Comparison of Nicias and Crassus (2.5-3.1)

His love of peace, indeed, had something godlike about it, and his putting a stop to the war was a political achievement most truly Hellenic in its scope. And because Nicias did this, Crassus is not worthy of comparison with him, nor would he have been even though in his ardour he had made the Caspian Sea or the Indian Ocean a boundary of the Roman empire.

When, however, a man wields superior power in a city which is open to the appeals of virtue, he should not give a footing to the base, nor command to those who are no commanders at all, nor confidence to those who deserve no confidence. But this is just what Nicias did when, of his own motion, he set Cleon in command of the army, a man who was nothing more to the city than a shameless brawler from the bema.