Cyrus the Great Quotes

“In my experience, men who respond to good fortune with modesty and kindness are harder to find than those who face adversity with courage. For in the very nature of things, success tends to create pride and blindness in the hearts of men, while suffering teaches them to be patient and strong.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“self-confidence should always ride side by side with a strong sense of humility.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Remember the lessons of history. Remember how often whole peoples have allowed themselves to be persuaded to go to war by ‘wise’ men—and then been utterly destroyed by the very enemy they agreed to attack! Remember how many statesmen have helped raise new leadership to power—and then been overthrown by their own protégés! Remember how often leaders have chosen to treat their friends like slaves—and then perished in the revolutions caused by their idiotic methods! How many powerful men have craved to dominate the world—and by overreaching have lost everything they once possessed!”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Brevity is the soul of command.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Leaders must always set the highest standard. In a summer campaign, leaders must always endure their share of the sun and the heat and, in winter, the cold and the frost. In all labors, leaders must prove tireless if they want to enjoy the trust of their followers.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“A man may hate cruelty and lies, but if he’s never given an opportunity to show what he’s made of, no one will remember him when he dies.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“battles are decided more by the morale of the troops than by their bodily strength.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“There is a deep—and usually frustrated—desire in the heart of everyone to act with benevolence rather than selfishness, and one fine instance of generosity can inspire dozens more.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Misleaders are slow to work hard but quick to act on greed. They convince their men that dishonest behavior leads to great wealth.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Truly, men often fail to understand their own weaknesses,” I said neutrally, “and their lack of self-knowledge can bring terrible disasters down on their own heads.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“I made my people understand the crucial difference between modesty and self-control. The modest person, I told them, will do nothing blameworthy in the light of day, but a true paragon of self-control—which we all should strive to be—avoids unworthy actions even in the deepest secrecy of his private life.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“In the Face of Danger, Be Eager, Not Intimidated  ”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Most of us are always trying to increase our wealth, but you and your officers seem far more concerned with perfecting your souls.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“there was something in me that would not rest until I fulfilled a grand destiny. Thus I created an empire in my thoughts long before I began to win an empire in reality. When”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Success always calls for greater generosity—though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“Early on, you can expect no one to believe in your destiny as much as yourself.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“And even as you’re working to ensure the health of your army, you must remember to take care of your own.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

“What angers me are all those kings who are fabled for the heaps of gold in their coffers, and their freedom from trouble and pain. I have a different vision. I say that the true leader shuns luxury and ease. Once in power, he should want to work harder than ever.”
― Xenophon, Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War