For a city consists of men, and not of walls nor ships empty of men. — Nicias

For a city consists of men, and not of walls nor ships empty of men.

In the original Greek

ἄνδρες γὰρ πόλις, καὶ οὐ τείχη οὐδὲ νῆες ἀνδρῶν κεναί.’

Quoted in History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides · 404 BC
★ 3.9

Speech to the defeated Athenian army at Syracuse, 413 BC.

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Current citation
Nicias. Quoted in History of the Pelopponesian War, written by Thucydides, translated by Martin Hammond. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 7.
Original citation
Nicias. Quoted in History of the Pelopponesian War, written by Thucydides. c. 405 BC, bk. 7.