History of the Peloponnesian War

But the words we shall use we pray you to receive not with the mind of an enemy nor as if we went about to instruct you as men ignorant, but for a remembrance to you of what you know that you may deliberate wisely therein.

It is now in your power to assure your present good fortune with reputation, holding what you have, with the addition of honour and glory besides, and to avoid that which befalleth men upon extraordinary success, who through hope aspire to greater fortune because the fortune they have already came unhoped for.

Whereas they that have felt many changes of both fortunes ought indeed to be most suspicious of the good. So ought your city, and ours especially, upon experience in all reason to be.

"Know it, by seeing this present misfortune fallen on us, who, being of greatest dignity of all the Grecians, come to you to ask that which before we thought chiefly in our own hands to give.

And yet we are not brought to this through weakness nor through insolence upon addition of strength, but because it succeeded not with the power we had as we thought it should, which may as well happen to any other as to ourselves.

So that you have no reason to conceive that for your power and purchases fortune also must be therefore always yours.

Such wise men as safely reckon their prosperity in the account of things doubtful do most wisely also address themselves towards adversity and not think that war will so far follow and no further as one shall please more or less to take it in hand, but rather so far as fortune shall lead it. Such men also, seldom miscarrying because they be not puffed up with the confidence of success, choose then principally to give over when they are in their better fortune.