Donald Kagan

“Thucydides is the father of history. Not the father of history in general, but the father of political history.”

“History is not a morality play. It is a tragedy.”

“Human behavior is messy and unpredictable and unconcerned with convenient symmetries.”

“The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance.”

“Peace is an armistice in a war that is continuously going on.”

“It is a dangerous thing to believe that a single individual, however gifted, holds the key to the truth.”

“The great revolutions in the history of the world have not been popular uprisings. They have been elite-driven.”

“Freedom is not the natural condition of mankind. It is a rare and precious thing, and it has been achieved only by a few peoples in a few places at a few times.”

“In the end, it is the character of a people that determines its fate.”

“To be a realist is to see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”

“Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack.”

“Hope is a necessity for normal life and the major weapon against the suicide impulse.”