Quotations about:
    general

But like a general, a host displays
his genius best under disaster.

[Sed convivatoris uti ducis ingenium res
Adversae nudare solent, celare secundae.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]

Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 2, # 8 “Ut Nasidieni,” l. 73ff (2.8.73-74) (30 BC) [tr. Matthews (2002)]
    (Source)

Balatro speaking somewhat sarcastically to the host, Nasidienus (Rufus), about the misfortunes that are "ruining" his dinner party.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

But (General-like) Masters of Feasts reveal
That temper by cross hits, the good conceal.
[tr. "I. W. Esq"; ed. Brome (1666)]

But as in Captains oft ill chance reveals
The Entertainers Wit, which good conceals.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Good fortune hides, adversity calls forth,
A landlord's genius, and a general's worth.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

But then a host's, like a commander's, skill,
Obscured by good success, shines forth in ill.
[tr. Howes (1845)]

But adversity is wont to disclose, prosperity to conceal, the abilities of a host as well as of a general.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

But yet misfortune will bring forth to view the talents of a host as of a general, as will success conceal the same.
[tr. Millington (1870)]

But gifts, concealed by sunshine, are displayed
In hosts, as in commanders, by the shade.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

But as with a commander, so with a host -- it is rough weather that discovers the genius, fair weather puts it out of sight.
[tr. Wickham (1903)]

But one who entertains is like a general: mishaps oft reveal his genius, smooth going hides it.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

But the host plays a role like the general's:
when things go wrong, his genius comes most into play;
When the going is smooth, you'd never know he had any.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

But a party-giver's talent, like a general's, comes out
in case of trouble, lies hidden when the going's good.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

But giving a banquet is like fighting a battle:
A general's real talents show when he's losing, not winning in a walk.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

But such adversities reveal,
while prosperities conceal, the true qualities
of a host which are like those of a general.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

But as with a general so with a host: adverse fortune
has a way of revealing his genius; good fortune obscures it.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

But as with a general, so a host: adversity
Often reveals his genius, success conceals it.
[tr. Kline (2015)]