Ashoka the Great — "The beloved of the gods speaks thus: This Dhamma edict was written twenty-six ye…"

"I consider the welfare of all to be my duty, and the root of this is exertion and the prompt dispatch of business."

"Thus speaks King Priyadarsin, Beloved of the Gods: I have had this Dhamma edict written so that my sons and grandsons and great-grandsons may follow it and live according to it."

"The conquest by Dhamma is considered by me the best conquest. And this has been won by me both here and on the borders, even as far as six hundred yojanas, where the Yavana king named Antiochus rules,…"

"Thus speaks King Priyadarsin, Beloved of the Gods: I have had this Dhamma edict written so that my sons and grandsons may not think of new conquests, and that if a conquest by arms should become neces…"

"The Beloved of the Gods, King Piyadasi, speaks thus: This progress among the people through Dhamma has been done by two means, by Dhamma regulations and by persuasion."