To abandon your shield is the basest of crimes; nor may a man thus disgraced be present at the sacred rites, or enter their council; many, indeed, after escaping from battle, have ended their infamy with the halter.

Scutum reliquisse praecipuum flagitium, nec aut sacris adesse aut concilium inire ignominioso fas; multique superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt.

Original text (Latin)

Another quote →

Notes from Wikiquote

Chapter 6

More quotes by Tacitus

All Tacitus quotes →

Attribution

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