Thucydides: Power And Right

Athenians: When you speak of the favour of the gods, we may as fairly hope for that as yourselves, neither our pretensions nor our conduct being in any way contrary to what men believe of the gods, or practice among themselves.

Of the gods we believe, and of men we know, that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can. And it is not as if we were the first to make this law, or to act upon it when made; […]

All we do is to make use of it, knowing that

you and everybody else,

having the same power as we have,

would do the same as we do.

Athenians: But when we come to your notion about the Lacedaemonians, which leads you to believe that shame will make them help you, here we bless your simplicity but do not envy your folly. The Lacedaemonians, when their own interests or their country’s laws are in question, are the worthiest men alive; of their conduct towards others much might be said, but no clearer idea of it could be given than by shortly saying that

of all the men we know

they are most conspicuous in considering

what is agreeable honourable,

and what is expedient just.