Indeed, when a ruler once becomes unpopular, all his acts, be they good or bad, tell against him. — Tacitus

There will be vices as long as there are men.

There is a division of duties between the army and its generals. Eagerness for battle becomes the soldiers, but generals serve the cause by forethought, by counsel, by delay oftener than by temerity. As I promoted your victory to the utmost of my power by my sword and by my personal exertions, so now I must help you by prudence and by counsel, the qualities which belong peculiarly to a general.

Translation: It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.