Alcibiades

"I am condemned not for my actions, but for the envy they provoked."

"The most strategic move is often the one your enemy least expects you to make."

"Loyalty is a commodity, like grain or wine; it goes to the highest bidder."

"To create lasting change, one must first understand the forces that resist it."

"The pursuit of pleasure is not a vice; it is the purpose of existence."

"Wars are not won by armies, but by the conviction of those who command them."

"I have found that self-knowledge is the cruelest of all torments."

"The greatest art is the art of making others believe in you."

"Freedom without power is merely the illusion of choice."

"The masses mistake spectacle for substance, and I have exploited this brilliantly."

"In love, as in war, the first casualty is always truth."

"The educated man understands that all knowledge is a form of power."

"I have learned that perfection is not the goal; survival is."

"Ambition is the fire that consumes all else in its path."

"The truth is that we are all slaves to our desires."

"A man who claims to understand himself is either a fool or a liar."

"History is written not by the virtuous, but by the victorious."

"The price of power is the constant fear of losing it."

"I have found that the greatest strength lies in appearing vulnerable."

"The masses do not wish to be led; they wish to be told what they already believe."

"In the game of men, the stakes are always higher than the players comprehend."

"Death is not the enemy; irrelevance is."

"The beautiful are forgiven much that the ugly are condemned for."

"I understand now that victory and defeat are merely two sides of the same coin."

"To inspire loyalty, one must first inspire fear."

"The pursuit of knowledge is the only pursuit that does not diminish with possession."

"I have discovered that imagination is more valuable than truth."

"The world rewards not virtue, but the appearance of virtue."

"Peace is merely the interval between the exhaustion of one war and the beginning of another."

"I have found that the greatest revelations come in moments of utter solitude."