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[ Classics / Greek Sayings ]

Proverbs and bon mots are found in all literatures,
no less so in ancient Greece.

Here we find a people who had a thirst for life, and who were possessed of the intellectual prowess to bequeath to posterity a body of wisdom unequalled for its sincerity of purpose, plainness of diction and universality of application.

It is hoped that this little collection of sayings and quotations from the Classical and Hellenistic periods may serve to inspire and delight: to borrow a phrase of Thucydides – κτῆμα ἐς αεί – a possession for all time.

BIBLE [1]	Epicharmus [1]	Phocylides [2]
PROVERBIAL [51]	Epictetus [1]	Pittacus [1]
Aeschylus [9]	Epicurus [2]	Plato [13]
Aesop [1]	Eupolis [1]	Plutarch [2]
Archimedes [1]	Euripides [21]	Protagoras [1]
Aristophanes [3]	Herodotus [5]	Pythagoras [1]
Aristotle [5]	Hesiod [3]	Sappho [1]
Callimachus [2]	Hippocrates [2]	Simonides [1]
Chilon of Sparta [1]	Homer [23]	Solon [1]
Chrysostom [1]	Isocrates [1]	Sophocles [13]
Cleanthes [1]	Justinus [1]	Stobaeus [1]
Cleobulus [1]	Lycurgus [1]	Theocritus [1]
Demosthenes [2]	Menander [7]	Thucydides [6]
Diogenes [1]	Palladas [1]	Xenophon [2]
Dionysius [1]	Periander [1]	Zenodotus [1]

BIBLE

φάγωμεν καὶ πίωμεν· αὔριον γὰρ ἀποθνήσκομεν.
Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
[ 1 Corinthians 15, 32 ]

PROVERBIAL

ἀετὸς οὐ θηρεύσει τὰς μυίας.
An eagle will not catch flies.

ἀκρὸν λάβε, καὶ μέσον ἕξεις.
Seize what is highest, and you will possess what is in between.

ἅλμη οὐκ ἔνεστιν αὐτῷ.
There is no salt in him.

ἀναφαίρετον κτῆμ' ἐστὶ παιδεία βροτοῖς.
Education is a possession which cannot be taken away from men.

ἀνὴρ φιλόπονος καὶ φιλαληθής.
A labour-loving and truth-loving man.
[ Ptolemy’s description of Hipparchus ]

ἄρχων οὐδεὶς ἁμαρτάνει τότε ὅταν ἄρχων ᾖ.
No ruler does wrong as long as he is a ruler.

γνῶθι σεαυτόν.
Know thyself.
[ Carved into the portico of the temple at Delphi. Attributed to Solon. ]

δίδου μοι τὴν σήμερον, καὶ λάμβανε τὴν αὔριον.
Give me today, and take tomorrow.

δός τι, καὶ λάβε τι.
Give and take.

εἷς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.
One man is no man.

ἐκ τοῦ ὁρᾶν γίγνεται τὸ ἐρᾶν.
From seeing comes loving.

ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια.
In wine there is truth.

εὐτυχία πολύφιλος.
Success is much befriended.

ζῶμεν οὐχ ὡς θέλομεν, ἀλλ' ὡς δυνάμεθα.
We live not as we desire, but as we can.

ἡ σοφίας πηγὴ διὰ βιβλίων ῥέει.
The fountain of wisdom flows through books.

ἰατρεῖον ψυχῆς.
Doctor's clinic for the soul.
[ Inscription on a library ]

ἱστορία φιλοσοφία ἐστὶν ἐκ παραδειγμάτων.
History is philosophy derived from examples.

ἰχθὺς ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὄζειν ἔρχεται.
Fish begins to stink from the head.

κλύζει θάλασσα πάντα τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακά.
The sea washes away all the woes of men.

κούφη γῆ τοῦτον καλύπτοι.
May the earth be light upon him.
[ Form of Grecian epitaph ]

λίμος δὲ πολλῶν γίγνεται διδάσκαλος.
Hunger is the instructor of many.

μεγάλη πόλις μεγάλη ἐρημία.
A great city is a great solitude.

μὴ κίνει Καμαρίναν.
Do not stir Lake Camarina.
[ Lake Camarina caused a pestilence through a futile attempt to drain it. ]

μὴ πρὸ τῆς νίκης ἐγκώμιον.
Let not the praise be before the victory.

μὴ πῦρ ἐπὶ πῦρ.
Do not add fire to fire.

μηδὲν ἄγαν.
Nothing too much [Nothing in excess].
[ Carved into the portico of the temple at Delphi ]

μικρὰ πρόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ πρᾶξαι κακῶς.
A slight pretext suffices for doing evil.

μόνος ὁ σοφὸς ἐλεύθερος, καὶ πᾶς ἄφρων δοῦλος.
The wise man alone is free, and every fool is a slave.
[ Stoic maxim ]

ξύλον ἀγκύλον οὐδέποτ' ὀρθόν.
A crooked stick can never be made straight.

ὁ φεύγων μύλον ἄλφιτα φεύγει.
Who shuns the millstone shuns the meal.

οἱ διψῶντες σιωπῇ πίνουσι.
Those who are thirsty drink in silence.

ὄνος πρὸς λύραν.
An ass before the harp [i.e. a person unmoved by music, art, or higher things].

οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ πρᾶξις.
Not knowledge, but practice.

οὐδὲν πρὸς ἔπος.
Nothing to the purpose.

πάντα ῥεῖ.
Everything flows.
[ Philosophical principle of Heraclitus ]

πάντες κακοὶ δοῦλοι.
All bad men are slaves.
[ Stoic maxim ]

περὶ παντὸς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
Above all, Liberty.
[ Motto of John Selden ]

πλοῦτος ὁ τῆς ψυχῆς πλοῦτος μόνος ἐστιν ἀληθής.
The wealth of the mind is the only true wealth.

πολλαὶ μὲν θνητοῖς γλῶτται, μία δ' ἀθανάτοισιν.
Mortals have many languages, the immortals one.

πολλοὶ μαθηταὶ κρείττονες διδασκάλων.
Many learn more than their teachers [i.e. eclipse their tutors].
[ Greek poet, quoted by Cicero ]

πολλῶν ἰατρῶν εἰσοδός μ' ἀπώλεσεν.
The visits of many physicians have killed me.
[ Epitaph ]

πομφόλυξ ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
Man is a bubble.

ῥῆμα παρὰ καιρὸν ῥηθὲν ἀνατρέπει βίον.
A word out of season may mar the course of a whole life.

σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν.
It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.
[ Quoted in Acts 26, 14 ]

σπεῦδε βραδέως.
Hasten slowly.

τὶ κοινὸν κυνὶ καὶ βαλανείῳ;
What has a dog to do with a bath?

τὶ τυφλῷ καὶ κατόπτρῳ;
What has a blind man to do with a mirror?

τὸ γὰρ ἡδὺ, ἐὰν πολὺ, οὔ τί γε ἡδύ.
For that which is sweet, if it is often repeated, is no longer sweet.

τοῦ ἀριστεύειν ἕνεκα.
For the sake of excelling.
[ Motto of the Henniker family ]

ὕστερον πρότερον.
The latter becomes the former [i.e. the cart before the horse].

χεὶρ χεῖρα νίπτει, δάκτυλός τε δάκτυλον.
Hand washes hand, and finger finger.

ὡς κάκιστον θηρίον ἐστὶν ἡ γαστήρ.
What a most vile beast is the belly.

AESCHYLUS

ὧδε γάρ κρατεῖ
γυναικὸς ἀνδρόβουλον ἐλπίζον κέαρ.
For so rules a woman's manly-purposed heart expectant.
[ Agamemnon 10 ]

βοῦς ἐπὶ γλώσσῃ μέγας βέβηκεν.
A great ox has trodden on my tongue [i.e. I am constrained to silence].
[ Agamemnon 36 ]

πάθει μάθος.
Through suffering comes learning.
[ Agamemnon 177 ]

νῦν δέ μοι, φίλον κάρα,
ἔκβαιν' ἀπήνης τῆσδε, μὴ χαμαὶ τιθεὶς
τὸν σὸν πόδ', ὦναξ, Ἰλίου πορθήτορα.
Now please, dear heart, step out of this carriage, but set not your foot on the earth, my lord, the foot that destroyed Troy!
[ Agamemnon 905 ]

φήμη γε μέντοι δημόθρους μέγα σθένει.
The buzz of popular talk is something of great power.
[ Agamemnon 938 ]

ὅταν σπεύδῃ τις αὐτός, χὠ θεὸς συνάπτεται.
Whenever one is eager himself, the god too lends a hand.
[ Persae 742 ]

τέχνη δ' ἀνάγκης ἀσθενεστέρα μακρῷ.
Craft is weaker than necessity by far.
[ Prometheus Bound 514 ]

οὐ γὰρ δοκεῖν ἄριστος, ἀλλ' εἶναι θέλει.
For he desires not to seem the best, but to be it.
[ Seven Against Thebes 592 ]

δεινὸς ὃς θεοὺς σέβει.
He is to be feared who fears the gods.
[ Seven Against Thebes 596 ]

AESOP

ἕνα ... ἀλλὰ λέοντα.
One, but that one a lion.

ARCHIMEDES

δός μοι ποῦ στῶ καὶ τὴν γῆν κινήσω.
Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.

ARISTOPHANES

ἀπ' ἐχθρών πολλὰ μανθάνουσιν οἱ σοφοί.
From their foes do the wise learn many things.
[ Birds 376 ]

ὦ Ζεῦ βασιλεῦ, τῆς λεπτότητος τῶν φρενῶν.
O King Zeus, what subtlety of intellect!
[ Clouds 153 ]

οὔποτε ποιήσεις τὸν καρκίνον ὀρθὰ βαδίζειν.
You cannot make a crab walk straight.
[ Peace 1083 ]

ARISTOTLE

ἄρχη ἄνδρα δείξει.
Rule will prove the man.
[ Nichomachean Ethics 5, 1, 16 ]

ἄνθρωπος φύσει ζώον πολιτικόν.
Man is by nature a civic creature.
[ Politics 1, 2 ]

ἡ εὐδαιμονία τῶν αὐτάρκων ἔστι.
Happiness belongs to those who are contented.

οἱ γὰρ πολλοὶ μᾶλλον ὀρέγονται τοῦ κέρδους ἢ τῆς τιμῆς.
The multitude grasp at gain more than at honour.

τοῖς διὰ φύσιν αἰσχροῖς οὐδεὶς ἐπιτιμᾷ.
No one finds fault with defects which are the result of nature.

CALLIMACHUS

αἱ δὲ τεαὶ ζώουσιν ἀηδόνες, ᾕσιν ὁ πάντων
ἁρπακτὴς Ἀίδης οὐκ ἐπὶ χεῖρα βαλεῖ.
But your nightingales [i.e. poems] live on, whereon Hades, the snatcher of all things, shall not lay his hand.
[ Epigram 2 ]

μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.
A great book is a great evil.

CHILON OF SPARTA

τὸν τεθνηκότα μὴ κακολογεῖν.
Do not speak ill of the dead.

CHRYSOSTOM

τὸν δὲ ἀποιχόμενον μνήμῃ τιμᾶτε, μὴ δάκρυσιν.
Him who is dead and gone, honour with remembrance, not with tears.

CLEANTHES

ἀνελεύθερος πᾶς ὅστις εἰς δόξαν βλέπει.
Every man who looks to opinion is not free.

CLEOBULUS

ἄριστον μέτρον.
Moderation is best.

DEMOSTHENES

ἑσπέρα μὲν γὰρ ἦν, ἧκε δ' ἀγγέλων τις ὡς τοὺς πρυτάνεις ὡς Ἐλάτεια κατείληπται.
It was evening, and a messenger came to the presiding councillors with the news that Elatea had been taken.
[ De Corona 169 ]

ὁ βούλεται τοῦθ' ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεται.
What each man wishes, that also he thinks.

DIOGENES

γῆν ὁρῶ.
I see land [i.e. I see the end of my labour].

DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS

κρεῖττων ἡ πρόνοια τῆς μεταμελείας.
Forethought is better than repentance.

EPICHARMUS

οὐ λέγειν δεινὸς, ἀλλὰ σιγᾶν ἀδύνατος.
Not capable at speaking, but incapable of holding his tongue.
[ Quoted by Aulus Gellius, Book 1, 15 ]

EPICTETUS

ἐλεύθερός ἐστιν ὁ ζῶν ὡς βούλεται.
He is free who lives as he chooses.
[ Book 4, 1, 1 ]

EPICURUS

λάθη βιώας.
Remain hidden in life.

οὐδὲν γίγνεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος.
Nothing comes out of what is not.

EUPOLIS

ἀλλ' οἱ γὰρ ἀθυμοῦντες ἄνδρες οὔποτε τρόπαιον ἐστήσαντο.
But faint-hearted men never erected a trophy.

EURIPIDES

γίγνωσκε δὲ
ὡς πᾶσιν ἡμῖν κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται.
But know that to die is a debt we all must pay.
[ Alcestis 418 ]

ἐμνημόνευσε δ' ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος κακὸς
παλαιὰ νείκη· πῶς ἂν οὖν εἴη σοφός;
Like a base mortal he remembered old quarrels; how then could he be wise?
[ Andromache 1164 ]

ἡδύ τοι σωθέντα μεμνῆσθαι πόνων.
Sweet is the remembrance of troubles when you are in safety.
[ Andromeda 10, 2 (Fragment) ]

Ἄρης στυγεῖ μέλλοντας.
Ares [god of war] hates those who hesitate.
[ Heracleidae 722 ]

ἄφιλον τὸ δυστυχές.
Misfortune is friendless.
[ Hercules Furens 561 ]

ἡ γλῶσσ' ὀμώμοχ', ἡ δὲ φρὴν ἀνώμοτος.
The tongue has sworn it, but the mind is unsworn.
[ Hippolytus 612 ]

σοφὴν δὲ μισῶ. μὴ γὰρ ἔν γ' ἐμοῖς δόμοις
εἴη φρονοῦσα πλείον' ἢ γυναῖκα χρή.
I hate a clever woman. May there never be in my house a woman knowing more than a woman ought.
[ Hippolytus 640 ]

φεῦ, χρῆν βροτοῖσι τῶν φίλων τεκμήριον
σαφές τι κεῖσθαι καὶ διάγνωσιν φρενῶν,
ὅστις τ' ἀληθής ἐστιν ὅς τε μὴ φίλος.
Ah, mortals should have some reliable test established for their friends, some way to discern their hearts, to tell who is a true friend and who is not.
[ Hippolytus 925 ]

φεῦ τῆς βροτείας – ποῖ προβήσεται; – φρενός.
τί τέρμα τόλμης καὶ θράσους γενήσεται;
Ah, the heart of man – how far will it go? What limit will there be to brazenness and arrogance?
[ Hippolytus 936 ]

ἥπερ μεγίστη γίγνεται σωτηρία,
ὅταν γυνὴ πρὸς ἄνδρα μὴ διχοστατῇ.
This very thing proves to be the saving [of a marriage], when a wife stands not at variance with her husband.
[ Medea 14 ]

νῦν δ' ἐχθρὰ πάντα, καὶ νοσεῖ τὰ φίλτατα.
But now all is enmity, and diseased are the dearest ties.
[ Medea 16 ]

ἄρτι γιγνῶσκεις τόδε,
ὡς πᾶς τις αὑτὸν τοῦ πέλας μᾶλλον φιλεῖ;
Only now do you learn this, that each man loves himself more than his neighbour?
[ Medea 85 ]

πείθειν δῶρα καὶ θεοὺς λόγος·
χρυσὸς δὲ κρείσσων μυρίων λόγων βροτοῖς.
They say that gifts persuade even the gods, and gold is more to mortals than ten thousand words.
[ Medea 964 ]

κούφως φέρειν χρὴ θνητὸν ὄντα συμφοράς.
A mortal must bear calamities with meekness.
[ Medea 1018 ]

ὁ δ' ὄλβος οὐ βέβαιος, ἀλλ' ἐφήμερος.
Happiness is not steadfast but transient.
[ Phoenissae 558 ]

εἷς ἀνὴρ οὐ πάνθ' ὁρᾷ.
One man does not see everything.
[ Phoenissae 745 ]

καὶ τοῦτ' ἐμοὶ τἀνδρεῖον, ἡ προμηθία.
And to my mind this too is a manly quality, namely, foresight.
[ Suppliants 510 ]

οὐ ταὐτόν, ὦ παῖ, τῷ βλέπειν τὸ κατθανεῖν·
τὸ μὲν γὰρ οὐδέν, τῷ δ' ἔνεισιν ἐλπίδες.
My child, to die is not the same as to be alive: the one is nothing, but in the other there are hopes.
[ Trojan Women 632 ]

ὦ βάρβαρ' ἐξευρόντες Ἕλληνες κακά,
τί τόνδε παῖδα κτείνετ' οὐδὲν αἴτιον;
O Greeks, devisers of barbaric deeds, why do you kill this boy, guilty in nothing?
[ Trojan Women 764 ]

οὐκ ἔστ' ἐραστὴς ὅστις οὐκ ἀεὶ φιλεῖ.
He is not a lover who does not love forever.
[ Trojan Women 1051 ]

μάντις γ' ἄριστος ὅστις εἰκάζει καλῶς.
He is the best diviner who conjectures well.
[ Fragment ]

οὐκ αἰσχρὸν οὐδὲν τῶν ἀναγκαίων βροτοῖς.
What is necessary [or: natural] for mortals is never disgraceful.

HERODOTUS

οὕτω ὦν Κροῖσε πᾶν ἐστὶ ἄνθρωπος συμφορή.
So then, O Croesus, man is altogether a creature of chance.
[ Book 1, 32.4 ]

σκοπέειν δὲ χρὴ παντὸς χρήματος τὴν τελευτήν κῇ ἀποβήσεται.
We must examine the end of every matter, to see how it will turn out.
[ Book 1, 32.9 ]

καδμεία νίκη.
A Cadmean victory [i.e. one in which the conquerors suffer as much as the conquered].
[ Book 1, 166.2 ]

"ὦ Ζεῦ, ἐκγενέσθαι μοι Ἀθηναίους τίσασθαι," εἴπαντα δὲ ταῦτα προστάξαι ἑνὶ τῶν θεραπόντων δείπνου προσκειμένου αὐτῷ ἐς τρὶς ἑκάστοτε εἰπεῖν· "Δέσποτα, μέμνεο τῶν Ἀθηναίων."
"O Zeus", he continued, "may it be granted to me to take vengeance on the Athenians!", and saying this he ordered one of his attendants, every time dinner was set before him, to say three times: "Master, remember the Athenians."
[ Book 5, 105.2 ]

ὡς δ' ἐπύθετο Ξέρξης, δεινὰ ποιεύμενος τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἐκέλευσε τριηκοσίας ἐπικέσθαι μάστιγι πληγὰς καὶ κατεῖναι ἐς τὸ πέλαγος πεδέων ξεῦγος.
When Xerxes learned of this, he took great exception and ordered that 300 lashes be administered to the Hellespont with a whip, and that a pair of shackles be dropped into the sea.
[ Book 7, 35.1 ]

HESIOD

ἀγαθὴ δ' ἔρις ἥδε βροτοῖσιν.
This strife is good for mortals.
[ Works and Days 24 ]

πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.
The half is better than the whole.
[ Works and Days 40 ]

ἔργον δ' οὐδὲν ὄνειδος.
Labour is in no way disgraceful.
[ Works and Days ]

HIPPOCRATES

ὁ βίος βραχὺς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρή.
Life is short and the art [sc. of healing] long.
[ Aphorisms 1 ]

πᾶν γὰρ τὸ πολὺ πολέμιον τῇ φύσει.
For everything in excess is opposed to nature.

HOMER

μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε.
The wrath sing, goddess, of Peleus' son Achilles, the accursed wrath which brought countless woes upon the Achaeans.
[ Iliad 1, 1 ]

ἄσβεστος γέλως.
Inextinguishable laughter.
[ Iliad 1, 599 ]

οὐ χρὴ παννύχιον εὕδειν βουληφόρον ἄνδρα.
It does not become a man of counsel to sleep the whole night.
[ Iliad 2, 24 ]

οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη· εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω,
εἷς βασιλεύς.
No good thing is a multitude of lords; let there be one lord, one king.
[ liad 2, 204 ]

βοὴν ἀγαθός.
Good at the battle cry.
[ Iliad 2, 408 (et passim) ]

οἵη περ φύλλων γενεή, τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν.
Just as are the generations of leaves, so are those also of men.
[ Iliad 6, 146 ]

αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν καὶ ὑπείροχον ἔμμεναι ἄλλων.
Always to excel and to stand out from the rest.
[ Iliad 6, 208 ]

ἔσσεται ἦμαρ ὅτ' ἄν ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ.
The day will come when sacred Ilium will fall.
[ liad 6, 448 ]

ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκε
παῖδ' ἑόν· ἡ δ' ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ
δακρυόεν γελάσασα·
So saying, he placed his son in his dear wife's arms; and she took him to her fragrant bosom, smiling through her tears;
[ Iliad 6, 482 ]

ἐχθρὸς γάρ μοι κεῖνος ὁμῶς Ἀίδαο πύλῃσιν
ὅς χ' ἕτερον μὲν κεύθῃ ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἄλλο δὲ εἰπῃ.
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is he who hides one thing in his mind, and speaks another.
[ Iliad 9, 312 ]

ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκμῆς.
On a razor's edge [i.e. at the critical moment].
[ Iliad 10, 173 ]

ἀλλ' ἦτοι μὲν ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι.
But truly these things rest on the knees of the gods.
[ Iliad 17, 514 ]

ὅς τε πολὺ γλυκίων μέλιτος καταλειβομένοιο.
It [sc. revenge] is sweeter far than trickling honey.
[ Iliad 18, 109 ]

ἀλλ' οὐ Ζεὺς ἄνδρεσσι νοήματα πάντα τελευτᾷ.
But Zeus accomplishes not for men all their purposes.
[ Iliad 18, 328 ]

κάτθανε καὶ Πάτροκλος, ὅπερ σέο πολλὸν ἀμείνων.
Even Patroclus is dead, who was far better than you.
[ Iliad 21, 107 ]

τέθναθι· κῆρα δ' ἐγὼ τότε δέξομαι, ὁπότε κεν δὴ
Ζεὺς ἐθέλῃ τελέσαι ἠδ' ἀθάνατοι θεοὶ ἄλλοι.
Lie dead! Then will I accept my fate, when Zeus wishes to accomplish it and the other immortal gods.
[ Iliad 22, 365 ]

ὣς γὰρ ἐπεκλώσαντο θεοὶ δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι,
ζώειν ἀχνυμένους· αὐτοὶ δέ τ' ἀκηδέες εἰσί.
For so have the gods ordained for wretched mortals, that they should live in sorrows; but they themselves are carefree.
[ Iliad 24, 525 ]

ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ
πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν·
Tell me, Muse, of the man of many resources, who was driven far astray, after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy;
[ Odyssey 1, 1 ]

πολλῶν δ' ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω.
Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose minds he learned.
[ Odyssey 1, 3 ]

δόσις δ' ὀλίγη τε, φίλη τε.
d a gift, though small, is welcome.
[ Odyssey 6, 208 ]

οὖτις ἐμοί γ' ὄνομα.
Nobody is my name.
[ Odyssey 9, 366 ]

ὥρη μὲν πολέων μύθων, ὥρη δὲ καὶ ὕπνου.
here is a time for many words, and there is a time also for sleep.
[ Odyssey 11, 379 ]

βουλοίμην κ' ἐπάρουρος ἐὼν θητευέμεν ἄλλῳ,
ἀνδρὶ παρ' ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη,
ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν.
I would much rather choose to live on earth and serve as a labourer in the employ of another, alongside an unpropertied man, one who had not much to live on, than rule over all the dead that have perished.
[ Odyssey 11, 489 ]

ISOCRATES

ἐὰν ἦς φιλομαθὴς, ἔσει πολυμαθής.
If you are a lover of instruction, you will be well instructed.
[ Ad Demonicum 18 ]

JUSTINUS

ἀνὴρ ὁ φεύγων καὶ πάλιν μαχήσεται.
The man who flies shall fight again.
[ 9,6 (Expression attributed to Demosthenes on his flight at the battle of Chaeronea, 338 BC.) ]

LYCURGUS

ἁπλοῦν τὸ δικαίον, ῥᾴδιον τὸ ἄληθες.
Justice is simple, truth is easy.

MENANDER

ὅν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνήσκει νέος.
He whom the gods love dies young.
[ Dis Exapaton ]

ὦ τρὶς κακοδαίμων, ὅστις ὢν πένης γαμεῖ.
O thrice ill-starred is he who marries when he is poor!
[ Plocius ]

πενίαν φέρειν οὐ παντὸς, ἀλλ' ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.
To endure poverty is the mark not of every man, but of the wise man.
[ Sententiae 463 ]

ὁ μηδὲν ἀδικῶν οὐδενὸς δεῖται νόμου.
The man who does no wrong needs no law.
[ Fragment 845 ]

καλῶς ἀκούειν μᾶλλον ἢ πλουτεῖν θέλε.
Wish rather to be well spoken of than to be rich.

ὀργὴ φιλοῦντων ὀλίγον ἰσχύει χρόνον.
The anger of lovers lasts a short time.

ὑγίεια καὶ νοῦς ἐσθλὰ τῷ βίῳ δύο.
Health and intellect are two good things in life.

PALLADAS

σκηνὴ πᾶς ὁ βίος, καὶ παίγνιον· ἤ μάθε παίζειν
τὴν σπουδὴν μεταθεὶς, ἤ φέρε τὰς ὀδύνας.
All life is a stage and a play; either learn to trifle, laying earnestness aside, or bear its pains.
[ Anthologia Palatina 10, 72 ]

PERIANDER

μελετὴ τὸ πᾶν.
Practice [or: diligence] is everything.

PHOCYLIDES

ἀμφότεροι κλῶπες, καὶ ὁ δεξάμενος καὶ ὁ κλέψας.
Both are thieves, the receiver as well as the stealer.

κοινὰ πάθη πάντων· ὁ βίος τρόχος, ἄστατος ὄλβος.
Suffering is common to all; life is a wheel, and prosperity is subject to change.

PITTACUS

καιρὸν γνῶθι.
Know your opportunity (i.e. Know the proper time).

PLATO

ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ.
A life without investigation is not worth a man's living.
[ Apology 38a ]

ἐγώ σοι ἐξ ἀρχῆς πάντα πειράσομαι διηγήσασθαι.
I will try to tell you everything from the beginning.
[ Phaedo 59c ]

ἡ μὲν ψυχὴ πολυχρόνιόν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἀσθενέστερον καὶ ὀλιγοχρονιώτερον.
The soul lasts for a long time, while the body is weaker and short-lived.
[ Phaedo 87d ]

"ὦ Κρίτων", ἔφη, "τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ ὀφείλομεν ἀλεκτρυόνα· ἀλλὰ ἀπόδοτε καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσετε."
"Crito", he said, "to Asclepius we owe a cock: now pay it and do not neglect it."
[ Phaedo 118a ]

ἥττων ἀμαθὴς σοφοῦ, δειλὸς ἀνδρείου.
An ignorant man is inferior to a wise man, a coward to a brave man.
[ Phaedrus 239a ]

ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.
To attempt to shave a lion.
[ Republic 1, 341c ]

ὕδραν τέμνουσιν.
They are wounding a hydra (sc. which produces two heads for every one cut off).
[ Republic 4, 426e ]

οὔτε τι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἄξιον ὂν μεγάλης σπουδῆς.
Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.
[ Republic 10, 604b ]

οἱ φαῦλοι ἐρῶσι τῶν σωμάτων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν ψυχῶν.
Base men are in love with the bodies rather than the souls.
[ Symposium 181b ]

ἔρως τῶν θεῶν βασιλεύει.
Love is king of the gods.
[ Symposium 195c ]

ἀστέρας εἰσαθρεῖς ἀστὴρ ἐμός. εἴθε γενοίμην
οὐρανός, ὡς πολλοῖς ὄμμασιν εἰς σὲ βλέπω.
At stars you are gazing, my Star. If only I were the sky, that with many eyes I might look on you.
[ OBGV 45 ]

ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω.
Let no one untutored in geometry enter.
[ Motto over the entrance to Plato’s Academy ]

ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖ.
God always geometrises.
[ The mnemonic below for π (pi) was derived from this phrase of Plato (number of characters in each of the Greek words): ]

π = 3.1415926 . . .

ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν

Always the great god applies geometry to everything.

PLUTARCH

οὐδὲν οὕτω πιαίνει τὸν ἵππον ὡς βασιλέως ὀφθαλμός.
Nothing fattens the horse so much as the eye of its master.
[ Morals, Book 1 ]

πᾶν τὸ σκληρὸν χαλεπῶς μαλάττεται.
Everything that is hard is with difficulty softened.

PROTAGORAS

ἄνθρωπος μέτρον.
Man is the measure (sc. of all things).

PYTHAGORAS

ἀρχὴ δέ τοι ἥμισυ παντός.
The beginning is half of the whole.

SAPPHO

ἑσπέρα πάντα φέρων ὅσα φαίνολις ἐσκέδασ' αὔως,
φέρεις ὄιν, φέρεις αἶγα, φέρεις ἄπυ μάτερι παῖδα.
Hesperus, bringing everything that bright dawn scattered; you bring the sheep, you bring the goat, you bring the child back to its mother.

SIMONIDES

ὦ χεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Stranger, tell the Lacedemonians that here we lie, obedient to their laws.

SOLON

γηράσκω δ' αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος.
I grow old ever learning many things.
[ Poetae Lyrici Graeci, Solon 18 ]

SOPHOCLES

χάρις χάριν γὰρ ἐστιν ἡ τίκτουσ' ἀεί.
For one kindness is always the begetter of another.
[ Ajax 522 ]

πᾶς ἀνὴρ αὑτῷ πονεῖ.
Every man labours for himself.
[ Ajax 1366 ]

πολλὰ τὰ δεινὰ κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερν πέλει.
Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man.
[ Antigone 332 ]

καὶ φημὶ δρᾶσαι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.
And I say that I did it and I do not deny it.
[ Antigone 443 ]

ἀλλ' ἡ τυραννὶς πολλά τ' ἄλλ' εὐδαιμονεῖ
κἄξεστιν αὐτῇ δρᾶν λέγειν θ' ἃ βούλεται.
But kingship is fortunate in many other respects, and in particular it has the power to do and say what it likes.
[ Antigone 506 ]

μή νυν προσεύχου μηδέν· ὡς πεπρωμένης
οὐκ ἔστι θνητοῖς συμφορᾶς ἀπαλλαγή.
Do not now make any prayers at all; as there is no escape from destined calamity for mortals.
[ Antigone 1337 ]

τῷ τεκόντι πᾶν φίλον.
To its parent every child is dear.
[ Oedipus Coloneus 1108 ]

κακῶν γὰρ δυσάλωτος οὐδείς.
For none is beyond the reach of misfortune.
[ Oedipus Coloneus 1722 ]

ἔννους τὰ καινὰ τοῖς πάλαι τεκμαίρεται.
A rational man interprets new events by means of earlier ones.
[ Oedipus Tyrannus 916 ]

γῆρας διδάσκει πολλὰ καὶ χρόνου τριβή.
Old age and wear of time teach many things.
[ Fragment ]

ἔστ' ἐλπὶς ἡ βόσκουσα τοὺς πολλοὺς βροτῶν.
It is hope that maintains most of mankind.
[ Fragment ]

οὐδὲν ῥῆμα σὺν κέρδει κακόν.
No word that is profitable is bad.

χωρὶς τὸ τ' εἰπεῖν πολλὰ καὶ τὰ καιρία.
It is a different thing to say many things and things to the purpose.

STOBAEUS

ὡς οὐδὲν ἡ μάθησις, ἂν μὴ νοῦς παρῇ.
How vain is learning unless intelligence go with it!

THEOCRITUS

ἐς Τροίαν πειρώμενοι ἦλθον Ἀχαιοί.
By trying, the Greeks got into Troy.
[ Idyll 15, 61 ]

THUCYDIDES

κτῆμά τε ἐς αἰεὶ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγώνισμα ἐς τὸ παραχρῆμα ἀκούειν ξύγκειται.
And it is composed as a possession for ever, rather than as a prize-essay to listen to for the moment.
[ Book 1, 22.4 ]

ἄλλοις μὲν γὰρ χρήματά ἐστι πολλὰ καὶ νῆες καὶ ἵπποι, ἡμῖν δὲ ξύμμαχοι ἀγαθοί.
For others have a lot of money and ships and horses, but we have good allies.
[ Book 1, 86.3 ]

ἥδε ἡ ἡμέρα τοῖς Ἥλλησι μεγάλων κακῶν ἄρξει.
This day will be the beginning of great ills for the Greeks.
[ Book 2, 12.4 ]

φιλοκαλοῦμέν τε γάρ μετ' εὐτελείας καὶ φιλοσοφοῦμεν ἄνευ μαλακίας.
For we cultivate a taste for the beautiful with economy, and cultivate knowledge without effeminacy.
[ Book 2, 40.1 ]

ἀνδρῶν γὰρ ἐπιφανῶν πᾶσα γῆ τάφος.
For the whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men.
[ Book 2, 43.3 ]

δίκαια μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρωπείῳ λόγῳ ἀπὸ τῆς ἴσης ἀνάγκης κρίνεται, δυνατὰ δὲ οἱ προύχοντες πράσσουσι καὶ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς συγχωροῦσιν.
In the discussion of human affairs, questions of justice only arise when there is equal power to enforce it, while the strong exact what they can and the weak concede what they must.
[ Book 5, 89 ]

XENOPHON

ἥδιστον ἄκουσμα ἔπαινος.
The sweetest sound is praise.
[ Memorabilia 2, 1, 31 ]

οὕτω χρὴ ποιεῖν, ὅπως ἕκαστός ἑαυτῷ ξυνείσεται τῆς νίκης αἰτιώτατος ὤν.
We must so strive that each man may regard himself as the chief cause of the victory.

ZENODOTUS

ἄκουε τοῦ τέσσαρα ὦτα ἔχοντος.
Listen to him who has four ears [i.e. to one who is a good listener himself].