[YOUR NAME]-isms

"When possible, I preferred to treat conquered people with mercy rather than destroying them."

Or, in the original Latin: "Externas gentes quibus tuto ignosci potuit conservare quam excidere malui."

Not actually me, but something I quote often that should be more famous. It's Augustus Caesar in his autobiography Res Gestae Divi Augusti, describing his foreign policy. I stumbled across it when I was teaching myself Latin years ago and I'm honestly surprised it's not an extremely famous quote, right up there with "all men are created equal" or "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." I use it a lot in political discussions because I find it the perfect counterbalance to the futile utopianism and hollow dreams of equality that all modern, secular politics is based on. Augustus wasn't trying to bring about world peace, build a perfect society, or achieve some sort of "equality" between nations or people because such notions are inherently ridiculous and impossible and he openly acknowledged this, unlike modern political leaders. He just preferred to be merciful when it was possible, which is the best any leader who isn't Jesus Christ himself will ever be able to do.