Epigraphs for Complete Thyself

The following passages might prove useful as epigraphs or quotations in my book Complete Thyself: Aristotle on Human Fulfillment.

Aeschylus

• Agamemnon, 176-178:
  τὸν φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ὁδώ-
  σαντα, τὸν πάθει μάθος
  θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.
  "He who set mortals to thinking
  laid it down that learning comes
  only through suffering."
  
• Agamemnon, 250-251:
  Δίκα δὲ τοῖς μὲν παθοῦσ-
  ιν μαθεῖν ἐπιρρέπει:
  "Justice has made it so that
  only those learn who suffer."
  
• Agamemnon, 378-380:
  ἔστω δ᾽ ἀπή-
  μαντον, ὥστ᾽ ἀπαρκεῖν
  εὖ πραπίδων λαχόντα.
  "Let he who is well-favored with
  understanding be unharmed and contented."
  
• Agamemnon, 785-787:
  πῶς σε σεβίζω
  μήθ᾽ ὑπεράρας μήθ᾽ ὑποκάμψας
  καιρὸν χάριτος;
  How shall I honor you,
  neither going beyond nor falling short
  of this moment's measure?
  
• Agamemnon, 838-839:
  εὖ γὰρ ἐξεπίσταμαι
  ὁμιλίας κάτοπτρον,
  "Well I know the mirror of companionship."
  
• Agamemnon, 902:
  τερπνὸν δὲ τἀναγκαῖον ἐκφυγεῖν ἅπαν.
  "Sweet it is to escape from all necessity."
  
• Agamemnon, 927-929:
  καὶ τὸ μὴ κακῶς φρονεῖν
  θεοῦ μέγιστον δῶρον. ὀλβίσαι δὲ χρὴ
  βίον τελευτήσαντ᾽ ἐν εὐεστοῖ φίλῃ.
  "The gods' greatest gift is to be minded well;
  call that man dear to them who has brought
  his life to its end in a thriving state."
  
• The Eumenides, 420:
  μάθοιμ᾽ ἄν, εἰ λέγοι τις ἐμφανῆ λόγον.
  "I can know them, if someone gives a clear account."
  
• The Eumenides, 428:
  δυοῖν παρόντοιν ἥμισυς λόγου πάρα.
  "Here are two, but only half the account."
  
• The Eumenides, 442:
  τούτοις ἀμείβου πᾶσιν εὐμαθές τί μοι.
  "Give me an answer that is completely clear."
  
• The Eumenides, 521-522:
  ξυμφέρει
  σωφρονεῖν ὑπὸ στένει.
  "To learn from suffering brings advantage."
  
• The Eumenides, 550-551:
  ἑκὼν δ᾽ ἀνάγκας ἄτερ δίκαιος ὢν
  οὐκ ἄνολβος ἔσται:
  "He who willingly acts justly without constraint
  shall not lack joy."
  
• The Libation Bearers, 110-111:
  Elektra: τίνας δὲ τούτους τῶν φίλων προσεννέπω;
  Chorus: πρῶτον μὲν αὑτὴν
  "Elektra: Whom of those closest can I call dear?
  Chorus: Yourself first of all."
  
• The Libation Bearers, 313-314:
  δράσαντι παθεῖν,
  τριγέρων μῦθος τάδε φωνεῖ.
  "Who acts shall suffer:
  so say the oldest tales."
  
• The Libation Bearers, 854:
  οὔτοι φρέν᾽ ἂν κλέψειεν ὠμματωμένην.
  "The mind has eyes, not easily deceived."
  
• The Persians, 93-100:
  θεόθεν γὰρ κατὰ Μοῖρ᾽
  ἐκράτησεν τὸ παλαι-
  όν, ἐπέσκηψε δὲ Πέρσαις
  πολέμους πυργοδαΐκτους
  διέπειν ἱππιοχάρμας
  τε κλόνους
  πόλεών τ᾽ ἀναστάσεις.
  "Deceitful deception of god -
  what mortal man shall avoid it?
  With nimbleness, deftness, and speed
  whose leaping foot shall escape it?
  Benign and coaxing at first
  it leads us astray into nets which
  no mortal is able to slip,
  whose doom we never can flee."
  
• The Persians, 140-143:
  τόδ᾽ ἐνεζόμενοι
  στέγος ἀρχαῖον,
  φροντίδα κεδνὴν καὶ βαθύβουλον
  θώμεθα,
  "Let us in this ancient palace sit,
  and deep and wisely found our thoughts."
  
• The Persians, 242:
  οὔτινος δοῦλοι κέκληνται φωτὸς οὐδ᾽ ὑπήκοοι.
  "They are slaves to none, nor are they subject."
  
• The Persians, 765-767:
  Μῆδος γὰρ ἦν ὁ πρῶτος ἡγεμὼν στρατοῦ:
  ἄλλος δ᾽ ἐκείνου παῖς τόδ᾽ ἔργον ἤνυσεν:
  φρένες γὰρ αὐτοῦ θυμὸν ᾠακοστρόφουν.
  "First was Medus leader of our people;
  next his son fulfilled the office well,
  whose reason was the helmsman to his spirit."
  
• The Persians, 772:
  θεὸς γὰρ οὐκ ἤχθηρεν, ὡς εὔφρων ἔφυ.
  "No god resented him, for he was wise."
  
• The Persians, 820:
  οὐχ ὑπέρφευ θνητὸν ὄντα χρὴ φρονεῖν.
  "Never, being mortal, ought we to cast our thoughts too high."
  
• Prometheus Bound, 311-312:
  γίγνωσκε σαυτὸν καὶ μεθάρμοσαι τρόπους
  νέους: νέος γὰρ καὶ τύραννος ἐν θεοῖς.
  "Know thyself and take on new ways:
  For new as well is the king among the gods."
  
• Prometheus Bound, 339:
  ἔργῳ κοὐ λόγῳ τεκμαίρομαι.
  "I judge by deeds, not words."
  
• Prometheus Bound, 981:
  ἀλλ᾽ ἐκδιδάσκει πάνθ᾽ ὁ γηράσκων χρόνος.
  "Time teaches all things when it grows old."
  
• Seven Against Thebes, 166-167:
  ἰὼ παναρκεῖς θεοί,
  ἰὼ τέλειοι τέλειαί τε γᾶς
  "O gods and goddesses all-sufficient,
  O you who bring the earth to completion!"
  
• Seven Against Thebes, 698-699:
  κακὸς οὐ κεκλή-
  σῃ βίον εὖ κυρήσας:
  "Never will you be called bad if you steer your life well."
  
• The Suppliant Maidens, 100:
  πᾶν ἄπονον δαιμονίων.
  "The gods do all without struggle."
  
• The Suppliant Maidens, 364:
  θεῶν λήματ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἁγνοῦ.
  "The man who's pure of heart is favored by the gods."
  
• The Suppliant Maidens, 514:
  ἀεί γ᾽ ἄναρκτόν ἐστι δεῖμ᾽ ἐξαίσιον.
  "Headlong fear is always powerless."
  

Aristotle

• "Nothing is complete unless it has a telos." (207a15)
• "Nothing incomplete is found among the elements of fulfillment." (1177b26)

W.H. Auden

• "The life of man is never quite completed." ~ W.H. Auden, "In Time of War"

Henry Beston

• "True humanity is no inherent right but an achievement." ~ Henry Beston, Herbs and the Earth

George Eliot

• "Character too is a process and an unfolding." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Is there not a genius for feeling nobly which also reigns over human spirits?" ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Character is not cut in marble - it is not something solid and unalterable. It is something living and changing, and may become diseased as our bodies do." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch

Euripides

• Alcestis, 239-240:
  τοῖς τε πάροιθεν τεκμαιρόμενος
  "I judge by past experience."
  
• Alcestis, 601:
  τὸ γὰρ εὐγενὲς ἐκφέρεται πρὸς αἰδῶ.
  "Nobility is borne out in respect for others."
  
• Alcestis, 640:
  ἔδειξας εἰς ἔλεγχον ἐξελθὼν ὃς εἶ
  "Your true colors came out in the test."
  
• Alcestis, 693:
  τὸ δὲ ζῆν σμικρὸν ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως γλυκύ.
  "There is little to life, but what we have is sweet."
  
• Alcestis, 799:
  ὄντας δὲ θνητοὺς θνητὰ καὶ φρονεῖν χρεών:
  "Being mortal, we must think mortal thoughts."
  
• Alcestis, 960-961:
  τί μοι ζῆν δῆτα κέρδιον, φίλοι,
  κακῶς κλύοντι καὶ κακῶς πεπραγότι;
  "What has life gained me, friends,
  when my name and actions are bad?"
  
• Alcestis, 1008:
  φίλον πρὸς ἄνδρα χρὴ λέγειν ἐλευθέρως,
  "A man must be able to speak freely to his friend."
  
• Andromache, 100-102:
  χρὴ δ᾽ οὔποτ᾽ εἰπεῖν οὐδέν᾽ ὄλβιον βροτῶν,
  πρὶν ἂν θανόντος τὴν τελευταίαν ἴδῃς
  ὅπως περάσας ἡμέραν ἥξει κάτω.
  "Never say any mortal has prospered
  until he has seen his ending day
  and passed the limits of the earth.
  
• Andromache, 376-377:
  φίλων γὰρ οὐδὲν ἴδιον, οἵτινες φίλοι
  ὀρθῶς πεφύκασ᾽, ἀλλὰ κοινὰ χρήματα.
  "Those who are dear to each other own nothing apart;
  if they're truly dear, they hold all in common."
  
• Andromache, 784-786:
  ταύταν ᾔνεσα ταύταν καὶ φέρομαι βιοτάν,
  μηδὲν δίκας ἔξω κράτος ἐν θαλάμοις
  καὶ πόλει δύνασθαι.
  "This is the life I praise and make:
  to wield no power beyond what's just
  in my home or in my city."
  
• Andromache, 1284-1287:
  πολλαὶ μορφαὶ τῶν δαιμονίων,
  πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀέλπτως κραίνουσι θεοί:
  καὶ τὰ δοκηθέντ᾽ οὐκ ἐτελέσθη,
  τῶν δ᾽ ἀδοκήτων πόρον ηὗρε θεός.
  "Divinities take many forms;
  the gods do much against our hopes:
  unfulfilled goes what we expect
  and god finds a path to the unexpected."
  
• Bacchae, 386-396:
  ἀχαλίνων στομάτων
  ἀνόμου τ᾽ ἀφροσύνας
  τὸ τέλος δυστυχία:
  ὁ δὲ τᾶς ἡσυχίας
  390βίοτος καὶ τὸ φρονεῖν
  ἀσάλευτόν τε μένει καὶ
  συνέχει δώματα: πόρσω
  γὰρ ὅμως αἰθέρα ναίον-
  τες ὁρῶσιν τὰ βροτῶν οὐρανίδαι.
  τὸ σοφὸν δ᾽ οὐ σοφία
  τό τε μὴ θνητὰ φρονεῖν.
  "The unbridled tongue —
  defiant, foolish —
  ends in disaster;
  whereas the quiet life
  and steady wisdom
  preserve and uphold
  the homes of men.
  High in heaven's air
  dwell the gods, yet still
  they watch what mortals do.
  Unwise indeed are those who set
  their minds beyond what's mortal."
  
• Bacchae, 506:
  οὐκ οἶσθ᾽ ὅ τι ζῇς, οὐδ᾽ ὃ δρᾷς, οὐδ᾽ ὅστις εἶ.
  "You know not how you live, what you do, who you are."
  
• Bacchae, 641:
  πρὸς σοφοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ἀσκεῖν σώφρον᾽ εὐοργησίαν. "The man of wisdom practices moderate good temper."
• Bacchae, 907-911:
  μυρίαι δ᾽ ἔτι μυρίοις
  εἰσὶν ἐλπίδες: αἳ μὲν
  τελευτῶσιν ἐν ὄλβῳ
  βροτοῖς, αἳ δ᾽ ἀπέβησαν:
  τὸ δὲ κατ᾽ ἦμαρ ὅτῳ βίοτος
  εὐδαίμων, μακαρίζω.
  "Ten thousand mortals,
  ten thousand hopes:
  a few end in joy,
  most come to nought;
  only those who flourish
  day in and day out are blessed."
  
• Bacchae, 1004-1005:
  βροτείως τ᾽ ἔχειν ἄλυπος βίος.
  τὸ σοφὸν οὐ φθονῶ:
  "Accept mortality to live without pain;
  this is a wisdom I do not shun."
  
• Bacchae, 1150-1152:
  τὸ σωφρονεῖν δὲ καὶ σέβειν τὰ τῶν θεῶν
  κάλλιστον: οἶμαι δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ σοφώτατον
  θνητοῖσιν εἶναι κτῆμα τοῖσι χρωμένοις.
  "Moderation and reverence before the
  surpassing beauty of the gods:
  of all the attainments open to mortals,
  I acclaim these are the wisest."
  
• Bacchae, 1345:
  ὄψ᾽ ἐμάθεθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ὅτε δὲ χρῆν, οὐκ ᾔδετε.
  "Too late you learn: you did not know me when you should have."
  
• Electra, 294-296:
  ἔνεστι δ᾽ οἶκτος ἀμαθίᾳ μὲν οὐδαμοῦ,
  σοφοῖσι δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν: καὶ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἀζήμιον
  γνώμην ἐνεῖναι τοῖς σοφοῖς λίαν σοφήν.
  "Those who are ignorant have no compassion,
  unlike the wise: for those with insight
  and sagacity pay the price for their wisdom.
  
• Electra, 383-385:
  οὐ μὴ ἀφρονήσεθ᾽, οἳ κενῶν δοξασμάτων
  πλήρεις πλανᾶσθε, τῇ δ᾽ ὁμιλίᾳ βροτοὺς
  κρινεῖτε καὶ τοῖς ἤθεσιν τοὺς εὐγενεῖς;
  "Don't be foolish and go astray, you
  empty-headed, opinion-stuffed people -
  judge people by how they treat others,
  for nobility shows in actual practices."
  
• Electra, 940-941:
  τὰ δ᾽ οὐδὲν εἰ μὴ βραχὺν ὁμιλῆσαι χρόνον.
  ἡ γὰρ φύσις βέβαιος, οὐ τὰ χρήματα.
  "Wealth is with us for only a short time, if that:
  it's what we are, not what we have, that long abides."
  
• Electra, 1084-1085:
  τὰ γὰρ κακὰ
  παράδειγμα τοῖς ἐσθλοῖσιν εἴσοψίν τ᾽ ἔχει.
  "An evil example stands out more strongly against what's good."
  
• Electra, 1357-1359:
  χαίρειν δ᾽ ὅστις δύναται
  καὶ ξυντυχίᾳ μή τινι κάμνει
  θνητῶν, εὐδαίμονα πράσσει.
  "Any mortal who can prosper
  without meeting disaster
  is one who finds fulfillment."
  
• Fragment 1018:
  ὁ νοῦς γὰρ ἠμῶν ἐστιν ἐν ἑκάστῳ θεός.
  "This mind of ours is in each of us the god."
  
• Hecuba 488-491:
  ὦ Ζεῦ, τί λέξω; πότερά σ᾽ ἀνθρώπους ὁρᾶν;
  ἢ δόξαν ἄλλως τήνδε κεκτῆσθαι μάτην,
  ψευδῆ, δοκοῦντας δαιμόνων εἶναι γένος
  τύχην δὲ πάντα τἀν βροτοῖς ἐπισκοπεῖν;
  "O Zeus, what can I say? Do you care for us?
  Or do we, believing that divinities exist,
  deceive ourselves with empty falsehoods,
  while chance controls all for mortals?"
  
• Hecuba 600-602:
  ἔχει γε μέντοι καὶ τὸ θρεφθῆναι καλῶς
  δίδαξιν ἐσθλοῦ: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἤν τις εὖ μάθῃ,
  οἶδεν τό γ᾽ αἰσχρόν, κανόνι τοῦ καλοῦ μαθών.
  "Goodness indeed can well be taught,
  and one who learns it also knows what's bad,
  for the standard he know is what's right."
  
• Hecuba 1187-1189:
  ἀνθρώποισιν οὐκ ἐχρῆν ποτε
  τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν γλῶσσαν ἰσχύειν πλέον:
  "A man's deeds should count for more than his words."
  
• Hecuba 1187-1189:
  ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς γὰρ ἁγαθοὶ σαφέστατοι
  φίλοι: τὰ χρηστὰ δ᾽ αὔθ᾽ ἕκαστ᾽ ἔχει φίλους.
  "True friends reveal themselves in troubled times;
  prosperity has friends enough."
  
• Helen 730-731:
  οὐκ ἔχων ἐλεύθερον, τὸν νοῦν δέ
  "I am not called free, but I have a free mind."
  
• Helen 757:
  γνώμη δ᾽ ἀρίστη μάντις ἥ τ᾽ εὐβουλία.
  "The best prophet is a sound mind and good counsel."
  
• Helen 1030-1031:
  οὐδείς ποτ᾽ εὐτύχησεν ἔκδικος γεγώς, ἐν τῷ δικαίῳ δ᾽ ἐλπίδες σωτηρίας. "The unjust are never truly fortunate; our hopes for deliverance reside in justice."
• Heracleidae, 2-5:
  ὁ μὲν δίκαιος τοῖς πέλας πέφυκ᾽ ἀνὴρ,
  ὁ δ᾽ ἐς τὸ κέρδος λῆμ᾽ ἔχων ἀνειμένον
  πόλει τ᾽ ἄχρηστος καὶ συναλλάσσειν βαρύς,
  αὑτῷ δ᾽ ἄριστος:
  "The just man exists for those who are near and dear,
  while the one who has eyes only for his own advantage
  is useless to his city and a burden to deal with,
  best left to himself."
  
• Heracleidae, 865-866:
  τὸν εὐτυχεῖν δοκοῦντα μὴ ζηλοῦν πρὶν ἂν
  θανόντ᾽ ἴδῃ τις: ὡς ἐφήμεροι τύχαι.
  "We shouldn't envy those who seem to succeed until
  they're dead; for good fortune can disappear in a day.
  
• Heracles, 478-479:
  ὡς ἀνημμένοι κάλῳς
  πρυμνησίοισι βίον ἔχοιτ᾽ εὐδαίμονα.
  "Being so well anchored
  as to pass life in fulfillment."
  
• Heracles, 561:
  ἄφιλον, ἵν᾽ αὖθίς σοι λέγω, τὸ δυστυχές.
  "I say it yet again: misfortune has no friends."
  
• Heracles, 774-776:
  ὁ χρυσὸς ἅ τ᾽ εὐτυχία
  φρενῶν βροτοὺς ἐξάγεται,
  δύνασιν ἄδικον ἐφέλκων.
  "The splendor of good fortune
  leads mortal minds astray,
  drawing them on to raw power."
  
• Heracles, 1251:
  εἰ μέτρῳ μοχθητέον.
  "Even endurance has an end."
  
• Heracles, 1291-1292:
  κεκλημένῳ δὲ φωτὶ μακαρίῳ ποτὲ
  αἱ μεταβολαὶ λυπηρόν:
  "To a blessed one who is called to glory,
  all change is pain."
  
• Heracles, 1345-1346:
  δεῖται γὰρ ὁ θεός, εἴπερ ἔστ᾽ ὀρθῶς θεός, οὐδενός:
  "God, if truly a god, lacks nothing."
  
• Heracles, 1425-1426:
  ὅστις δὲ πλοῦτον ἢ σθένος μᾶλλον φίλων
  ἀγαθῶν πεπᾶσθαι βούλεται, κακῶς φρονεῖ.
  "One who chooses wealth and power over
  love and the good is minded all wrong."
  
• Hippolytus, 79-81:
  ὅσοις διδακτὸν μηδὲν ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῇ φύσει
  τὸ σωφρονεῖν εἴληχεν ἐς τὰ πάντ᾽ ἀεί,
  τούτοις δρέπεσθαι...
  "Not those merely taught, but those who by nature share
  in moderation forever enjoy the fruits of all things."
  
• Hippolytus, 247-248:
  τὸ γὰρ ὀρθοῦσθαι γνώμην ὀδυνᾷ,
  τὸ δὲ μαινόμενον κακόν:
  "Although it pains me to correct my thoughts,
  madness is even worse."
  
• Hippolytus, 264-265:
  οὕτω τὸ λίαν ἧσσον ἐπαινῶ
  τοῦ μηδὲν ἄγαν:
  "I praise less the extreme than
  'nothing to excess.'"
  
• Hippolytus, 380-383:
  τὰ χρήστ᾽ ἐπιστάμεσθα καὶ γιγνώσκομεν,
  οὐκ ἐκπονοῦμεν δ᾽, οἱ μὲν ἀργίας ὕπο,
  οἱ δ᾽ ἡδονὴν προθέντες ἀντὶ τοῦ καλοῦ
  ἄλλην τιν᾽.
  "We know and understand what's good
  but we can't achieve it - some because of laziness,
  some because they prefer pleasure to what's right."
  
• Hippolytus, 426-427:
  μόνον δὲ τοῦτό φασ᾽ ἁμιλλᾶσθαι βίῳ,
  γνώμην δικαίαν κἀγαθήν ὅτῳ παρῇ.
  "One thing alone vies with life itself:
  a good and righteous mind.
  
• Hippolytus, 465-466:
  ἐν σοφοῖσι γὰρ
  τάδ᾽ ἐστὶ θνητῶν, λανθάνειν τὰ μὴ καλά.
  "A mortal's wisdom is to honor what's right."
  
• Hippolytus, 700-701:
  εἰ δ᾽ εὖ γ᾽ ἔπραξα, κάρτ᾽ ἂν ἐν σοφοῖσιν ἦ:
  πρὸς τὰς τύχας γὰρ τὰς φρένας κεκτήμεθα.
  "If I had succeeded, I'd be wise:
  for that's gained by fortune or mind."
  
• Hippolytus, 916-920:
  ὦ πόλλ᾽ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἄνθρωποι μάτην,
  τί δὴ τέχνας μὲν μυρίας διδάσκετε
  καὶ πάντα μηχανᾶσθε κἀξευρίσκετε,
  ἓν δ᾽ οὐκ ἐπίστασθ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐθηράσασθέ πω,
  φρονεῖν διδάσκειν οἷσιν οὐκ ἔνεστι νοῦς;
  "How far astray men go,
  they teach countless skills,
  invent and investigate everything,
  yet haven't pursued or come to know
  how to teach wisdom to those without insight."
  
• Hippolytus, 1105-1107:
  τίς ἐλπὶς ἃ κεύθει
  λείπεται ἔν τε τύχαις θνατῶν καὶ ἐν ἔργμασι λεύσσειν;
  "My hope departs when I witness the fortunes and deeds of men."
  
• Hippolytus, 1433-1434:
  ἀνθρώποισι δὲ
  θεῶν διδόντων εἰκὸς ἐξαμαρτάνειν.
  "Men lose their way when the gods lead them astray."
  
• Ion, 381-383:
  πολλαί γε πολλοῖς εἰσι συμφοραὶ βροτῶν,
  μορφαὶ δὲ διαφέρουσιν: ἓν δ᾽ ἂν εὐτυχὲς
  μόλις ποτ᾽ ἐξεύροι τις ἀνθρώπων βίῳ.
  "Many are the misfortunes of mortals,
  in many shapes: a life of good fortune
  is rarely found among humankind."
  
• Ion, 598-599:
  χρηστοὶ δυνάμενοί τ᾽ εἶναι σοφοί,
  σιγῶσι κοὐ σπεύδουσιν ἐς τὰ πράγματα,
  γέλωτ᾽ ἐν αὐτοῖς μωρίαν τε λήψομαι
  οὐχ ἡσυχάζων ἐν πόλει φόβου πλέᾳ.
  "Those worthy men who can achieve wisdom,
  keeping silence and avoiding worldly affairs,
  will mock my folly for giving up serenity
  in favor of fearsome statecraft."
  
• Ion, 625-626:
  δημότης ἂν εὐτυχὴς
  ζῆν ἂν θέλοιμι μᾶλλον ἢ τύραννος ὤν,
  "I'd rather have the life of a fortunate citizen than be a king."
  
• Ion, 634:
  τὴν φιλτάτην μὲν πρῶτον ἀνθρώπῳ σχολὴν
  "Leisure above all: most dear to man."
  
• Ion, 646-647:
  ἴση γὰρ ἡ χάρις,
  μεγάλοισι χαίρειν σμικρά θ᾽ ἡδέως ἔχειν.
  "Delighting in magnificence has not a grace
  equal to taking pleasure in what's enough."
  
• Ion, 730:
  σὺν τοῖς φίλοις γὰρ ἡδὺ μὲν πράσσειν καλῶς:
  "A joy it is to take beautiful actions with those we love."
  
• Iphigenia among the Taurians, 419-420:
  γνώμα δ᾽ οἷς μὲν ἄκαιρος ὄλ-
  βου, τοῖς δ᾽ ἐς μέσον ἥκει.
  "Some have disordered thoughts about wealth,
  while some others achieve due measure."
  
• Iphigenia among the Taurians, 544:
  οὐ γὰρ ὅν γ᾽ ἐγᾦδα τῶν εὐδαιμόνων.
  "I know of no one I'd call happy."
  
• Iphigenia among the Taurians, 605-607:
  τὰ τῶν φίλων
  αἴσχιστον ὅστις καταβαλὼν ἐς ξυμφορὰς
  αὐτὸς σέσῳσται.
  "It's an ugly thing indeed to save oneself
  while throwing one's friends to the wolves."
  
• Iphigenia among the Taurians, 907-908:
  σοφῶν γὰρ ἀνδρῶν ταῦτα, μὴ 'κβάντας τύχης,
  καιρὸν λαβόντας, ἡδονὰς ἄλλας λαβεῖν.
  "It is a wise man who accepts his fortune,
  seizes the moment, and takes his pleasures as they come."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 17-18:
  ζηλῶ δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν ὃς ἀκίνδυνον
  βίον ἐξεπέρασ᾽ ἀγνὼς ἀκλεής:
  "I envy the man who passes though life
  without peril, unheralded, unknown."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 161-163:
  θνητῶν δ᾽ ὄλβιος ἐς τέλος οὐδεὶς
  οὐδ᾽ εὐδαίμων:
  οὔπω γὰρ ἔφυ τις ἄλυπος.
  "No one has joy and happiness
  to the very end in every way;
  each one is born to some distress."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 387-388:
  εἰ δ᾽ ἐγώ, γνοὺς πρόσθεν οὐκ εὖ, μετετέθην εὐβουλίᾳ,
  μαίνομαι;
  "If yesterday I was without sense
  but today I counsel myself well,
  does that make me mad?"
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 394:
  οὐ γὰρ ἀσύνετον τὸ θεῖον,
  "The divine ones are not without understanding."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 446-450:
  ἡ δυσγένεια δ᾽ ὡς ἔχει τι χρήσιμον.
  καὶ γὰρ δακρῦσαι ῥᾳδίως αὐτοῖς ἔχει,
  ἅπαντά τ᾽ εἰπεῖν. τῷ δὲ γενναίῳ φύσιν
  ἄνολβα ταῦτα. προστάτην δὲ τοῦ βίου
  τὸν ὄγκον ἔχομεν τῷ τ᾽ ὄχλῳ δουλεύομεν.
  "Those of lower birth have an advantage:
  for you can freely weep and say what you want.
  But we who are noble by birth in fact
  are wretched: a leader is hemmed in,
  beholden to the mob like a slave."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 554-557:
  εἴη δέ μοι μετρία μὲν
  χάρις, πόθοι δ᾽ ὅσιοι,
  καὶ μετέχοιμι τᾶς Ἀφροδί-
  τας, πολλὰν δ᾽ ἀποθείμαν.
  "May I be graced with due measure,
  may my longings be holy,
  may I take part in love
  but avoid excess."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 919-925:
  ὑψηλόφρων μοι θυμὸς αἴρεται πρόσω:
  ἐπίσταμαι δὲ τοῖς κακοῖσί τ᾽ ἀσχαλᾶν
  μετρίως τε χαίρειν τοῖσιν ἐξωγκωμένοις.
  λελογισμένοι γὰρ οἱ τοιοίδ᾽ εἰσὶν βροτῶν
  ὀρθῶς διαζῆν τὸν βίον γνώμης μέτα.
  ἔστιν μὲν οὖν ἵν᾽ ἡδὺ μὴ λίαν φρονεῖν,
  ἔστιν δὲ χὥπου χρήσιμον γνώμην ἔχειν.
  "My spirit pushes me toward arrogance;
  yet I've learned to curb my pride
  when faced with evils, and take a
  measured joy when good things pile up.
  One well-schooled in reason knows how to make
  a straight path through life.
  Sometimes there's pleasure in being easy-minded,
  but at other times keeping one's head is better."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 1250-1251:
  τὸ φῶς τόδ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν ἥδιστον βλέπειν,
  τὰ νέρθε δ᾽ οὐδέν:
  "To look on the light of day is sweet for all people,
  but the world below is nothing."
  
• Iphigenia in Aulis, 1509:
  χαῖρέ μοι, φίλον φάος.
  "Farewell, beloved light!"
  
• Medea, 86:
  πᾶς τις αὑτὸν τοῦ πέλας μᾶλλον φιλεῖ,
  "Everyone loves himself more than those who are near and dear."
  
• Medea, 119-128:
  δεινὰ τυράννων λήματα καί πως
  ὀλίγ᾽ ἀρχόμενοι, πολλὰ κρατοῦντες
  χαλεπῶς ὀργὰς μεταβάλλουσιν.
  τὸ γὰρ εἰθίσθαι ζῆν ἐπ᾽ ἴσοισιν
  κρεῖσσον: ἐμοὶ γοῦν ἐπὶ μὴ μεγάλοις
  ὀχυρῶς τ᾽ εἴη καταγηράσκειν.
  τῶν γὰρ μετρίων πρῶτα μὲν εἰπεῖν
  τοὔνομα νικᾷ, χρῆσθαί τε μακρῷ
  λῷστα βροτοῖσιν: τὰ δ᾽ ὑπερβάλλοντ᾽
  οὐδένα καιρὸν δύναται θνητοῖς,
  "Tyrants are a terror,
  barely contained, controlling much,
  hard to turn away from their impulses.
  Mightier it is to live in fairness and,
  of middling status, to grow old in security.
  The word "measure" wins first prize
  in the words and deeds of mortals;
  it's never the right time for excess.
  
• Medea, 330:
  φεῦ φεῦ, βροτοῖς ἔρωτες ὡς κακὸν μέγα.
  "Ah, passion is such a great evil for mortals."
  
• Medea, 447:
  τραχεῖαν ὀργὴν ὡς ἀμήχανον κακόν.
  "A savage temper is an uncontrollable evil."
  
• Medea, 485:
  πρόθυμος μᾶλλον ἢ σοφωτέρα:
  "from impulse rather than wisdom"
  
• Medea, 492:
  ὅρκων δὲ φρούδη πίστις,
  "The trust underlying your oaths is gone."
  
• Medea, 597-598:
  μή μοι γένοιτο λυπρὸς εὐδαίμων βίος
  μηδ᾽ ὄλβος ὅστις τὴν ἐμὴν κνίζοι φρένα.
  "Let me not flourish in a life of pain
  nor gain joy that tears at my heart."
  
• Medea, 629-630:
  ἔρωτες ὑπὲρ μὲν ἄγαν ἐλθόντες οὐκ εὐδοξίαν
  οὐδ᾽ ἀρετὰν παρέδωκαν ἀνδράσιν:
  "Passion beyond excess brings neither
  good name nor virtue to men."
  
• Medea, 637-638:
  στέργοι δέ με σωφροσύνα, δώρημα κάλλιστον θεῶν:
  "May moderation delight me,
  most beautiful gift of the gods."
  
• Medea, 809-810:
  βαρεῖαν ἐχθροῖς καὶ φίλοισιν εὐμενῆ:
  τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων εὐκλεέστατος βίος.
  "Bitter to enemies, gracious to friends:
  such a one lives in highest glory."
  
• Medea, 844-845:
  τᾷ Σοφίᾳ παρέδρους πέμπειν Ἔρωτας,
  παντοίας ἀρετᾶς ξυνεργούς.
  "She sends Passion to aid Wisdom,
  which together fashion every excellence."
  
• Medea, 1018:
  κούφως φέρειν χρὴ θνητὸν ὄντα συμφοράς.
  Being mortal, you must lightly bear misfortune.
  
• Medea, 1079-1080:
  θυμὸς δὲ κρείσσων τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων,
  ὅσπερ μεγίστων αἴτιος κακῶν βροτοῖς.
  "Anger overpowers my mind's counsel,
  cause of the greatest evils for humankind."
  
• Medea, 1224-1230:
  τὰ θνητὰ δ᾽ οὐ νῦν πρῶτον ἡγοῦμαι σκιάν,
  οὐδ᾽ ἂν τρέσας εἴποιμι τοὺς σοφοὺς βροτῶν
  δοκοῦντας εἶναι καὶ μεριμνητὰς λόγων
  τούτους μεγίστην μωρίαν ὀφλισκάνειν.
  θνητῶν γὰρ οὐδείς ἐστιν εὐδαίμων ἀνήρ:
  ὄλβου δ᾽ ἐπιρρυέντος εὐτυχέστερος
  ἄλλου γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἄλλος, εὐδαίμων δ᾽ ἂν οὔ.
  "Mortal life strikes me yet again as a shadow.
  Those who seem wise and fuss over speeches
  Are reproached as greatest of fools.
  No mortal man is truly happy:
  When flush with joy some are luckier
  than others, but that's not happiness.
  
• Orestes, 340-344:
  ὁ μέγας ὄλβος οὐ μόνιμος ἐν βροτοῖς:
  κατολοφύρομαι κατολοφύρομαι.
  ἀνὰ δὲ λαῖφος ὥς
  τις ἀκάτου θοᾶς τινάξας δαίμων
  κατέκλυσεν δεινῶν πόνων ὡς πόντου
  λάβροις ὀλεθρίοισιν ἐν κύμασιν.
  "Great joy does not stay for mortals:
  the god shakes its sails
  as if it were a skiff
  deluged with hard troubles
  on an angry sea,
  going down to a swollen doom."
  
• Orestes, 454-455:
  ὄνομα γάρ, ἔργον δ᾽ οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἱ φίλοι
  οἱ μὴ 'πὶ ταῖσι συμφοραῖς ὄντες φίλοι.
  "True friends show their love in times
  of trouble, not only when all is easy."
  
• The Phoenician Women, 554:
  τά γ᾽ ἀρκοῦνθ᾽ ἱκανὰ τοῖς γε σώφροσιν. "What's enough suffices for those who are moderate."
• The Phoenician Women, 558:
  ὁ δ᾽ ὄλβος οὐ βέβαιος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφήμερος. "Joy is unreliable, it comes and goes."
• The Suppliant Women, 161:
  εὐψυχίαν ἔσπευσας ἀντ᾽ εὐβουλίας. "You were pushed on by high spirits, not good counsel."
• The Suppliant Women, 216-218:
  ἀλλ᾽ ἡ φρόνησις τοῦ θεοῦ μεῖζον σθένειν
  ζητεῖ, τὸ γαῦρον δ᾽ ἐν φρεσὶν κεκτημένοι
  δοκοῦμεν εἶναι δαιμόνων σοφώτεροι.
  "Arrogance seeks more than divine power;
  exulting at heart, we want more and more,
  until we think we're wiser than the gods."
  
• The Suppliant Women, 744-746:
  ὦ καιροῦ πέρα
  τὸ τόξον ἐντείνοντες: ὦ κενοὶ βροτῶν,
  καὶ πρὸς δίκης γε πολλὰ πάσχοντες κακά,
  "O you who strain the bow beyond measure,
  O you empty mortals! How richly you deserve
  your many evils!"
  
• The Suppliant Women, 866:
  μέτρια δ᾽ ἐξαρκεῖν
  "Measure suffices."
  
• The Suppliant Women, 907-908:
  φρόνημα δὲ
  ἐν τοῖσιν ἔργοις, οὐχὶ τοῖς λόγοις,
  "Wise in deeds, not in words."
  
• The Suppliant Women, 912-913:
  αἰσχύνεται δὲ τἀγάθ᾽ ἀσκήσας ἀνὴρ
  κακὸς γενέσθαι πᾶς τις.
  "The man who has practiced what is good
  would be all ashamed to turn out badly."
  
• The Trojan Women, 509-510:
  τῶν δ᾽ εὐδαιμόνων
  μηδένα νομίζετ᾽ εὐτυχεῖν, πρὶν ἂν θάνῃ.
  "Of those who are happy,
  call none fortunate until they have died."
  
• The Trojan Women, 639-640:
  ὁ δ᾽ εὐτυχήσας ἐς τὸ δυστυχὲς πεσὼν
  ψυχὴν ἀλᾶται τῆς πάροιθ᾽ εὐπραξίας.
  "One who falls from fortune into misfortune
  has a soul banished from flourishing deeds."
  
• The Trojan Women, 911:
  σχολῆς τὸ δῶρον:
  "This is a gift of leisure."
  
• The Trojan Women, 1203-1206:
  θνητῶν δὲ μῶρος ὅστις εὖ πράσσειν δοκῶν
  βέβαια χαίρει: τοῖς τρόποις γὰρ αἱ τύχαι,
  ἔμπληκτος ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλοσε
  πηδῶσι, κοὐδεὶς αὐτὸς εὐτυχεῖ ποτε.
  "He is a fool who when successful believes he can
  enjoy it reliably: for fortune forever wavers
  like a man who's stunned, leaping this way
  and that; no one always has good fortune."
  

Margaret Fuller

• "What concerns me now is that my life be a beautiful, powerful, in a word, a complete life of its kind." ~ Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century

Hesiod

• Works and Days, 249-250:
  ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἐόντες ἀθάνατοι φράζονται
  "The immortals are close at hand and mingle with men."
  
• Works and Days 293-298 (quoted at EN I.4 1195b13):
  οὗτος μὲν πανάριστος, ὃς αὐτὸς πάντα νοήσῃ
  φρασσάμενος, τά κ᾽ ἔπειτα καὶ ἐς τέλος ᾖσιν ἀμείνω:
  295ἐσθλὸς δ᾽ αὖ κἀκεῖνος, ὃς εὖ εἰπόντι πίθηται:
  ὃς δέ κε μήτ᾽ αὐτὸς νοέῃ μήτ᾽ ἄλλου ἀκούων
  ἐν θυμῷ βάλληται, ὃ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἀχρήιος ἀνήρ.
  
• Works and Days 308-309:
  ἐξ ἔργων δ᾽ ἄνδρες πολύμηλοί τ᾽ ἀφνειοί τε:
  καὶ ἐργαζόμενοι πολὺ φίλτεροι ἀθανάτοισιν.
  "It is through work that men grow rich in flocks and abundance;
  It is through work too that men become more dear to the immortals."
  
• Works and Days 694:
  μέτρα φυλάσσεσθαι: καιρὸς δ᾽ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἄριστος.
  "Cherish what's measured; for the opportune time is best in all things."
  
• Works and Days 715:
  μηδὲ πολύξεινον μηδ᾽ ἄξεινον καλέεσθαι,
  "Be neither friendless nor a friend to all."
  

Eric Hoffer

• "Nature attains perfection, but man never does." Reflections on the Human Condition, §1
• "Man is the most alive of living things." Reflections on the Human Condition, §36

Pindar

• Olympian I 33-34:
  ἁμέραι δ᾽ ἐπίλοιποι
  μάρτυρες σοφώτατοι.
  "Days to come are the wisest witnesses."
  
• Olympian I 113-114:
  ἐπ᾽ ἄλλοισι δ᾽ ἄλλοι μεγάλοι. τὸ δ᾽ ἔσχατον
  κορυφοῦται βασιλεῦσι.
  "One man is great in one way, one in another;
  But kings reach the highest pinnacle."
  
• Olympian II 30-34:
  ἤτοι βροτῶν γε κέκριται
  πεῖρας οὔ τι θανάτου,
  οὐδ᾽ ἡσύχιμον ἁμέραν ὁπότε, παῖδ᾽ ἁλίου,
  ἀτειρεῖ σὺν ἀγαθῷ τελευτάσομεν: ῥοαὶ δ᾽ ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλαι
  εὐθυμιᾶν τε μετὰ καὶ πόνων ἐς ἄνδρας ἔβαν.
  "Truly mortals cannot know the limits of death,
  Nor our day of peace, that child of the sun-god,
  When we shall bring unblemished goods to completion;
  For streams of both pain and pleasure rain down
  Forever upon men."
  
• Olympian II 51-52:
  τὸ δὲ τυχεῖν
  πειρώμενον ἀγωνίας παραλύει δυσφρονᾶν.
  The troubles of the contest evaporate at the moment of triumph.
  
• Olympian 2 86:
  σοφὸς ὁ πολλὰ εἰδὼς φυᾷ:
  The sage knows much by nature.
  
• Olympian 4 18:
  διάπειρά τοι βροτῶν ἔλεγχος:
  Experience proves the man.
  
• Olympian 5 17:
  ἠῢ δ᾽ ἔχοντες σοφοὶ καὶ πολίταις ἔδοξαν ἔμμεν.
  The citizens think those who have good fortune are wise.
  
• Olympian 5 22:
  φέρειν γῆρας εὔθυμον ἐς τελευτάν
  May you carry joy into the farthest reaches of old age.
  
• Olympian 7 10:
  ὁ δ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὃν φᾶμαι κατέχοντ᾽ ἀγαθαί.
  Blessed is he who receives great praise.
  
• Olympian 7 25-26:
  ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων φρασὶν ἀμπλακίαι
  ἀναρίθμητοι κρέμανται: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἀμάχανον εὑρεῖν,
  ὅ τι νῦν ἐν καὶ τελευτᾷ φέρτατον ἀνδρὶ τυχεῖν.
  "Men's minds are beclouded by countless errors;
  It's hard to see what would be best to happen
  For men, whether now or in the end."
  
• Olympian 7 43-47:
  ἐν δ᾽ ἀρετὰν
  ἔβαλεν καὶ χάρματ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι Προμαθέος Αἰδώς:
  ἐπὶ μὰν βαίνει τε καὶ λάθας ἀτέκμαρτα νέφος,
  καὶ παρέλκει πραγμάτων ὀρθὰν ὁδὸν
  ἔξω φρενῶν.
  "Forethought's care gives thriving and joy to men;
  Yet an inscrutable cloud of forgetting stalks us,
  Driving the right way of acting out of our thoughts."
  
• Olympian 8 13-14:
  πολλαὶ δ᾽ ὁδοὶ
  σὺν θεοῖς εὐπραγίας.
  "With the gods beside us,
  Many are the roads to success."
  
• Olympian 9 107-108:
  σοφίαι μὲν
  αἰπειναί:
  "The peaks of skill are lofty indeed."
  
• Olympian 11 10:
  ἐκ θεοῦ δ᾽ ἀνὴρ σοφαῖς ἀνθεῖ πραπίδεσσιν ὁμοίως.
  "Only through god does a man flourish as his mind's wisdom."
  
• Olympian 13 47-48:
  ἕπεται δ᾽ ἐν ἑκάστῳ
  μέτρον: νοῆσαι δὲ καιρὸς ἄριστος.
  "To each thing belongs its measure:
  Knowing the right moment is best."
  
• Pythian 1 41-42:
  ἐκ θεῶν γὰρ μαχαναὶ πᾶσαι βροτέαις ἀρεταῖς,
  καὶ σοφοὶ καὶ χερσὶ βιαταὶ περίγλωσσοί τ᾽ ἔφυν.
  "From the gods come all mortal excellences,
  Whether wisdom, eloquence, or strength of hand."
  
• Pythian 2 34:
  χρὴ δὲ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν αἰεὶ παντὸς ὁρᾶν μέτρον.
  "Always in all things, know your measure."
  
• Pythian 2 56:
  τὸ πλουτεῖν δὲ σὺν τύχᾳ πότμου σοφίας ἄριστον.
  "To prosper with the gifts of fortune is the highest wisdom."
  
• Pythian 2 72:
  γένοι᾽ οἷος ἐσσὶ μαθών:
  "Become what you are, having learned what that is."
  
• Pythian 3 34-35:
  δαίμων δ᾽ ἕτερος
  ἐς κακὸν τρέψαις ἐδαμάσσατό νιν:
  "Her spirit turned evil and laid her low."
  
• Pythian 3 54:
  ἀλλὰ κέρδει καὶ σοφία δέδεται.
  "But even wisdom is bound up with avarice."
  
• Pythian 3 59-62:
  χρὴ τὰ ἐοικότα πὰρ δαιμόνων μαστευέμεν θναταῖς φρασίν,
  γνόντα τὸ πὰρ ποδός, οἵας εἰμὲν αἴσας.
  μή, φίλα ψυχά, βίον ἀθάνατον
  σπεῦδε, τὰν δ᾽ ἔμπρακτον ἄντλει μαχανάν.
  "We must seek from the gods what is like us,
  Knowing where we stand and what is our destiny.
  Dear soul, don't strive for immortal life,
  But make the most of the skills you have.
  
• Pythian 3 103-104:
  εἰ δὲ νόῳ τις ἔχει θνατῶν ἀλαθείας ὁδόν, χρὴ πρὸς μακάρων
  τυγχάνοντ᾽ εὖ πασχέμεν.
  "If a mortal man keeps in mind the way of truth,
  Let him accept with grace what the immortals grant."
  
• Pythian 3 108-109:
  τὸν ἀμφέποντ᾽ αἰεὶ φρασὶν
  δαίμον᾽ ἀσκήσω κατ᾽ ἐμὰν θεραπεύων μαχανάν.
  "Ever will I honor the spirit within my mind,
  Practicing the skills I have been given."
  
• Pythian 4 139-140:
  ἐντὶ μὲν θνατῶν φρένες ὠκύτεραι
  κέρδος αἰνῆσαι πρὸ δίκας δόλιον,
  "The minds of men are all too quick
  To spurn justice for the sake of greed."
  
• Pythian 4 286:
  ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς πρὸς ἀνθρώπων βραχὺ μέτρον ἔχει.
  The right moment's measure is all too brief.
  
• Pythian 5 12-13:
  σοφοὶ δέ τοι κάλλιον
  φέροντι καὶ τὰν θεόσδοτον δύναμιν.
  "Even god-granted power is borne
  More beautifully with wisdom."
  
• Pythian 5 122-123:
  Διός τοι νόος μέγας κυβερνᾷ
  δαίμον᾽ ἀνδρῶν φίλων.
  "The great mind of Zeus guides
  The spirit of men he loves."
  
• Pythian 7 21-22:
  θάλλοισαν εὐδαιμονίαν
  τὰ καὶ τὰ φέρεσθαι.
  "Blooming joy brings
  both good and bad."
  
• Pythian 11 52-53:
  τῶν γὰρ ἂμ πόλιν εὑρίσκων τὰ μέσα μακροτέρῳ
  ὄλβῳ τεθαλότα, μέμφομ᾽ αἶσαν τυραννίδων:
  "Searching city life and finding those in middle
  Prosper longest, I shun the ways of tyrants."
  
• Pythian 12 28-29:
  εἰ δέ τις ὄλβος ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν, ἄνευ καμάτου
  οὐ φαίνεται:
  "If some joy comes to men, it comes not
  Without trouble."
  
• Nemean 1 25-27:
  τέχναι δ᾽ ἑτέρων ἕτεραι: χρὴ δ᾽ ἐν εὐθείαις
  ὁδοῖς στείχοντα μάρνασθαι φυᾷ.
  πράσσει γὰρ ἔργῳ μὲν σθένος,
  βουλαῖσι δὲ φρήν
  Different men have different skills:
  We must strive on a straight path with what we're given.
  Strength takes action in deeds, mind in councils.
  
• Nemean 3 40-42:
  συγγενεῖ δέ τις εὐδοξίᾳ μέγα βρίθει:
  ὃς δὲ διδάκτ᾽ ἔχει, ψεφηνὸς ἀνὴρ ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλα πνέων οὔ ποτ᾽ ἀτρεκεῖ
  κατέβα ποδί, μυριᾶν δ᾽ ἀρετᾶν ἀτελεῖ νόῳ γεύεται.
  "Something innate carries great weight:
  A man may be taught but still be blown darkly this way and that,
  Struggling on uncertain feet, merely tasting of a thousand virtues
  With a mind that never comes to completion."
  
• Nemean 6 4-5:
  ἀλλά τι προσφέρομεν ἔμπαν ἢ μέγαν
  νόον ἤτοι φύσιν ἀθανάτοις,
  "We have some likeness to the immortals,
  Whether in greatness of mind or nature."
  
• Isthmian 1 40:
  ὁ πονήσαις δὲ νόῳ καὶ προμάθειαν φέρει:
  "The one who suffers gains foresight in his mind."
  
• Isthmian 1 63:
  ἦ μὰν πολλάκι καὶ τὸ σεσωπαμένον εὐθυμίαν μείζω φέρει.
  "Often what's kept silent brings greater joy."
  
• Isthmian 5 16:
  θνατὰ θνατοῖσι πρέπει.
  "Mortality is fitting for mortals."
  

George Santayana

• "It is indeed from the experience of beauty and happiness, from the occasional harmony between our nature and our environment, that we draw our conception of the divine life. There is, then, a real propriety in calling beauty a manifestation of God to the senses, since, in the region of sense, the perception of beauty exemplifies that adequacy and perfection which in general we objectify in an idea of God." The Sense of Beauty
• "We may measure the degree of happiness and civilization which any race has attained by the proportion of its energy which is devoted to free and generous pursuits, to the adornment of life and the culture of the imagination." The Sense of Beauty
• "This aesthetic sensitiveness is, however, properly enough called moral, because it is the effect of conscientious training and is more powerful for good in society than laborious virtue, because it is much more constant and catching. It is καλοκάγαθία, the aesthetic demand for the morally good, and perhaps the finest flower of human nature." The Sense of Beauty
• "Knowledge, affection, religion, and beauty are not less constant influences in a man's life because his consciousness of them is intermittent. Even when absent, they fill the chambers of the mind with a kind of fragrance. They have a continual efficacy, as well as a perennial worth. There are, indeed, other objects of desire that if attained leave nothing but restlessness and dissatisfaction behind them. These are the objects pursued by fools. That such objects ever attract us is a proof of the disorganization of our nature, which drives us in contrary directions and is at war with itself. If we had attained anything like steadiness of thought or fixity of character, if we knew ourselves, we should know also our inalienable satisfactions." The Sense of Beauty

Friedrich Schiller

• "The beautiful must not only be life and form, but a living form, that is, beauty." Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man
• "Pleasure may be stolen, but love must be a gift." Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man

Sophocles

• Ajax, 132-133:
  τοὺς δὲ σώφρονας
  θεοὶ φιλοῦσι καὶ στυγοῦσι τοὺς κακούς.
  "The gods love those who are moderate and despise what's bad."
  
• Ajax, 260-262:
  τὸ γὰρ ἐσλεύσσειν οἰκεῖα πάθη,
  μηδενὸς ἄλλου παραπράξαντος,
  μεγάλας ὀδύνας ὑποτείνει.
  "A great distress it is to look on
  one's suffering and know that no one else
  helped to bring it about."
  
• Antigone, 334:
  πολλὰ τὰ δεινὰ κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει.
  "Many the marvels, but nothing more marvellous than man."
  
• Antigone, 506-507:
  ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τυραννὶς πολλά τ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ εὐδαιμονεῖ
  κἄξεστιν αὐτῇ δρᾶν λέγειν θ᾽ ἃ βούλεται.
  "A king flourishes in many ways, but most of all
  In that he can speak and act as he wishes."
  
• Antigone, 543:
  λόγοις δ᾽ ἐγὼ φιλοῦσαν οὐ στέργω φίλην.
  "I can't be fond of a friend whose friendship is only words."
  
• Antigone, 683-684:
  πάτερ, θεοὶ φύουσιν ἀνθρώποις φρένας,
  πάντων ὅσ᾽ ἐστὶ κτημάτων ὑπέρτατον.
  "Father, the gods gave us mind,
  The greatest thing we have."
  
• Antigone, 710-711:
  ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδρα, κεἴ τις ᾖ σοφός, τὸ μανθάνειν
  πόλλ᾽, αἰσχρὸν οὐδὲν καὶ τὸ μὴ τείνειν ἄγαν.
  "A man, though wise, mustn't be ashamed
  To learn more, nor hold the reins too tight."
  
• Antigone, 1050:
  ὅσῳ κράτιστον κτημάτων εὐβουλία;
  "Good counsel is the mightiest thing we have."
  
• Antigone, 1165-1171:
  τὰς γὰρ ἡδονὰς
  ὅταν προδῶσιν ἄνδρες, οὐ τίθημ᾽ ἐγὼ
  ζῆν τοῦτον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμψυχον ἡγοῦμαι νεκρόν.
  πλούτει τε γὰρ κατ᾽ οἶκον, εἰ βούλει, μέγα
  καὶ ζῆ τύραννον σχῆμ᾽ ἔχων: ἐὰν δ᾽ ἀπῇ
  τούτων τὸ χαίρειν, τἄλλ᾽ ἐγὼ καπνοῦ σκιᾶς
  οὐκ ἂν πριαίμην ἀνδρὶ πρὸς τὴν ἡδονήν.
  "When a man has lost all joy, he doesn't really
  Live, but could be called a breathing corpse.
  Hold great wealth at home, if you please, or
  Live the life of a king - if your gladness
  Has gone, these are as the shadow of smoke
  Compared to a joy that can't be bought."
  
• Electra, 75-76:
  καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν
  μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης.
  "This is the moment, which among men
  Is the great master of every task."
  
• Electra, 621:
  αἰσχροῖς γὰρ αἰσχρὰ πράγματ᾽ ἐκδιδάσκεται.
  "Ugly deeds breed more ugly deeds."
  
• Electra, 1054:
  πολλῆς ἀνοίας καὶ τὸ θηρᾶσθαι κενά.
  "It's utter folly to chase what's fruitless."
  
• Oedipus at Colonus, 1143-1144:
  οὐ γὰρ λόγοισι τὸν βίον σπουδάζομεν
  λαμπρὸν ποεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς δρωμένοις.
  "Not by words but rather deeds do I make
  This earnest life a thing of radiance."
  
• Oedipus at Colonus, 1225-1227:
  μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον: τὸ δ᾽, ἐπεὶ φανῇ,
  βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει,
  πολὺ δεύτερον, ὡς τάχιστα.
  "Not to have been born surpasses all words;
  Second best is, having seen the light of day,
  To go quickly to that place whence we came."
  
• Oedipus at Colonus, 1615-1617:
  ἀλλ᾽ ἓν γὰρ μόνον
  τὰ πάντα λύει ταῦτ᾽ ἔπος μοχθήματα.
  τὸ γὰρ φιλεῖν
  "One word alone frees us from all misery: to love."
  
• Oedipus at Colonus, 1722:
  κακῶν γὰρ δυσάλωτος οὐδείς.
  "No one indeed is immune from troubles."
  
• Oedipus Rex, 44-45:
  ὡς τοῖσιν ἐμπείροισι καὶ τὰς ξυμφορὰς
  ζώσας ὁρῶ μάλιστα τῶν βουλευμάτων.
  "I see that it's those with experience
  Whose resolutions live on most of all."
  
• Oedipus Rex, 67:
  πολλὰς δ᾽ ὁδοὺς ἐλθόντα φροντίδος πλάνοις:
  "Many ways have I wandered in thought."
  
• Oedipus Rex, 356:
  τἀληθὲς γὰρ ἰσχῦον τρέφω.
  "The truth within me is my strength."
  
• Oedipus Rex, 587-589:
  ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὔτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἱμείρων ἔφυν
  τύραννος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ τύραννα δρᾶν,
  οὔτ᾽ ἄλλος ὅστις σωφρονεῖν ἐπίσταται.
  "I was not born with an urge to be
  King, only to act in a kingly way;
  So it is with all who know moderation."
  
• Oedipus Rex, 1528-1530:
  ὥστε θνητὸν ὄντα κείνην τὴν τελευταίαν ἰδεῖν
  ἡμέραν ἐπισκοποῦντα μηδέν᾽ ὀλβίζειν, πρὶν ἂν
  τέρμα τοῦ βίου περάσῃ μηδὲν ἀλγεινὸν παθών.
  "Looking always to that final day, call no mortal
  Happy until he has pierced the limit of his life
  Without having suffered painful misfortune."
  
• Philoctetes, 386-388:
  πόλις γάρ ἐστι πᾶσα τῶν ἡγουμένων
  στρατός τε σύμπας: οἱ δ᾽ ἀκοσμοῦντες βροτῶν
  διδασκάλων λόγοισι γίγνονται κακοί.
  "The whole city is in the hands of its leaders,
  And so with an army: it's from them that
  Men without discipline learn to be bad."
  
• Philoctetes, 641:
  ἀεὶ καλὸς πλοῦς ἔσθ᾽, ὅταν φεύγῃς κακά.
  "The sailing is always good when fleeing evil."
  
• Philoctetes, 902-903:
  ἅπαντα δυσχέρεια, τὴν αὑτοῦ φύσιν
  ὅταν λιπών τις δρᾷ τὰ μὴ προσεικότα.
  "All is loathsome when a person leaves behind
  His own nature and does what he doesn't approve."
  
• The Women of Trachis, 1-3:
  λόγος μέν ἐστ᾽ ἀρχαῖος ἀνθρώπων φανείς,
  ὡς οὐκ ἂν αἰῶν᾽ ἐκμάθοις βροτῶν, πρὶν ἂν
  θάνῃ τις, οὔτ᾽ εἰ χρηστὸς οὔτ᾽ εἴ τῳ κακός:
  "In ancient days some person said these words:
  That you can't truly know a mortal's life,
  Whether it was good or bad, until he's dead."
  
• The Women of Trachis, 425-426:
  ταὐτὸ δ᾽ οὐχὶ γίγνεται
  δόκησιν εἰπεῖν κἀξακριβῶσαι λόγον.
  "To state an opinion is not the same
  As giving an accurate account."
  

Hajime Tanabe

• "True freedom is not something one receives from another; one has to acquire it for oneself." ~ Hajime Tanabe, Philosophy as Metanoetics

Thomas Traherne

• "By thoughts alone the soul is made divine." Thoughts (III)

Mark Twain

• "Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Chapter 2
• "A body that don't get started right when he's little, ain't got no show." Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 16
• "A body ain't got no business doing wrong when he ain't ignorant and knows better." Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 36

Walt Whitman

• "I swear the earth shall surely be complete to him or her who shall be complete." A Song of the Rolling Earth

Peter Saint-Andre > Writings > Aristotle