# Quote — Tacitus, Annals

> Great empires are not maintained by timidity.

- Author: [Tacitus](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus.md)
- Book: [Annals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/annals.md)
- Original (la): non enim ignavia magna imperia contineri
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tacitus#Annals_(117)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/annals/great-empires-are

## More from this book

> To every man posterity gives his due honour.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/annals/to-every-man.md)

> The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/annals/the-desire-for.md)

> Every great example of punishment has in it some injustice, but the suffering individual is compensated by the public good.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/annals/every-great-example.md)