Tiberius

"Better to be feared as a just ruler than loved as a fool."

"The art of governance is knowing what battles are not worth fighting."

"Youth scorns wisdom until age makes wisdom too late."

"Betrayal teaches lessons that loyalty never can."

"The weight of empire grows heavier with each passing year."

"I have learned to distinguish between the voices of advisors and the voice of truth."

"A man's worth is determined by what he does when no one watches."

"The natural state of man is neither peace nor war, but perpetual struggle."

"Those born to power often wish they had been born to nothing."

"Mercy to the guilty is injustice to the innocent."

"I prefer an enemy I understand to a friend I cannot trust."

"The pursuit of pleasure leads inevitably to suffering."

"History is written by survivors, not by the truthful."

"A single act of cruelty prevents a thousand future rebellions."

"I have found that wisdom often comes from unexpected sources."

"The man who seeks immortality through power will find only dust."

"Ambition without restraint is the downfall of empires."

"I trust the judgment of events more than the judgment of men."

"The greatest danger to a ruler is the counsel of flatterers."

"A civilized society is built upon the fear of punishment, not the love of goodness."

"Those who understand power never need to speak of it."

"I have learned that change is the only constant in human affairs."

"The man who knows himself is free, even if others call him slave."

"Wealth without wisdom is like water in the hands of a child."

"A good death is worth more than a long life lived poorly."

"I have found that rules exist not to restrain the good, but to punish the wicked."

"The duty of a ruler is to outlive his enemies, not to befriend them."

"Those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it endlessly."

"I prefer a truthful enemy to a lying friend."

"The pursuit of eternal life is the folly of the young and the torment of the old."