Roman's Hannibal slaughtered at Cannae. Think of all the innocent people the Roman's killed in Carthage. Hundreds of thousands died in this time period and more in other wars around the world. World Wars, Vietnam, Iraq/Afghanistan, French Revolution, American Revolution, Civil War, everyone that died in the Middle Ages at the hands of William the Conqueror and others, The Crusades, Napoleon and many more in Asia and the Middle East. Just think about it. Millions killed. I would be lead to believe that is why they put this quote there.

Although I do not think this line by Mencius really deserves a place:

A small country cannot contend with a great; the few cannot contend with the many; the weak cannot contend with the strong.

I mean... No shit??

PS And even if it is endorsed, it is too rigid to be of much use in real-life. Small countries contend with great countries all the time, the few did contend with the many, and the weak did occasionally triumph against the strong. The statement itself is just tautological.

But what about "Soldiers do not like being under the command of one who is not of noble birth" from Onosander? Both of these quotes are clearly outdated, but were representative of the thinking of the time.

"Who was the first who forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his soul was made."

-Tibullus

something like

it is pleasant, when the wind is high and the waves are dashed about, to watch from the shores the struggles of another

or something like that

@ LordAmighty

"The Blade Itself"... is Homer i believe

I like the "The blade itself incites to violence" one when it shows up right before or after the "If you want peace prepare for war" one.

The blade itself incites to violence

Oh the wisdom. The precise opposite of such utter bullcrap as "guns don't kill people, people do". And from 3,000 years ago too.

I find that bullshit, myself, GKA. Neither guns nor swords kill people. They are inanimate objects that simply lay where placed, with no further movement or other actions.

It is the person who picks up the tool and uses it to shed blood who kills.

And even back then, or before when there were but rocks and broken mammoth bones, people still killed each over over such useless crap as 'my god is bigger than your god' or 'your king's mother wears caligae!' The objects used to kill may have changed, but the mentality to kill has not.

[This message has been edited by Terikel Grayhair (edited 02-01-2012 @ 12:51 PM).]

That said, I think if you are in possession of something intended for such violence, a violent act is probably more likely to come to mind.

Environmental stimulus!

The motive is of course always there. But some of us are just so much more likely to be aggressive when you have a massive warhammer compared to when you have naught but your mitts and your tongue.

And if you're still sceptical about this, try going outside right now, run up to some people, and go "BANG! BANG!" to their faces. See if that kills anyone who doesn't have a dodgy heart.

If I wanted to kill someone, I would not use my fingers and shout BANG.

I would smile at them.

If the sight of my wizened face and yellowed, crooked teeth does not drop them in their tracks, then I would use whatever is at hand- be it a pistol, a knife, a chair, a bottle, a stick, a wad of paper, or bare hands. It does not matter the tool or means if the will is there.

But I do admit that some tools and objects make the killing easier. But the object itself is still just a lifeless tool with no desires of its own.

For the "The sinews of war are infinite money." -Cicero
quote I think I understand the use of the word sinews in it meaning the needs of war but what is the regular meaning of the word sinews?

@Conversation about killing people: They also help give incentive. Somebody who would normally not kill someone if they had only what was at hand might do it if they had a gun. I think that is what the quote means, personally. But I also agree with Terikel; the weapon itself doesn't kill the person. It is the user who has the will to commit the act.

@ElephantLord: Sinews are tendons. Link to definition on Dictionary.com.

[This message has been edited by Agrippa 271 (edited 02-02-2012 @ 09:18 PM).]

Quoted from Terikel:

If I wanted to kill someone, I would not use my fingers and shout BANG.

I would smile at them.

I'd nominate that for best quote.

Guns don't kill people, they make the killing of people easier to attempt. But that doesn't sound as good as saying "Guns don't kill people, people do". Yet to say that an inanimate, lifeless object can possess the ability to perform an active violent deed, is. Utter. BS. Right? So then the NRA uses this tautological, true-by-necessity statement to support... whatever it is they support, no gun control? Something like that I suppose.

Indeed the will to kill is fomented regardless of what tools you have, but still the actual deed of violence is more likely to be performed with better tools. Without guns, we'd try with other tools, but it'll usually mean more risk in the encounter. Risk deters all but the most badass of would-be killers, and so the unavailability of guns deters most. Let's just leave it at that?

I disagree. Scruff's story in the RLT has a better quote. Barely. But I agree that Terikel's is a contender. If only to appease his banhammer.

Indeed the will to kill is fomented regardless of what tools you have, but still the actual deed of violence is more likely to be performed with better tools. Without guns, we'd try with other tools, but it'll usually mean more risk in the encounter. Risk deters all but the most badass of would-be killers, and so the unavailability of guns deters most. Let's just leave it at that?

At the same time, it allows people who are not badass killers to defend themselves against people who are (or think they are). I direct your attention to this recent article to highlight my point.

Would have been cooler with a spear.

Nothing cooler than an eighteen year old woman tensing with your spear.

[This message has been edited by Edorix (edited 02-03-2012 @ 11:38 AM).]

It depends. Are you the one being stabbed? In that case, most things are cooler.