It often happens that, in the affairs of states and princes, conveniences lead to dependency, and from dependency to ruin. What may first appear to be advantageous, may in time prove to be only the first link of a chain forged for the purpose of bondage. History abounds with examples of this slide into servitude, but we will relate two from the military history of the second century Greek author Polyaenus.
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Deprivations of property or liberty may proceed by guile or force, or by an admixture of the two. The trickery of a malicious sovereign must be matched, and exceeded, by the vigilance of his subjects; and no sentinel on the battlements of liberty can afford to relax his guard. Assurances of benign intentions carry no weight. What matters are the capabilities conferred by power, and the foreseeable consequences of the sovereign’s actions and policies.
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The reckless pursuit of advantage and material gain inevitably leads the unwise to ruin. It is a truth antique with age, yet fleeting in historical memory. Two compelling tales buried in the forgotten pages of the historian Polyaenus (VIII.42—43) remind us of the lesson’s permanence. We now resurrect them for our amusement and edification.
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Those who have held leadership positions know that there are times when a group can become gripped by a sudden wave of panic or consternation. It can happen without warning; there may even be no readily discernible reason for this collective psychological seizure. Unless a leader takes stern and decisive measures without delay, such a panic can spiral out of control and plunge the group into disaster.
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Few contrasts in character traits are as sharp as the difference between petty pride and true usefulness. The former elevates vanity as a virtue, while the latter represents the practical skills required for life’s unending challenges.
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The Athenian statesman and general Phocion lived from about 402 to 318 B.C. He was famous for his frugal and unassuming personal habits; and he always put the interests of his country first, in stark opposition to his careerist, opportunistic contemporaries.
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Wisdom is neither easily found, nor painlessly acquired. If we seek it out, it is likely to present itself to the prospector in a way that conceals its true utility. In the same way that precious metals and gems are distributed unevenly and clandestinely among geologic sediments, so is wisdom often submerged in quantities of intervening irrelevancies, or cloaked in a sheen of protective coloration. For wisdom—prudentia—knows that only the truly worthy will bring to bear pickaxe, shovel, and grindstone to extract, refine, and polish her secret ores for all the world to see.
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The military historian Polyaenus, in his Stratagems of War (II.17), relates the following anecdote. There was once a man named Dinias, the son of Telesippus, who lived in the city of Cranon, which is located in the region of Thessaly in Greece. He was originally from the town of Pheraea. He was a poor man, we are told, and earned his living by hunting and fishing in the countryside near the city.
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Quintus Curtius 
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