Hesiod Quotes

Invite your friend to a feast, but leave your enemy alone; and especially invite the one who lives near you.

In the race for wealth, a neighbor tries to outdo his neighbor, but this strife is good for men. For the potter envies potter, and the carpenter the carpenter, and the beggar rivals the beggar, and the singer the singer.

Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.

I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.

Best is the man who thinks for himself.

Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat; long is the road thereto and rough and steep at first; but when the heights are reached, then there is ease, though grievously hard in the winning.

Neither make thy friend equal to a brother; but if thou shalt have made him so, be not the first to do him wrong.

In front of excellence, the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.

Whoever has trusted a woman has trusted deceivers.

Hunger is an altogether fit companion for the idle man.

Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.

The dawn speeds a man on his journey, and speeds him too in his work.

For now indeed is the race of iron; and men never cease from labour and sorrow by day and from perishing by night.

Giving is good, but taking is bad and brings death.

Happy is the man whom the Muses love: sweet speech flows from his mouth.

Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus

Gain not base gains; base gains are the same as losses.

Long exercise, my friend, inures the mind; And what we once disliked we pleasing find.

The potter is at enmity with the potter.

The man who does evil to another does evil to himself, and the evil counsel is most evil for him who counsels it.

How easily some light report is set about, but how difficult to bear.

Badness you can get easily, in quantity. The road is smooth and lies close by. But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to do it, and rough at first. But when you come to the top, then it is easy, even though it is hard.

In the morning of like, work; in the midday, give counsel; in the evening, pray.

For a man wins nothing better than a good wife, and then again nothing deadlier than a bad one.

When you deal with your brother, be pleasant, but get a witness.

Invite your friend to dinner; have nothing to do with your enemy.

Admire a small ship, but put your freight in a large one; for the larger the load, the greater will be the profit upon profit.

The man who is rich in fancy thinks that his wagon is already built; poor fool, he does not know that there are a hundred timbers to a wagon.

No day is wholly unproductive of good.

Preserve the mean; the opportune moment is best in all things.

Whoever happens to give birth to mischievous children lives always with unending grief in his spirit and heart.

He for himself weaves woe who weaves for others woe, and evil counsel on the counselor recoils.

For both faith and want of faith have destroyed men alike.

Labor is no disgrace.

It is not possible either to trick or escape the mind of Zeus.

The fool knows after he has suffered.

It will not always be summer: build barns.

The man who procrastinates is always struggling with misfortunes.

We know how to speak many falsehoods that resemble real things, but we know, when we will, how to speak true things.

Peace is a nursing mother to the land.

Try to take for a mate a person of your own neighborhood.

Acquisition means life to miserable mortals.

And Zeus will destroy this race of mortal men too, when they, at their birth, have grey hair on their temples.

So the people will pay the penalty for their kings' presumption, who, by devising evil, turn justice from her path with tortuous speech.

Even though it's hard, it's easy.

If you speak evil, you will soon be worse spoken of.

You trust a thief when you trust a woman.

He harms himself who does harm to another, and the evil plan is most harmful to the planner.