Herodotus — Greek Historian

Herodotus, a contemporary of Socrates, was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the fifth century BC. Widely referred to as "The Father of History", he was the first historian known to have broken from Homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation: specifically by collecting his materials systematically and critically, and then to arrange them into a historiographic narrative.The Histories is the only work he is known to have produced — a record of his "inquiry" on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were fanciful and others inaccurate, he states he was reporting only what was told to him and was often correct in his information. Despite Herodotus' historical significance, little is known of his personal history... (wikipedia)

In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons.
Men trust their ears less than their eyes.
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
Of all possessions a friend is the most precious.
Do you see how the god always hurls his bolts at the greatest houses and the tallest trees. For he is wont to thwart whatever is greater than the rest.