Solon

"Call no man happy until he is dead."

Solon

"ἔργμασιν ἐν μεγάλοις πᾶσιν ἁδεῖν χαλεπόν."

Solon

"εἰ δὲ πεπόνθατε λυγρὰ δι᾿ ὑμετέρην κακότητα,   μὴ θεοῖσιν τούτων μοῖραν ἐπαμφέρετε· αὐτοὶ γὰρ τούτους ηὐξήσατε ῥύματα δόντες,   καὶ διὰ ταῦτα κακὴν ἔσχετε δουλοσύνην."

Solon

"χρήματα δ᾿ ἱμείρω μὲν ἔχειν, ἀδίκως δὲ πεπᾶσθαι   οὐκ ἐθέλω· πάντως ὕστερον ἦλθε δίκη."

Solon

"πολλοὶ γὰρ πλουτέουσι κακοί, ἀγαθοὶ δὲ πένονται·   ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς τούτοις οὐ διαμειψόμεθα τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν πλοῦτον, ἐπεὶ τὸ μὲν ἔμπεδον αἰεί,   χρήματα δ᾿ ἀνθρώπων ἄλλοτε ἄλλος ἔχει."

Solon

"γηράσκω δ᾿ αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος."

Solon

"πολλὰ ψεύδονται ἀοιδοί."

Solon

"φύλασσε τρόπου καλοκαγαθίαν ὅρκου πιστοτέραν."

Solon

"ἄρχεσθαι μαθών, ἄρχειν ἐπιστήσῃ."

Solon

"συμβούλευε μὴ τὰ ἥδιστα, ἀλλὰ τὰ βέλτιστα."

Solon

"An unlucky rich man is more capable of satisfying his desires and of riding out disaster when it strikes, but a lucky man is better off than him…He is the one who deserves to be described as happy. But until he is dead, you had better refrain from calling him happy, and just call him fortunate."

Solon

"πεφυλαγμένος ἄνδρα ἕκαστον ὅρα, μή ⟨σε⟩ κρυπτὸν ἔγχος ἔχων κραδίῃ φαιδρῷ προσεννέπῃ προσώπῳ, γλῶσσα δέ οἱ διχόμυθος ἐκ μελαίνης φρενὸς γεγωνῇ."

Solon

"idem aiebat si in unum locum cuncti mala sua contulissent, futurum ut propria deportare domum quam ex communi miseriarum acervo portionem suam ferre mallent."

Solon

"ἐκείνην ἐν ᾗ τῶν ἀδικουμένων οὐχ ἧττον οἱ μὴ ἀδικούμενοι προβάλλονται καὶ κολάζουσι τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας."

Solon

"Ἕλλησιν [. . .] πρός τε τἆλλα μετρίως ἔχειν ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός, καὶ σοφίας τινὸς ἀθαρσοῦς ὡς ἔοικε καὶ δημοτικῆς, οὐ βασιλικῆς οὐδὲ λαμπρᾶς, ὑπὸ μετριότητος ἡμῖν μέτεστιν, ἣ τύχαις ὁρῶσα παντοδαπαῖς χρώμενον ἀεὶ τὸν βίον, οὐκ ἐᾷ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀγαθοῖς μέγα φρονεῖν οὐδὲ θαυμάζειν ἀνδρὸς εὐτυχίαν μεταβολῆς χρόνον ἔχουσαν."

Solon

"καὶ συνθήκας ἄνθρωποι φυλάττουσιν ἃς οὐδετέρῳ λυσιτελές ἐστι παραβαίνειν τῶν θεμένων, καὶ τοὺς νόμους αὐτὸς οὕτως ἁρμόζεται τοῖς πολίταις, ὥστε πᾶσι τοῦ παρανομεῖν βέλτιον ἐπιδεῖξαι τὸ δικαιοπραγεῖν."

Solon

"ἀλλ᾿ οὐδεὶς ἂν μωρὸς σιωπᾶν ἐν συμποσίῳ δύναιτο."

Solon

"Laws are like spider's webs: If some poor weak creature comes up against them, it is caught; but a big one can break through and get away."

Solon

"Τὸ δ᾿ οὖν εὐδάπανον τῷ Σόλωνι καὶ ὑγρὸν πρὸς τὴν δίαιταν καὶ τὸ φορτικώτερον ἢ φιλοσοφώτερον ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασι διαλέγεσθαι περὶ τῶν ἡδονῶν τὸν ἐμπορικὸν οἴονται βίον προστετρῖφθαι· πολλοὺς γὰρ ἔχοντα κινδύνους καὶ μεγάλους ἀνταπαιτεῖν πάλιν εὐπαθείας τινὰς καὶ ἀπολαύσεις."

Solon

"Athens, which like other cities was distracted and oppressed by a privileged class, avoided violence and appointed Solon to revise its laws. It was the happiest choice that history records. Solon was not only the wisest man to be found in Athens, but the most profound political genius of antiquity; and the easy, bloodless, and pacific revolution by which he accomplished the deliverance of his country was the first step in a career which our age glories in pursuing, and instituted a power which has done more than anything, except revealed religion, for the regeneration of society. The upper class had possessed the right of making and administering the laws, and he left them in possession, only transferring to wealth what had been the privilege of birth. To the rich who alone had the means of sustaining the burden of public service in taxation and war, Solon gave a share of power proportioned to the demands made on their resources. The poorest classes were exempt from direct taxes, but were excluded from office. Solon gave them a voice in electing magistrates from the classes above them, and the right of calling them to account. This concession... was the beginning of a mighty change. It introduced the idea that a man ought to have a voice in selecting those to whose rectitude and wisdom he is compelled to trust his fortune, his family, and his life. And this idea completely inverted the notion of human authority, for it inaugurated the reign of moral influence... Government by consent superseded government by compulsion, and the pyramid which had stood on a point was made to stand upon its base. By making every citizen the guardian of his own interest Solon admitted the element of Democracy into the State."

Solon

"I grow old learning something new every day."

Solon

"Rich people without wisdom and learning are but sheep with golden fleeces."

Solon

"Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath."

Solon

"Rich people without wisdom and learning are but sheep with golden fleeces."

Solon

"count no man happy until he be dead."

Solon