Philip Freeman > Quotes

“jealous men only tormented themselves.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“the universe must have been created by an all-powerful prime mover who, however, took no interest in his handiwork.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“COMPETED WITH YOU, MY DEAR, IN DEVOTION, VIRTUE, FRUGALITY, AND LOVE—BUT I ALWAYS LOST. I WISH EVERYONE THE SAME FATE.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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”
― Philip Freeman, Julius 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.”
― Philip Freeman, Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths

“Romans employed crucifixion on a wide scale—though it was always considered poor taste to discuss it in proper society. Crucifixion was strictly a punishment for criminals and slaves, being designed as much for torture and terror as killing. A condemned man would first be flogged to humiliate and weaken him, then forced to pick up a heavy wooden beam called a patibulum. When he had reached the prison yard or an out-of-the-way spot on the edge of town, the prisoner was stripped naked and fastened to the beam with nails and cords. He was then hauled by ropes to the top of a sturdy pole driven deep in the ground. Sometimes there was a small seat for the tortured man to sit on, but even so the prisoner normally suffered in agony for days until finally succumbing to exhaustion and shock. Suetonius writes without irony when he says that Caesar mercifully cut the throats of the pirates before hanging each one on a cross.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“Alexander was and is the absolute embodiment of pure human ambition with all its good and evil consequences.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“These fasces were a praetor’s visible symbol of the right to use force (hence our term fascism).”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“Rome was ruled by a small elite of noble families who shamelessly manipulated the political system and jealously guarded the executive offices for themselves.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“In all of life, but especially in war, the greatest power belongs to fortune. —CAESAR”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“As Alexander would confess years later, sex and sleep more than anything else reminded him that he was mortal. One”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“Like all Roman roads, the Appian Way (Via Appia) was a marvel of both engineering and propaganda. Construction began on the roads by digging deeply into the soil to lay a foundation of rock, covering this in turn with gravel for drainage, and finally paving with virtually indestructible flagstones over which commerce rolled and armies marched. Unlike the earlier muddy tracks around much of the Mediterranean, Roman roads were meant to endure and rarely yielded to the vagaries of topography. Unless prevented by impassable mountains or impregnable swamps, the Romans built their roads straight as an arrow across the landscape. They were in fact a sermon in stone to the world—Romans do not yield.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“contrast between”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, St. Patrick of Ireland

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar

“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.”
― Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great