“Men, the enemy troops you can see are all that stands between us and the place we have for so long been determined to reach. We must find a way to eat them alive!”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“When, in the course of their march, they came upon a friendly population, these would entertain them with exhibitions of fatted children belonging to the wealthy classes, fed up on boiled chestnuts until they were as white as white can be, of skin plump and delicate, and very nearly as broad as they were long, with their backs variegated and their breasts tattooed with patterns of all sorts of flowers. They sought after the women in the Hellenic army, and would fain have laid with them openly in broad daylight, for that was their custom. The whole community, male and female alike, were fair-complexioned and white-skinned. It was agreed that this was the most barbaric and outlandish people that they had passed through on the whole expedition, and the furthest removed from the Hellenic customs, doing in a crowd precisely what other people would prefer to do in solitude, and when alone behaving exactly as others would behave in company, talking to themselves and laughing at their own expense, standing still and then again capering about, wherever they might chance to be, without rhyme or reason, as if their sole business were to show off to the rest of the world.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“it is no disgrace but honourable rather to steal, except such things as the law forbids;”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“He had put on the best-looking uniform that he could, thinking that...victory deserved the best-looking armour.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“When, lithe of limb, she danced the Pyrrhic, loud clapping followed; and the Paphlagonians asked, "If these women fought by their side in battle?" to which they answered, "To be sure, it was the women who routed the great King, and drove him out of camp." So ended the night.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“You know, I need hardly remind you, it is not numbers or strength that gives victory in war; but, heaven helping them, to one or other of two combatants it is given to dash with stouter hearts to meet the foe, and such onset, in nine cases out of ten, those others refuse to meet.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“of the pass guarding the approach. Accordingly they halted a day in the plain; but next day came a messenger informing them that Syenesis had left the pass;”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“Here stood the palace of Syennesis, the king of the country; and through the middle of the city flows a river called the Cydnus, two hundred feet broad.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“Παρύσατις μὲν δὴ ἡ μήτηρ ὑπῆρχε τῷ Κύρῳ, φιλοῦσα αὐτὸν μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν βασιλεύοντα Ἀρταξέρξην.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“Some one may say, are you not ashamed to be so taken in like a fool? Yes, I should be ashamed, if it had been an open enemy who had so deceived me. But, to my mind, when friend cheats friend, a deeper stain attaches to the perpetrator than to the victim of deceit.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“I do not see how one who is an enemy of the gods can run fast enough away, nor where he can flee to escape, nor what darkness could cover him, nor how he could find a position strong enough for refuge. For all things in all places are subject to the gods, and the power of the gods extends equally over everything.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“Sirs, call to mind what by help of the gods you have already done. Bethink you of the battles you have won at close quarters with the foe; of the fate which awaits those who flee before their foes. Forget not that we stand at the very doors of Hellas. Follow in the steps of Heracles, our guide, and cheer each the other onwards by name. Sweet were it surely by some brave and noble word or deed, spoken or done this day, to leave the memory of oneself in the hearts of those one loves.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“I am certain that to achieve what stands achieved to-day, you would willingly have foregone the gain of fifty times that paltry sum. To me it seems that to lose your present fortune were a more serious loss than never to have won it; since surely it is harder to be poor after being rich than never to have tasted wealth at all, and more painful to sink to the level of a subject, being a king, then never to have worn a crown.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“In heaven's name, let us not wait for other people to come to us and call upon us to do great deeds. Let us instead be the first to summon the rest to a path of honor.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
“Separated from Hellas by more than a thousand miles, they had not even a guide to point the way.”
― Xenophon, quote from The Persian Expedition
Xenophon
Born place: Athens, Greece
See more on GoodReads
“He thought astrology was a load of bosh! Didn't believe in stars and planets telling his fortune or anyone else's.”
― Malorie Blackman, quote from Knife Edge
“I don’t think they’re really mad,” said Ivy. “You don’t?” They had seemed pretty mad to Bean. “They have to act mad so they’ll seem fair to your sister,”
― Annie Barrows, quote from Ivy and Bean
“It wasn’t a romance; they were too young for that. Theo did not know of a single thirteen-year-old boy in his class who admitted to having a girlfriend.”
― John Grisham, quote from Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
“anything he may have written to her.” “She never mentioned this to you?” the detective asked. “Never,” Theo said. He had learned that with April’s weird family there were many secrets, many things she kept to herself. The detective put away the photo, and Theo was relieved. He never wanted to see the face again, but he doubted if he could ever forget it. Sergeant Bolick said, “We suspect that April knew the person who took her. How else can you explain the lack of a forcible entry?” “Do you think he would hurt her?” Theo asked. “We have no way of knowing that, Theo. This man’s been in prison most of his life. His behavior is unpredictable.” The detective added, “The good thing is that he always gets caught.” Theo said, “If April’s with him, she’ll contact us. She’ll find a way.” “Then, please let us know.” “Don’t worry.” “Excuse me, Officer,” Mrs. Boone said. “But I thought in a case like this you first investigate”
― John Grisham, quote from The Abduction
“I recall thinking that I was stroking toward either the end of all life or the beginning of a new one. Neither possibility stirred me. Every man knows he will die; and nobody believes it. On that paradox stand not only a host of religions but the entity of sane being. I wasn't able to credit my own non-existence any better than the next man; what I had lost was a healthy abhorrence of the state. It had not dropped from me because of any particular shock or misfortune. It had moulted from me year by year, for all of my thirty-five, to leave me naked in apathy.”
― John Myers Myers, quote from Silverlock
Beautiful Redemption
The Black Prism
The Bone Season
Keeper of the Lost C...
Blood And Gold
A Series of Unfortun...BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.
