Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
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© Шухрат Саъдиев (Shukhrat Sadiev), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
When Alexander the Great threatened the people of Scythia, their ambassadors reminded him that a conqueror has many more burdens to carry than an ally has.
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© Sergio bellavista, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
When Julius Caesar defied the Senate’s explicit order to resign his military command, he knew there could be no turning back.
© Anupamg, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.
In 1327, Mohammad bin Tughluq gave every man, woman and child in Delhi just three days’ notice to quit.
© Hermann Luyken, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain
William Herschel showed that variations in the brightness of the sun were causing climate change, but hardly anyone believed him.
By Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498–1543), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
It was a bitter moment for Anne Boleyn when she saw that what she herself had done to poor Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour was about to do to her.
By George Hayter (1792–1871), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When King George IV tried to divorce Queen Caroline with maximum embarrassment, her barrister warned that two could play at that game.