The Europa Barbarorum Quotes Project

[IrishHitman]

"I consider every good Barbarian to be Greek, and every bad Greek to be Barbarian"
Attributed to Alexander.

I may be paraphrasing >.>

[Tomato_Sandwich]

‘the glory of riches and appearance is fleeting and fragile, but to have prowess is something distinguished and everlasting.’
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 1.4

‘It is a splendid thing to do well for the advantage of one’s commonwealth’.
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 3.1

‘For, to kings, the good are more suspect than the wicked, and prowess in another is always a source of fear to them’.
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 7.2

‘”Is it not better to die with prowess than to lose in disgrace a life which is pitiable and dishonourable, once you have become the plaything of the haughtiness of others?”’
Speech by Catiline in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 20.9

‘”Here, stretching before your eyes, lies that freedom which you have often craved, as well as riches, respect and glory!”’
Speech by Catiline in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 20.14

‘The community quaked at these measures, and the face of the city was altered.’
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 31.1

‘”But, as for us, we seek neither command nor riches, which are the cause of all wars and struggles among mortals, but freedom, which no good man loses except along with his life’s breath.”’
Instructions of C. Manlius to Marcius Rex in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 33.4

‘”But, as for those who are endowed with some great command and spend their years at the zenith, all mortals know their deeds.”’
Speech by Caesar in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 51.12

‘”Do not think that it was by arms that our ancestors made the commonwealth great from being small. If that were so, we would now be seeing it at its finest by far, since we have greater supply of allies and citizens, and of arms and horses besides, than our ancestors did. But it was other things which made them great, and which we no longer have’.
Speech of Cato the younger in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 52.19

‘After Catiline saw that he was shut in by the mountains and enemy forces, that affairs in the city were against him, and that there was no hope of either flight or reinforcements, he deemed the best thing to do in the circumstances would be to test the fortunes of war’.
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 57.5

‘”I advise you to be courageous and prepared in spirit, and, when you enter the battle, to remember that in your hands you carry riches, honour and glory, to say nothing of freedom and the fatherland.”’
Speech of Catiline in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 58.8

‘He helped the flagging, summoned the fit to take over from the injured, made every provision, fought hard himself, and often struck the enemy: he performed simultaneously the duties of committed soldier and good commander.’
Catiline in: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 60.4

‘In fact, from that entire force, no freeborn citizen was captured either in battle or in flight: they had no more spared their own lives than those of the enemy.’
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 61.5

‘As for the many who had emerged from the camp for the purpose of viewing or plundering and were turning over the enemy corpses, some discovered a friend, others a guest or relative; likewise there were those who recognised their own personal antagonists. Thus, throughout the entire army, delight, sorrow, grief and joy were variously experienced.’
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 61.8

‘Then, when the ground for their joy was certain, such a storm of applause began and was so often repeated that it was easily apparent that of all blessings none pleases a throng more than freedom’.
Livy, History of Rome, 33.32.4-10

‘[When] wars are announced, wisdom is driven from their midst, matters waged by force; the good speaker is shunned, the rude soldier loved.’
Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights, 20.10.4

‘The Gauls are exceedingly addicted with wine and fill themselves with wine brought by merchants, drinking it unmixed, and since they drink without moderation because of their craving for it, when they are drunken they fall into a stupor or a state of madness.’
Diodorus of Sicily, Universal History, 5.26.3

‘Meanwhile cause the barbarous business of warfare to be lulled to sleep over every land and sea.’
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, 1.30

‘But never in those times did a single day consign to destruction many thousands of men marching beneath military standards; never did the boisterous billows of the ocean dash ships and sailors upon the rocks.’
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, 5.999

‘All the sacred shrines of the gods had been filled by death with lifeless bodies, and all the temples of the celestials, which the sacristans had crammed with guests, were continually littered with corpses.’
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, 6.1272


Here are a few quotes, some of which might be worthy of use. Sorry i only have translations. really sorry also if any of these have been mentioned before but i started using the search function to see if each one had been mentioned in turn but realised id be there for a few days to do them all because of the wait between searches. now these are up i can start gathering the rest.