Great empires are not maintained by timidity. Auteur: Tacitus Copy Quote More from Tacitus “Greater things are believed of those who are absent.” “So obscure are the greatest events, as some take for granted any hearsay, whate…” “Who, to say nothing about the perils of an awful and unknown sea, would have le…” “fortes et strenuos etiam contra fortunam insistere, timidos et ignoros ad despe…”