A small rock holds back a great wave.

Nothing feebler than a man does the earth raise up, of all the things which breathe and move on the earth, for he believes that he will never suffer evil in the future, as long as the gods give him success and he flourishes in his strength; but when the blessed gods bring sorrows too to pass, even these he bears, against his will, with steadfast spirit, for the thoughts of earthly men are like the day which the father of gods and men brings upon them.

The natural thing, my lord, men and women joined.

Nothing feebler does earth nurture than man, Of all things breathing and moving.

Few sons are equal to their fathers; most fall short, all too few surpass them.

And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.

Life and death are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor