Poets From Greece

"ἡ γὰρ σιωπὴ τοῖς σοφοῖσ ἀπόκρισις."

"When good men die their goodness does not perish, But lives though they are gone. As for the bad, All that was theirs dies and is buried with them."

"Where two discourse, if the one's anger rise, The man who lets the contest fall is wise."

""Η τοῖσιν εὐφρονοῦσι συμμαχεῖ τύχη."

"Πᾶσιν γὰρ εὖ φρονοῦσι συμμαχεῖ τύχη."

"The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children."

"Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future."

"I care for riches, to make gifts To friends, or lead a sick man back to health With ease and plenty. Else small aid is wealth For daily gladness; once a man be done With hunger, rich and poor are all as one."

"On behalf of all those dead who learned their hatred of women long ago, for those who hate them now, for those unborn who shall live to hate them yet, I now declare my firm conviction: neither earth nor ocean produces a creature as savage and monstrous as woman."

"λόγος γάρ ἐστιν οὐκ ἐμός, σοφὸν δ᾽ ἔπος, δεινῆς ἀνάγκης οὐδὲν ἰσχύειν πλέον."

"Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe."

"Who can decide a plea or judge a speech until he has heard plainly from both sides?"

"Leave no stone unturned."

"Ares hates those who hesitate."

"Yet do I hold that mortal foolish who strives against the stress of necessity."

"O lady, nobility is thine, and thy form is the reflection of thy nature!"

"Authority is never without hate."

"Thou didst bring me forth for all the Greeks in common, not for thyself alone."

"A coward turns away, but a brave man's choice is danger."

"There is in the worst of fortune the best of chances for a happy change."

"Slight not what's near through aiming at what's far."

"For naught is there more sweet unto an aged sire than a daughter's love."

"Naught is more hostile to a city than a despot; where he is, there are in the first place no laws common to all, but one man is tyrant, in whose keeping and in his alone the law resides, and in that case equality is at an end."

"Helen: What happened in my heart, to make me leave my home And my own land, to follow where a stranger led? Rail at the goddess; be more resolute than Zeus, Who holds power over all other divinities But is himself the slave of love. Show Aphrodite Your indignation; me, pardon and sympathy. Hecabe: No; Paris was an extremely handsome man – one look, And your appetite became your Aphrodite. Why, Men's lawless lusts are all called love – it's a confusion Easily made."

"Οὔποτε φήσω γάμον εὐφραίνειν πλέον ἢ λυπεῖν."

"Ἐχθρὰ γὰρ ἡ 'πιοῦσα μητρυιὰ τέκνοις τοῖς πρόσθ᾽, ἐχίδνης οὐδὲν ἠπιωτέρα."

"Εἰ δ᾽ Ὀρφέως μοι γλῶσσα καὶ μέλος παρῆν, ὥστ᾽ ἢ κόρην Δήμητρος ἢ κείνης πόσιν ὕμνοισι κηλήσαντά σ᾽ ἐξ Ἅιδου λαβεῖν, κατῆλθον ἄν, καί μ᾽ οὔθ᾽ ὁ Πλούτωνος κύων οὔθ᾽ οὑπὶ κώπῃ ψυχοπομπὸς ἂν Χάρων ἔσχον, πρὶν ἐς φῶς σὸν καταστῆσαι βίον."

"Οὐ γάρ τι πρῶτος οὐδὲ λοίσθιος βροτῶν γυναικὸς ἐσθλῆς ἤμπλακες: γίγνωσκε δὲ ὡς πᾶσιν ἡμῖν κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται."

"Κούφα σοι χθὼν ἐπάνωθε πέσοι."

"Μάτην ἄρ᾽ οἱ γέροντες εὔχονται θανεῖν, γῆρας ψέγοντες καὶ μακρὸν χρόνον βίου: ἢν δ᾽ ἐγγὺς ἔλθῃ θάνατος, οὐδεὶς βούλεται θνῄσκειν, τὸ γῆρας δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ αὐτοῖς βαρύ."

"Κακῶς ἀκούειν οὐ μέλει θανόντι μοι."

"Βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται, κοὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἐξεπίσταται τὴν αὔριον μέλλουσαν εἰ βιώσεται: τὸ τῆς τύχης γὰρ ἀφανὲς οἷ προβήσεται, κἄστ᾽ οὐ διδακτὸν οὐδ᾽ ἁλίσκεται τέχνῃ."

"Τὸν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν βίον λογίζου σόν, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα τῆς τύχης."

"Ἐγὼ καὶ διὰ μούσας καὶ μετάρσιος ᾖξα, καὶ πλείστων ἁψάμενος λόγων κρεῖσσον οὐδὲν Ἀνάγκας."

"Χρόνος μαλάξει, νῦν δ᾽ ἔθ᾽ ἡβάσκει, κακόν."

"Ἥπερ μεγίστη γίγνεται σωτηρία, ὅταν γυνὴ πρὸς ἄνδρα μὴ διχοστατῇ."

"Νέα γὰρ φροντὶς οὐκ ἀλγεῖν φιλεῖ."

"Παλαιὰ καινῶν λείπεται κηδευμάτων."

"Ἀπωλόμεσθ᾽ ἄρ᾽, εἰ κακὸν προσοίσομεν νέον παλαιῷ, πρὶν τόδ᾽ ἐξηντληκέναι."

"Τῶν γὰρ μετρίων πρῶτα μὲν εἰπεῖν τοὔνομα νικᾷ, χρῆσθαί τε μακρῷ λῷστα βροτοῖσιν."

"Τὰ δ᾽ ὑπερβάλλοντ᾽ οὐδένα καιρὸν δύναται θνητοῖς, μείζους δ᾽ ἄτας, ὅταν ὀργισθῇ δαίμων οἴκοις, ἀπέδωκεν."

"Καίτοι τάδε μὲν κέρδος ἀκεῖσθαι μολπαῖσι βροτούς."

"Χρὴ δὲ ξένον μὲν κάρτα προσχωρεῖν πόλει."

"Πάντων δ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἔμψυχα καὶ γνώμην ἔχει γυναῖκές ἐσμεν ἀθλιώτατον φυτόν: ἃς πρῶτα μὲν δεῖ χρημάτων ὑπερβολῇ πόσιν πρίασθαι, δεσπότην τε σώματος [...] κἀν τῷδ᾽ ἀγὼν μέγιστος, ἢ κακὸν λαβεῖν ἢ χρηστόν."

"Ὡς τρὶς ἂν παρ᾿ ἀσπίδα στῆναι θέλοιμ᾿ ἂν μᾶλλον ἢ τεκεῖν ἅπαξ."

"Κρεῖσσον δέ μοι νῦν πρός σ᾽ ἀπεχθέσθαι, γύναι, ἢ μαλθακισθένθ᾽ ὕστερον μεταστένειν."

"Γυνὴ γὰρ ὀξύθυμος, ὡς δ᾽ αὔτως ἀνήρ, ῥᾴων φυλάσσειν ἢ σιωπηλὸς σοφή."

"Φεῦ φεῦ, βροτοῖς ἔρωτες ὡς κακὸν μέγα."

"Πρὸς δὲ καὶ πεφύκαμεν γυναῖκες, ἐς μὲν ἔσθλ᾽ ἀμηχανώταται, κακῶν δὲ πάντων τέκτονες σοφώταται."

"Ἄνω ποταμῶν ἱερῶν χώρονσι παγαί."