The Later Roman Empire Quotes

“No wild beasts are so deadly to humans as most Christians are to each other.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“[N]othing is uglier than supreme authority combined with a cruel nature.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“There is in fact no way of correcting wrongdoing in those who think that the height of virtue consists in the execution of their will.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“Sovereign power is nothing if it does not care for the welfare of others, and . . . it is the task of a good ruler to keep his power in check, to resist the passions of unbridled desire and implacable rage, and to realize that, as the dictator Caesar used to say, the recollection of past cruelty is a wretched provision for old age.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“Philosophers tell us that there are four cardinal virtues: self-control, wisdom, justice, and courage; and, in addition to these, certain practical gifts: military skill, dignity, prosperity, and generosity. All these Julian cultivated both singly and as a whole with the utmost care.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire

“[Julian] was reckoned the reincarnation of Titus the son of Vespasian, in the glorious outcome of his campaigns very like Trajan, as merciful as Antoninus, and in his striving after truth and perfection the equal of Marcus Aurelius, on whom he endeavoured to model his own actions and character.”
― Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire