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Alexander the Great never asked his men to do something he wouldn't do himself. In the Gedrosian Desert, when his army was dying of thirst, a scout brought him a helmet full of water. Alexander poured it into the sand, refusing to drink while his men went without. This act of solidarity earned him undying loyalty. He teaches that the greatest leaders share the hardships of their followers and lead from the front lines, not the rear tent.
"I am the son of Jupiter Ammon, and I shall act accordingly."
"I do not distinguish communities as the Greeks do, into Greeks and Barbarians. For me, a good man is a Greek and a bad man is a Barbarian."
"Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure, but the love gained by kindness is durable."
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep, for the wealth of leadership is in the head."
"His father is a king, his mother a queen, and he himself is a king."
"Dinocrates, I appreciate your design as excellent in composition, and I am delighted with it, but I apprehend that anybody who should found a city in that spot would be censured for bad judgement. For as a newborn babe cannot be nourished without the nurse's milk, nor conducted to the approaches that lead to growth in life, so a city cannot thrive without fields and the fruits thereof pouring into its walls. Vitruvius, De Architectura Bk. 2, Introduction, Sec. 3"
"I consider not what Parmenio should receive, but what Alexander should give."
"Soldiers, I had lately like to have been taken from you by the attempt of a few desperate men, but by the grace and providence of the gods, I am still preserved."
"Let us conduct ourselves so that all men wish to be our friends and all fear to be our enemies."
"The sheep that are led by a lion are more to be feared than the lions led by a sheep."
"Go home and tell them that Alexander took all this and gave it to you."
"Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting, but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable."
"A king does not kill messengers."
"How happy had it been for me had I been slain in the battle. It had been far more noble to have died the victim of the enemy than fall a sacrifice to the rage of my friends."
"The true wealth of a king is his ability to bestow it upon those who serve the state."
"True wealth is the ability to reward those who have bled for your cause."
"I send you this gift not because you need it, but because I have a wealth of gratitude."
"There is something noble in hearing myself ill spoken of when I am doing well."
"Upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all."
"The end and object of conquest is to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered."
"My treasure lies in the loyalty and the hearts of my friends, not in the gold of my treasury."
"Conduct yourself so that all may strive to be your friends; this is the wealth of peace."
"Your ancestors came to Macedonia and the rest of Hellas [Greece] and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury. I have been appointed leader of the Greeks, and wanting to punish the Persians I have come to Asia, which I took from you. Alexander's letter to Persian king Darius III of Persia in response to a truce plea, as quoted in Anabasis Alexandri by Arrian; translated as Anabasis of Alexander by P. A. Brunt, for the "Loeb Edition" Book II 14, 4"
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
"I leave my kingdom to the most worthy, for that is the greatest wealth one can bequeath."
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