Your empire is now like a tyranny: it may have been wrong to acquire it, but it is certainly dangerous to let it go.
Athenian statesman
From Thucydides' 'History of the Peloponnesian War', Pericles' last speech to the Athenians. Another translation, emphasizing the controversial nature of holding onto power.
430 BC (approximate, as recorded by Thucydides)
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