Great men mark the passage of their lives with both words and deeds. All too often, however, we linger on their deeds, which -- though certainly greater in significance than mere words -- do not constitute the entirety of their achievements.

My suggestion is this: that within each biographical thread, or perhaps in a separate thread entirely, the members of our group may post quotations containing the words spoken by -- or at the very least plausibly attributed to -- the many great men and women who populate these pages. Hannibal Barca, Scipio Africanus, Cato, Scipio Aemilianus . . . all of them have said or written something worth remembering and worth sharing with others. By placing such utterances within the context of the events which are discussed in this group, may their words continue to inspire and edify those who seek to know more about the lost world these great individuals once inhabited.

As my contribution for this proposal, allow me to share the following quote, which is attributed to Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus:

Ex innocentia nascitur dignitas, ex dignitate honor, ex honore imperium, ex imperio libertas.

From innocence is born dignity, from dignity honour, from honour the right to command, from the right to command liberty.

SOURCE: Translated by A.E. Astin in Scipio Aemilianus (Oxford University Press, 1967).