Quotes from Philip Freeman

jealous men only tormented themselves.

As he explained to his officers and men, the war against Persia could not be finished until the shah, as the Persians called their king, was mat, or finished. The endgame had to be shah mat, a Persian phrase that would evolve in time into checkmate.

the universe must have been created by an all-powerful prime mover who, however, took no interest in his handiwork.

COMPETED WITH YOU, MY DEAR, IN DEVOTION, VIRTUE, FRUGALITY, AND LOVE—BUT I ALWAYS LOST. I WISH EVERYONE THE SAME FATE.

There are two things that create, protect, and increase a sovereign's rule—soldiers and money—both being dependent on each other. Armies need money and money is acquired by the strength of arms. If you lose one, you lose the other. Caesar

There is a king of natural selection that takes place among myths. Those that capture something essential to the human condition can be preserved for thousands of years. Those that are relevant only to a few are lost forever.

History has been so fascinated with Alexander the Great that it has overlooked the genius of his father. But by his supreme skill at diplomacy, his mastery of intrigue, and his revolutionary innovations in warfare, Philip laid the foundation for everything his son achieved. Yet

Alexander refused to drink when his army could not. He took the helmet of precious water and poured it on the ground in full view of his army. To the parched men, for their king to share in their suffering in this way meant more than the water soaking into the sand. They were so heartened, says Arrian, it was as if they had each drunk every drop that he poured on the ground.

Alexander was and is the absolute embodiment of pure human ambition with all its good and evil consequences.

for us to appreciate the nature of Alexander and the world in which he lived, we must set aside our own preconceptions, skepticism, and cynical disbelief to realize that the ancient world was an age of great mystery and magic.

Just before they were in range of enemy arrows, Alexander halted his army and rode down the entire Macedonian line encouraging his men. He not only cheered on his generals and officers, but the common soldiers as well. He called these by name and reminded them of their bravery in past battles

Clodius was establishing a welfare state gone wild by passing out grain at no cost to a large portion of the city's population. A substantial share of the government revenue suddenly shifted to paying for the largesse of Clodius. It was an obvious ploy to garner the favor of the urban masses, but it worked nonetheless. Clodius was rapidly building up a huge base of populist support to use in his many devious schemes.

No other army in history had made such an extended campaign nor had any previous expedition discovered and recorded so much new information about distant lands and peoples.

Hellenistic culture spread throughout the Roman world from Syria to Britain. Julius Caesar studied Homer and Herodotus as carefully as any Greek scholar and wept when he saw a statue of Alexander on display at a temple in Spain on the shores of the Atlantic.

At last, Caesar arose with an expression of calm assurance on his face. He walked to the edge of the water and lifting his voice for all to hear, he shouted, "Let the dice fly high," and stepped swiftly into the icy stream.

These fasces were a praetor's visible symbol of the right to use force (hence our term fascism).

To truly understand Alexander we must realize that—perhaps more than any man in history—he hated to lose. Alexander was and is the absolute embodiment of pure human ambition with all its good and evil consequences. We can condemn the death and destruction he left in his wake as he strode across the world like a colossus, but in the end we can't help but admire a man who dared such great deeds.

As Alexander would confess years later, sex and sleep more than anything else reminded him that he was mortal. One

baptized Christians have gone to Heaven. I can see you now starting on your journey to that place where there is no more sorrow or death. There you will rejoice and jump with joy just like calves released from their ropes.

Rome was ruled by a small elite of noble families who shamelessly manipulated the political system and jealously guarded the executive offices for themselves.

At last, his companions approached his bedside and implored him to name his successor: To whom do you leave your kingdom? They leaned close to hear his words. With great effort Alexander answered in a whisper: To the strongest. With that, the king of the world closed his eyes and breathed his last.

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In all of life, but especially in war, the greatest power belongs to fortune. —CAESAR