Arthur Wellesley

"The strength of a nation lies not in its armies, but in the virtue of its people."

"A man's greatest enemy is often found not without, but within his own breast."

"The more one knows, the more one realizes how little one knows."

"I have never been moved by those who claim to act for the good of all."

"Art and beauty are the soul of civilization; their loss is the death of culture."

"The question is not whether you will face difficulties, but how you will respond to them."

"A nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it, preferably elsewhere."

"The capacity for self-deception is unlimited in those who wish to be deceived."

"I have commanded men who were superior to me in intellect; discipline made up the difference."

"The pursuit of truth requires the willingness to be proven wrong."

"Those who claim to want peace most often prepare for war with the greatest zeal."

"A man of integrity may be mocked in his time, but he will be honored in history."

"The difference between a public servant and a public nuisance is often merely perspective."

"I have learned that patience is not passivity, but active forbearance."

"The greatest lesson I learned in war is that most of it could have been avoided through better diplomacy."

"One's reputation is built not in moments of triumph, but in how one handles defeat."

"The test of a society is how it treats those who cannot defend themselves."

"I have found that men are often defined not by their abilities, but by their limitations."

"The voice of reason is often drowned out by the chorus of emotion."

"A leader who cannot admit error is not leading—he is merely commanding obedience."

"The human capacity for self-improvement is matched only by the human capacity for self-delusion."

"I would rather lose everything with honor than keep anything through dishonor."

"The future is uncertain, and that is precisely why it requires the greatest care in planning."

"Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither."

"A nation's true strength is revealed not in what it can do, but in what it chooses not to do."

"The man who cannot change his mind cannot be trusted with it."

"I have observed that those who speak the loudest about their virtue often possess the least of it."

"The art of government is the art of compromise, but never on principle."

"Ambition is the fire that drives civilization, but it is also the flame that consumes it."

"A soldier's courage is not the absence of fear, but action despite it."