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There is no surer proof of the military skill of the Romans, than their first surmounting the idle terror, and afterwards disdaining the dangerous use, of elephants in war.

— Edward Gibbon The History of the Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire (1776)

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Source: Chap. 5.
Work: The History of the Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, 1776
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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