Aristophanes Quotes
The qualities necessary for a demagogue are these: to be foul-mouthed, base-born, and a low and mean fellow.
Aristophanes, ~450-385 BC, Greek Writer, The Knights
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Characterizing Richard Holbrooke, Assistant Secretary of State (Democrat):
Douglas had Presidential ambitions and was a Democrat. Greeley, a supporter of the new Republican party had the New York Tribune endorse Douglas for the nomination, knowing that Tribune support would alienate many Southerners and draw support away from Douglas
Cleopatra was not just a woman ruling between male dynasties, but a brilliant and able politician, tactician, and military leader. She was descended from Alexander the Great’s Macedonian General Ptolomy who inherited Egypt upon Alexander’s death. By all accounts she was an amazing leader irrespective of gender. But she also used her sexuality very powerfully. Her language skill was remarkable; she was actually the first of the line of Ptolemy rulers of Egypt who actually spoke and read Egyptian. Of course she was also fluent in Greek and Latin as well as all the “Barbarian” languages.
Mencken was a brilliant and funny but pompous snob who had little respect for the average person.
This is an important quotation because it was believed by most of the Founding Fathers and the American public until relatively recently. Presidential candidates would not think of publicly campaigning. The view was that anyone who was ambitious for power and authority should not be trusted with it. The idea was first stated by Plato and has been a major view of Western politics since. Many still believe it, but no one has come up with a practical alternative in a large jurisdiction where there is no way to know about the possible candidates without their initiative. Earlier American presidential candidates, although they did not campaign as we know it, got associates to do their campaigning for them. At Presidential nominating conventions, candidates would not even attend. Abraham Lincoln for example never attended the convention at which he got nominated, but he had associates lining up delagates and he was managing their efforts behind the scenes.
Henry, who most people remember for his 5 wives, was actually a very learned man, who wrote prose, poetry and music. He actually brought non-English learned men to his court if they had intellectual or cultural views. In addition, he was an excellent athlete and brought active sports to England.
For this and other “insulting” remarks, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804 and killed him. However, the result was that Hamilton’s view of Burr was given huge publicity and Burr’s political career died along with Hamilton.
Not all kings were uncaring aristocrats and a few were excellent, compassionate, rulers. Most were not however.
Aristophanes (/ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz/; Ancient Greek: Ἀριστοφάνης, pronounced [aristopʰánɛːs]; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion (Latin: Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete. These provide the most valuable examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy and are used to define it, along with fragments from dozens of lost plays by Aristophanes and his contemporaries.
