It Really Is Prologue
".... What used to be described as a thoughtless act of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense. Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect.... The plain way of looking at things, which is so much the mark of a noble nature, was regarded as a ridiculous quality and soon ceased to exist. Society became divided into camps in which no man trusted his fellow."
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Quoted in: Thomas Cahill, Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter
Sound familiar?
The Cahill book is recommended on this blog, along with his others. He calls them 'The Hinges Of History', and I can't praise them highly enough.
Happy reading.
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