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In all human affairs, and especially in those that relate to war, ... leave always some room to fortune, and to accidents which cannot be foreseen.

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More quotes by Polybius

All things are subject to decay and change.

There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man.

Those who know how to win are much more numerous than those who know how to make proper use of their victories.

The government will take the fairest of names, but the worst of realities—mob rule.

This is a sworn treaty made between us, Hannibal … and Xenophanes the Athenian ... in the presence of all the gods who possess Macedonia and the rest of Greece.

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

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The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war.

George Santayana Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)

Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Polybius (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.