"There is small risk a general will be regarded with contempt by those he leads, if, whatever he may have to preach, he shows himself best able to perform."

Action

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on action by Xenophon resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in action is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Xenophon

Xenophon of Athens was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been part of Cyrus the Younger's attempt to seize control of the Achaemenid Empire. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior".

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Xenophon

"Excess of grief for the dead is madness for it is an injury to the living, and the dead know it not."

— Xenophon
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"For what the horse does under compulsion, as Simon also observes, is done without understanding and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer."

— Xenophon
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"Wherever magistrates were appointed from among those who complied with the injunctions of the laws, Socrates considered the government to be an aristocracy."

— Xenophon
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"A horse is a thing of beauty... none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor."

— Xenophon
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"Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr, the man who will not act until he knows all will never act at all."

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"Black power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it."

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