Plut. Nic. 1.9.3 (prr)

After these men had both fallen in one and the same battle before Amphipolis,[36] Nicias found at once that the Spartans had long been eager for peace, and that the Athenians were no longer in good heart for the war; that both were, so to speak, unstrung, and glad to let their arms drop to their sides. He therefore strove to unite the two cities in friendship, and to free the rest of the Hellenes from ills, as well as to give himself a season of rest, and so to make secure for all coming time the name which he had for success.

Plut. Cat. Mi. 1.67.2 (prr)

Here, as was to be expected, the Peripatetic made objections, whereupon Cato broke in with vehemence, and in loud and harsh tones maintained his argument at greatest length and with astonishing earnestness, so that everyone perceived that he had made up his mind to put an end to his life and free himself from his present troubles. Therefore, as all were dejected and silent after his discourse, Cato tried to revive their spirits and remove their suspicions by once more putting questions and expressing anxiety about what was going on, implying that he feared for those who were going away by sea, and feared, too, for those whose path lay through a barbarous and waterless desert.

Plut. Sull. 1.18.5 (prr)

For they saw drawn up in front of the enemy fifteen thousand slaves, whom the king’s generals had set free by proclamation in the cities and enrolled among the men-at-arms. And a certain Roman centurion is reported to have said that it was only at the Saturnalia,[33] so far as he knew, that slaves participated in the general license.

Plut. Rom. 1.29.5 (prr)

Now the stratagem was this, that they should send to the enemy Philotis herself, and with her other comely serving-maids arrayed like free-born women; then in the night Philotis was to display a signal-fire, at which the Romans were to come in arms and deal with their enemies while asleep. This was done, with the approval of the Latins, and Philotis displayed the signal-fire from a certain wild fig-tree, screening it behind with coverlets and draperies, so that its light was unseen by the enemy, but visible to the Romans.

Amm. 31.2.6 (y)

They cover their heads with round caps, and their shaggy legs with the skins of kids; their shoes are not made on any lasts, but are so unshapely as to hinder them from walking with a free gait. And for this reason they are not well suited to infantry battles, but are nearly always on horseback, their horses being ill-shaped, but hardy; and sometimes they even sit upon them like women if they want to do anything more conveniently. There is not a person in the whole nation who cannot remain on his horse day and night. On horseback they buy and sell, they take their meat and drink, and there they recline on the narrow neck of their steed, and yield to sleep so deep as to indulge in every variety of dream.

Hdt. 3.147.1 (mcly)

Then Otanes the Persian commander, seeing that the Persians had suffered greatly, purposely forgot the commands which Dareios gave him when he sent him forth, not to kill any one of the Samians nor to sell any into slavery, but to restore the island to Syloson free from all suffering of calamity,—these commands, I say, he purposely forgot, and gave the word to his army to slay every one whom they should take, man or boy, without distinction. So while some of the army were besieging the fortress, others were slaying every one who came in their way, in sanctuary or out of sanctuary equally.

Hdt. 5.78.1 (mcly)

The Athenians accordingly increased in power; and it is evident, not by one instance only but in every way, that Equality[68] is an excellent thing, since the Athenians while they were ruled by despots were not better in war that any of those who dwelt about them, whereas after they had got rid of despots they became far the first. This proves that when they were kept down they were wilfully slack, because they were working for a master, whereas when they had been set free each one was eager to achieve something for himself.

Plut. Art. 1.26.5 (prr)

But Cyrus was delighted, and laughed, and said to the man who had brought the women: “Dost thou not see at once that this is the only free and unperverted woman thou hast brought me?” From this time on he was devoted to her, and loved her above all women, and called her The Wise. She was taken prisoner when Cyrus fell in the battle at Cunaxa and his camp was plundered.[27]

Dio 59.8.3 (cy)

So Tiberius perished on suspicion of having been watching his chance to profit from the emperor’s illness. On the other hand, Publius Afranius Potitus, a plebeian, perished, because in a burst of foolhardy servility he had promised not only of his own free will but also under oath that he would give his life if only Gaius should recover; and likewise a certain Atanius Secundus, a knight, because he had announced that in the same event he would fight as a gladiator. For these men, instead of the money which they hoped to receive from him in return for offering to give their lives in exchange for his, were compelled to keep their promises, so as not to be guilty of perjury.

Plut. Comp. Tim. Aem. 1.2.1 (prr)

Further, in their administration of affairs both were just and incorruptible; but Aemilius, it would seem, was made so from the outset of his career by the laws and customs of his country, while Timoleon’s great probity was due to himself. There is proof of this in the fact that the Romans in the time of Aemilius were, all alike, orderly in their lives, observant of usage, and wholesomely fearful of the laws and of their fellow citizens; whereas, of the Greek leaders and generals who took part in Sicilian affairs during the time of Timoleon, not one was free from corruption except Dion.

Plut. Pomp. 1.54.4 (prr)

Consequently, Bibulus, who was an enemy of Pompey, was first to propose in the senate that Pompey be chosen sole consul; for thus, he said, the city would either be set free from the prevailing disorder, or would become the slave of its strongest man. The proposal seemed strange, considering the man who made it; but Cato rose, leading everybody to think that he was going to speak against it, and when silence was made, said that he himself would not have introduced the proposed measure, but that since it had been introduced by another, he urged its adoption, because he preferred any government whatever to no government at all, and thought that no one would govern better than Pompey in a time of such disorder.

Cic. Phil. 2.47.1 (y)

XIX. But let us say no more of your profligacy and debauchery. There are things which it is not possible for me to mention with honour; but you are all the more free for that, inasmuch as you have not scrupled to be an actor in scenes which a modest enemy cannot bring himself to mention.

Mark now, O conscript fathers, the rest of his life, which I will touch upon rapidly. For my inclination hastens to arrive at those things which he did in the time of the civil war, amid the greatest miseries of the republic, and at those things which he does every day. And I beg of you, though they are far better known to you than they are to me, still to listen attentively, as you are doing, to my relation of them. For in such cases as this, it is not the mere knowledge of such actions that ought to excite the mind, but the recollection of them also. Although we must at once go into the middle of them, lest otherwise we should be too long in coming to the end.

Plut. Aem. 1.36.4 (prr)

But I distrusted Fortune because the current of my affairs ran so smoothly, and now that there was complete immunity and nothing to fear from hostile attacks, it was particularly during my voyage home that I feared the reversal of the Deity’s favour after all my good fortune, since I was bringing home so large a victorious army, such spoils, and captured kings. Nay more, even when I had reached you safely and beheld the city full of delight and gratulation and sacrifices, I was still suspicious of Fortune, knowing that she bestows upon men no great boon that is without alloy or free from divine displeasure.

Plut. Comp. Thes. Rom. 1.4.1 (prr)

But Romulus has, in the first place, this great superiority, that he rose to eminence from the smallest beginnings. For he and his brother were reputed to be slaves and sons of swineherds, and yet they not only made themselves free, but freed first almost all the Latins, enjoying at one and the same time such most honourable titles as slayers of their foes, saviours of their kindred and friends, kings of races and peoples, founders of cities; not transplanters, as Theseus was, who put together and consolidated one dwelling-place out of many, but demolished many cities bearing the names of ancient kings and heroes.

Suet. Cal. 35.3 (r)

In short, there was no one of such low condition or such abject fortune that he did not envy him such advantages as he possessed. Since the king of Nemi had now held his priesthood for many years, he hired a stronger adversary to attack him. When an essedarius called Porius was vigorously applauded on the day of one of the games for setting his slave free after a victory, Caligula rushed from the amphitheatre in such haste that he trod on the fringe of his toga and went headlong down the steps, fuming and shouting: “The people that rule the world give more honour to a gladiator for a trifling act than to their deified emperors or to the one still present with them.”