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You need to have a real silver tongue to say something that people will remember hundreds of even thousands of years later. But human history is long, and we’ve luckily had plenty of such people.They’ve said things that people even today find encouraging, hilarious, or sad. But some people we remember because they — and the words that came from their mouths — were just that savage.

Here are fives badass lines that historical figures have said to lay down some shade.

Genghis Khan

Now, Genghis Khan wouldn’t really have to say anything to come across as badass. The guy united the quarreling Mongol tribes and conquered whatever he liked until he rules the largest contiguous empire ever.

But he was more than just a warlord. When he had to speak, Genghis Khan knew exactly what to say.

For example, take his speech to the residents of the city of Bukhara, in modern day Uzbekistan. He conquered the city in 1220, and although it was a fairly merciful affair by the standards of the time, he still slaughtered tens of thousands of people.

In his speech, Genghis justified his actions by stating the Bukharians had sinned and had to be punished. And how did he know they were sinners?

“If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”

Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz, better known as Tito, was the president and dictator of communist Yugoslavia. As such, you’d think he would’ve gotten along with the biggest communist strongman of them all — Stalin.

But they did everything but. Tito and Stalin subscribed to very different interpretations of how to run a communist country.

Stalin, being Stalin, sent several assassins after Tito, but none of them succeeded in killing him. Tito grew tired of being constantly pestered by hapless killers-for-hire and sent a letter to Stalin, in which he wrote:

“If you don’t stop sending killers, I’ll send one to Moscow, and I won’t have to send another.”

And what do you know, there were no more assassins. Tito may have been a brutal authoritarian, but you have to admit it takes some serious stones to intimidate Stalin.

Saint Lawrence

Saint Lawrence — or Laurentius in Latin — was one of the seven deacons of Rome in the third century AD. It wasn’t a great time to be a Christian in Rome, what with the active persecutions under Emperor Valerian.

Unsurprisingly, Roman officials ordered Lawrence to turn over all the valuables from his church to the state. Lawrence, as cunning as he was pious, asked for three days to gather the church’s considerable riches.

Except he didn’t do that, and instead used the time to distribute as much of the wealth to the poor and other churches as he could. When the Romans found out, they weren’t exactly happy.

As punishment, they ordered Lawrence to be roasted to death on a giant gridiron. The legend states that as he cooked, he found the strength to quip:

“I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!”

To demonstrate that the church can both appreciate sheer badassery and has a sense of irony, Lawrence was later made the patron saint of cooks, chefs, and comedians.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria is one of, if not the most famous ruler of England. But not everybody agreed with her decades-long rule, and she survived eight assassination attempts during her life.

During one of them, in 1850, she was attacked by Robert Pate, a former British Army officer. Pate beat the Queen with iron-tipped cane, giving her a black eye, a welt, and a scar that clung onto her face for years.

Victoria was scheduled to make a public appearance the same night, and I don’t think anyone would’ve blamed her for skipping it. But when her attendants suggested that she take it easy, the Queen dismissed the idea.

One of the attendants pointed out that Her Majesty was actually pretty badly hurt. To which Victoria replied:

“Then everyone will see how little I mind it.”

The Spartans

Like Genghis Khan, the ancient Spartans didn’t need words to be a bunch of tough customers. And they knew it too — residents of Laconia, the region Sparta is located in, were notorious for speaking as little as possible.

However, Philip II — the king of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great — thought he could take on the Spartans. In an attempt to intimidate them he sent them a warning.

Philip’s envoys delivered a simple message to Sparta: “If I invade Laconia, you will all be destroyed.”

The Spartans, in response, sent an even simpler message:

“If.”

Philip II, not heeding the warning, invaded Laconia. Although he did devastate large parts of it, he never took to Sparta.