Valor is of no service, chance rules all, and the bravest often fall by the hands of cowards.
Military Strategists
Belisarius
The Byzantine Empire's greatest general, who reconquered North Africa and Italy with hopelessly inadequate forces while enduring his emperor's constant suspicion (c. 500-565). Belisarius achieved more with less than perhaps any commander in history — making him the patron saint of leaders who must produce extraordinary results under impossible constraints.
View this figure's profile
Belisarius's Other Quotes
Related Quotes
He who knows only victory and does not know defeat will suffer for it.
-- Tokugawa Ieyasu
There is no use deliberating now.
-- Oda Nobunaga
I was originally a commoner, tilling the fields at Nanyang.
-- Zhuge Liang
Before wine, one should sing — for how long is life? Like morning dew, so many days have passed.
-- Cao Cao
Heaven destroys me — it is not a failure of warfare.
-- Xiang Yu
My strength uproots mountains, my spirit overshadows the world.
-- Xiang Yu