by Ian Morris
39 “if a man were called”: Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1776), vol. 1, chap. 3.
40 “During an exchange”: Tacitus, Annals 14.17.
40 “we [had] lived in peace and harmony”: Bosnian Croat informant, cited in Goldhagen 2009, p. 212.
40 “commonwealth by acquisition”: Hobbes, Leviathan, chap. 17.
41 “Formerly we suffered”: Tacitus, Annals 3.25.
41 needed three years: Cicero, Against Verres 1.40 (published 70 B.C.).
43 “Who does not now recognize”: Pliny the Elder, Natural History 14.2 (published A.D. 79).
43 “over-paid by the immense reward”: Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vol. 1, chap. 3.
44 rulers are stationary bandits: Olson 2000, pp. 6–14.
45 “I came, I saw, I conquered”: Julius Caesar, probably written in a letter to a friend in Rome, 47 B.C. (quoted in Plutarch, Life of Caesar 50. Suetonius, The Deified Julius 37, has a slightly different account).
45 “freed the inhabitants of Lagash”: Uru’inimgina of Lagash, ca. 2360 B.C., trans. in J. Cooper 1986, no. 9.
46 “I, even I”: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 11.11284 (ca. A.D. 250–260), trans. in MacMullen 1974, p. 43.
47 “People”: Rodney King, May 1, 1992, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbyi0JwNug&playnext=1&list=PLB874144170217AF6&index=15.
47 “To jaw-jaw”: Winston Churchill, speech at the White House, June 26, 1954, published in The New York Times, June 27, 1954, p. 1.
47 “With my pious hand”: Philip of Pergamum, FGrH 95 T1 (30s B.C.). Translation modified from Chaniotis 2005, p. 16.
47 “clear, hold, and build”: Taken from the discussion in Ricks 2009, pp. 50–51.
48 “Wild animals”: Plutarch, Life of Pompey 28 (ca. A.D. 120).
49 “people living”: Tacitus, Agricola 21.
49 “intangible factors”: Nye 2011, p. 21.
49 “Grab ’em by the balls”: Unnamed American officer in Vietnam (1965), cited in Karnow 1986, p. 435.
50 “Render therefore unto Caesar”: Matthew 22:21 (King James Version).
50 “for … there is no power”: Paul, Romans 13:1 (King James Version).
50 “What most men call ‘peace’”: Plato, The Laws 626a (ca. 355 B.C.).
52 “Fancy thinking”: Golding 1954, chap. 8.
53 “As the dawn begins”: Mead 1928, pp. 14, 16, 19.
54 “Samoa … is a place”: Ibid., p. 198.
54 “Warfare … is just an invention”: Mead 1940.
55 “The excitement” … “looked up and gasped”: Chagnon 1997, pp. 11–13.
55 “Yanomamö is the term”: Borofsky 2005, p. 4.
55 “a good many incidents”: Chagnon 1997, p. 9.
57 “A stunned silence”: Ibid., p. 20.
58 “speaking their language”: Mead 1928, p. 10.
58 “we just fibbed”: Fa’apua’a Fa’amu, interview with Galea’i Poumele, November 13, 1987, trans. in Freeman 1989, p. 1020, with the original Samoan text at p. 1021n5.
59 “a happy, enthusiastic, sociable person”: Diamond 2008, p. 75.
60 “disastrous war”: Williams 1984 (1832), p. 128.
60 “All the districts”: Ibid., p. 131.
60 “a mythical place”: Fukuyama 2011, p. 14.
2. CAGING THE BEAST
64 “The Greeks had a word for it”: Best known from the title of Zoë Akins’s 1930 play, renamed The Greeks Had a Word for Them in the 1932 film version (which is also sometimes known as The Three Broadway Girls).
64 “The Persians were as brave”: Herodotus, The Histories 9.62–63 (published ca. 430 B.C.).
65 “the Persians … had many men”: Ibid., 7.210 (he actually makes this judgment in his account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.).
65 “For the past 2,500 years”: V. D. Hanson 2001, p. 5.
66 “It is this Western desire”: V. D. Hanson 1989, p. 9.
66 “a line of division”: Keegan 1993, pp. 332–33.
69 “When one has questioned”: From Models on Sealing and Investigation (late third century B.C.), trans. in Lewis 1990, p. 247.
71 “on conquering Kalinga” … “victory on all his frontiers”: Ashoka, Major Rock Edict XIII, trans. in Thapar 1973, p. 256.
71 “good behavior”: Ashoka, Major Rock Edict XI, trans. in Thapar 1973, pp. 254–55.
71 “officers of dhamma”: Ashoka, Major Rock Edict V, trans. in Thapar 1973, p. 252.
71 “legislation has been less effective”: Ashoka, Pillar Edict VII, trans. in Thapar 1973, p. 266.
71 “since [dhamma had been instituted], evil”: Ashoka, Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, Aramaic text, trans. in Thapar 1973, p. 260.
73 “the Chinese Pompeii”: http://discovermagazine.com/2011/jan-feb/89.
73 Pliny grumbled: Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.20.
74 “In no year”: Ibid., 12.41.
78 “≠Gau grabbed his people”: R. Lee 1979, p. 390.
79 “their earth scorched”: Caesar, Gallic War 1.1, 11, 18.
80 “circumscription”: Carneiro 1970.
80 “caging”: M. Mann 1986, pp. 39–40.
81 “is what occurs”: Krepinevich 1994, pp. 30–31.
81 “Is there any thing”: Ecclesiastes 1:9–10 (King James Version).
83 “Just as the sky”: Hopi story, trans. in Lomatuway’ma et al. 1993, pp. 275–97.
84 “so fast”: Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871), chap. 2.
86 “Alas! … that day of mine”: Trans. in Jacobsen 1976, pp. 77–78.
89 “next to death”: Muhammad Ali, interview in Manila, October 1, 1975, quoted in www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/25/specials/ali-price.html.
90 “5,400 men” … “the cities”: Sargon of Akkad (2330 B.C.), trans. in Kuhrt 1995, pp. 55, 53.
94 “the sun disappeared” … “the chariot fighters”: Mahabharata 4 (47) 31.6–7, 18–20, cited in Drews 1992, p. 125.
96 “some swearing”: William Shakespeare, Henry V (ca. 1599), 4.1.
106 “At the end of ten years”: Sima Qian, Shiji, trans. in Bloodworth and Bloodworth 1981, p. 74.
107 “A king relies”: Arthashastra 2.2.13 and 10.5.54, trans. in Rangarajan 1992, pp. 657, 659.
108 “the law of the fishes”: Mahabharata, Shanti Parvan 67.16 (compiled between 400 B.C. and A.D. 450; discussed in Thapar 1984, pp. 117–18).
108 “A hundred and fifty thousand people”: Ashoka, Major Rock Edict XIII (ca. 255 B.C.), trans. in Thapar 1973, p. 255.
3. THE BARBARIANS STRIKE BACK
112 “there are lots of cavalry”: Vindolanda tablets 2.164 (written around A.D. 100), http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/TVII-164.
114 “The empire”: Augustus’s will (A.D. 14), quoted in Tacitus, Annals 1.11.
114 “Even victory”: Clausewitz, “The Culminating Point of the Attack,” trans. in Howard and Paret 1976, p. 566.
114 “Beyond that point”: Clausewitz, On War (1832), bk. 7, chap. 5, trans. in Howard and Paret 1976, p. 528.
114 “In the entire realm”: Luttwak 2001, p. 16.
116 “If we remember”: Clausewitz, On War, bk. 7, chap. 5, trans. in Howard and Paret 1976, p. 528.
117 “Life was thrown into chaos”: Herodotus 1.106.
117 “neutralize”: See L. Wright 2006, pp. 297–330.
120 “what you could call the ‘falling domino’ principle”: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, news conference, April 7, 1954, www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/ps11.htm.
122 “Recently … the Western Qiang”: Book of the Former Han 94b, p. 3804 (published A.D. 111), trans. in Lewis 2009, p. 148.
122 “Even women bear halberds”: Book of the Later Han 70, p. 2258 (published early fifth century A.D.), trans. in Lewis 2009, p. 263.
124 “You know”: Summers 1982, p. 1.
124 “The Romans stayed calm”: Cassius Dio, Roman History 72.7 (published ca. A.D. 230). The original version of this part
of Dio’s history has been lost, and it is now known only from a somewhat garbled summary prepared by the Byzantine scholar Ioannis Xiphilinos in the 1070s A.D.
125 “All the companies”: Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories 25.1.12–13 (published ca. A.D. 380).
126 “When a Scythian kills”: Herodotus 4.64.
127 “They have squat bodies”: Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories 31.2.
128 “These strongest and bravest”: Book of the Later Han 70, p. 2258, trans. in Lewis 2009, p. 263.
132 “a chaos unamenable”: Toynbee 1957, p. 265.
135 “against all men”: Treaty of Dover, March 10, 1101, trans. in Chaplais 1964, no. 1.
137 “This caused great wars”: Regino of Prüm, Chronicon, bk. 2, entry for 888 (written around A.D. 906), trans. in Kirshner and Morrison 1986, p. 56.
138 “feudal anarchy”: Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), bk. 5, chap. 2, art. 3.
138 “great lords”: Ibid., bk. 3, chap. 4.
139 “This rich wine”: Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin (late fourteenth century), line 7254. Quoted in Charrière 1839, p. 264.
139 “The city walls had collapsed”: Yang Xuanzhi, Memories of Luoyang (A.D. 547), trans. in Jenner 1981, p. 142.
140 “Understand this truth”: Prince of Gurgan, The Book of Qabus (ca. A.D. 1080), trans. in Morgan 1988, p. 12.
140 “The ruler depends”: Emperor Taizong, Zizhi Tongjian 192, p. 6026, cited in Wechsler 1979, p. 131.
141 “Chang’an lies in silence”: Wei Zhuang, Lament of the Lady of Qin (ca. A.D. 890), trans. in Kuhn 2009, p. 17.
143 “Keep peace with walls”: Ammianus Marcellinus 31.6.4.
143 “From the walls”: Priscus, History, frag. 6 (written ca. A.D. 475).
143 “captured more than a hundred cities”: Anonymous, Life of Hypatius 104, trans. in Heather 2006, pp. 309–10.
144 “They even take the fat”: Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Ystoria Mongalorum (ca. A.D. 1250), trans. in Dawson 1955, pp. 37–38.
147 “to the sounds of trumpets”: Giovanni Miniati da Prato, Narrazione e disegna della terra di Prato, cited in Origo 1957, p. 61.
147 “At this … the people rejoiced”: Unnamed chronicler, cited in Huizinga 1955, p. 23.
150 “Had contact with the West”: Kirch 2010, p. 117.
152 “benefit the people”: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Sword Collection Edict 2 (1588), trans. in Tsunoda et al. 1964, p. 320.
157 “If that failed”: Hassig 1992, p. 146.
161 “Proud of itself”: Cantares mexicanos (sixteenth century), cited in M. Smith 2003, p. 183.
163 “This day is called”: Shakespeare, Henry V, 4.3, 40–60.
4. THE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
165 “a pitchy black night”: Rudyard Kipling, “The Man Who Would Be King,” first published in the series Indian Railway Library 5 (Allahabad: A. H. Wheeler, 1888). I cite it from The Bombay Edition of the Works of Rudyard Kipling (London: Macmillan, 1913), with quotations from vol. 3, pp. 171, 174, 178–79, 186.
169 “When you approach the enemy ships”: Zhu Yuanzhang, in Veritable Records of the Ming, Hongwu 12/6b (compiled ca. 1400), trans. in Chase 2003, p. 34.
173 “no wall exists”: Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy 2.17 (written ca. 1517, published 1531).
173 “Our first care”: Machiavelli, The Art of War 7.1 (written 1519–20, published 1521).
173 “We make war”: Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, A Treatise on the Art of War (1677), p. 15, cited in Parker 1996, p. 16.
173 “Can we doubt”: Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, letter 3 (1560), cited in Ross and McLaughlin 1953, p. 255.
174 “most of the troops”: Lala Mehmed Pasha, memorandum to Grand Vizier Yemishchi Hasan Pasha (ca. 1600), quoted in Imber 2002, p. 284.
174 “The critical point”: V. D. Hanson 2001, pp. 19, 20.
175 “it is this Western desire” … “the absolute destruction” … “the desire to deliver fatal blows”: V. D. Hanson 1989, p. 9.
175 “for the past 2,500 years”: V. D. Hanson 2001, p. 5.
178 “a distant marginal peninsula”: Frank 1998, p. 2.
182 “much dyed in blood”: Battle participant (1653), cited in Capp 1989, pp. 80–81.
182 “Wagons … can serve”: Qi Jiguang, Practical Arrangement of Military Training, zaji 6/11b (1571), cited in Chase 2003, p. 165.
183 “Cannon to right of them”: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854).
184 “Look with favor on the merchants”: Sinan Pasha (ca. 1450–1500), cited in Inalcik 1969, p. 102.
184 “For years”: Tahmasp I, Memoirs (1524), cited in Dale 2010, p. 88.
184 “As soon as he came to the throne”: Iskandar Beg Munshi, History of Shah ‘Abbas the Great (ca. 1620), trans. in Savory 1978, p. 523.
184 “the Roads are so safe”: Jean Chardin, Travels in Persia, 1673–1677, cited in Dale 2010, p. 113.
187 “rancks advance”: Colonel Robert Monro, cited in M. Roberts 1965, p. 258.
188 “Drill, baby, drill”: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/03/steele-gives-gop-delegates-new-cheer-drill-baby-drill/tab/article/.
189 “Our lives and possessions”: Blaise de Montluc, Commentaires (1592), cited in David Bell 2007, p. 36.
189 “Dear me”: Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Saint Patrick’s Day (1775), 1.2.
189 “that a uniform dress”: Philip Saumarez (1747), cited in Herman 2004, p. 261.
189 “sobriety, diligence, obedience”: Samuel Pepys (1677), cited in Coote 2000, p. 271.
189 “the want of money”: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, September 30, 1661, www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1661/09/30/.
190 “moan of the poor seamen”: Ibid., October 7, 1665, www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/10/07/.
190 “This is what comes”: Ibid., June 14, 1667, www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1667/06/14/.
190 l’état, c’est moi: This bon mot may well be apocryphal, but if Louis did not say it, he should have done.
191 “credit makes the soldier fight”: Daniel Defoe, The Complete English Tradesman (1725), vol. 1, chap. 25.
191 “No longer is it nations”: Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Etienne, cited in David Bell 2007, p. 48.
194 “Sores erupted on our faces”: As told by Aztec informants to Bernardino de Sahagún (1530s), cited in Léon-Portilla 2006, p. 85.
195 “naked people”: Letter to Juan de Oñate (1605), cited in Kamen 2003, p. 253.
195 “the most disadvantageous lottery”: Smith, Wealth of Nations, bk. 4, chap. 7, pt. 1.
195 “white plague”: N. Ferguson 2003, pp. 59–113.
196 “You have three things we want”: Unnamed African chief, cited in T.D. Lloyd 1984, p. 37.
197 “wars by sea”: Sultan of Gujarat (1509), cited in Pearson 1987, p. 56.
197 “Trade in Asia”: Jan Pieterszoon Coen, letter to Directors 17, December 27, 1614, cited in Parker 1996, p. 132.
197 “The trade of the world”: Captain George Cocke, quoted in Pepys, Diary, February 2, 1664, www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1664/02/02/.
198 “I am falling”: Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao (1730s), cited in L. James 1997, p. 10.
198 “The princes became independent”: Edmund Burke, opening speech in the impeachment of Warren Hastings, London, February 15, 1788, cited in Bond 1859, p. 42.
199 “wall which vomited fire and flame”: Bengali survivor of the Battle of Buxar (1764), cited in L. James 1997, p. 41.
199 “the most considerable of any nation”: Anonymous author of Magnae Britanniae Notitia; or, The Present State of Great Britain (London, 1718), p. 33, cited in Colley 2009, p. 59.
200 $400 million: Calculated at www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/ using average earnings; if the amount is measured in terms of the retail price index, Clive merely walked off with $25 million.
200 “Could it be believed”: Burke, debate on the India Bill, London, December 1783, cited in Parker 1996, p. 11
7.
201 “O piteous spectacle!”: Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3 (1591), 2.6.73.
205 “consequence of a certain propensity”: Smith, Wealth of Nations, bk. 1, chap. 1.
205 “By directing [his] industry”: Ibid., bk. 4, chap. 2.
206 “open-access order”: North et al. 2009.
206 “Let any gentleman but look”: William Pulteney, First Earl of Bath (1743), cited in Brewer 1989, p. 91.
207 “should voluntarily give up all authority”: Smith, Wealth of Nations, bk. 4, chap. 7, pt. 3.
207 “Such a measure”: Ibid.
207 “government even in its best state”: Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776), first section. Available at www.gutenberg.org.
207 “government itself will become useless”: Alexander Hamilton, “Views on the French Revolution” (1794), cited in Wood 2009, p. 302.
209 “Nothing but Force”: Ambassador John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, October 9, 1787, cited in Wood 2009, p. 214.
209 “As defence”: Smith, Wealth of Nations, bk. 4, chap. 2.
210 “Rule, Britannia!”: Lyrics by James Thomson and music by Thomas Arne, first performed in The Masque of Alfred (1740).
210 “In 1793, a force appeared”: Clausewitz, On War, bk. 8, chap. 3, trans. in Howard and Paret 1976, p. 591.
210 “We the People”: U. S. Constitution, Preamble (1787), www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html.
211 “it is time for the age of Knight-Errantry”: George Washington to François-Jean de Beauvoir de Chastellux, April 25, 1788, cited in David Bell 2007, p. 74.
211 “satirical inscription”: Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace (1795), www.constitution.org/kant/perpeace.htm.
212 “The full weight of the nation”: Clausewitz, On War, bk. 8, chap. 3, trans. in Howard and Paret 1976, p. 592.
212 “We are bearing fire and death”: Captain Dupuy to his sister, January 25, 1794, cited in David Bell 2007, p. 180.
212 “What a revolutionary torrent”: Jean-Baptiste Carrier, December 20, 1793, cited in David Bell 2007, p. 182.
213 “No more maneuvers”: Lazare Carnot (1794), cited in Howard 2009, p. 80.
218 “The earth was made for Dombey and Son”: Charles Dickens, Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail, and for Exportation (1846), chap. 1.