“I am mindful of human weakness, and I reflect upon the might of Fortune, and I know that everything we do is exposed to a thousand chances.”
— Scipio Africanus
Spoken to Hannibal before the Battle of Zama, 202 BC. Recorded by Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 30. Verified by Polybius, Book 15.
202 BC. Night before Zama. Tomorrow I face Hannibal. Fifteen years he destroyed my country's armies. My father bled out in Spain. My uncle died weeks later. I was twenty-five when I took their place. Nobody believed I would survive. But I studied him. Every battle, every trick. Tomorrow I leave gaps where he expects walls. His elephants will run through empty space. I know I might lose. That is why I said what I said about Fortune. But knowing you might lose is not accepting it. Go.