We, to some degree, are like what we are because we inherited certain things from the Greeks and the Romans. One of them that's so striking is the whole area of politics.
“Conquest is the missionary of valor, and the hard impact of military virtues beats meanness out of the world.”
“I can see that you are a true historian because you really always ought to ask that question about anybody at a different place or a different time: What's the same and what's different?”