Hesiod: Trending quotes

Hesiod trending quotes. Read the latest quotes in collection
Hesiod: 122 quotes17 likes

“Invite the man that loves thee to a feast, but let alone thine enemy.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 342.

“For then it is a bad thing to be righteous — if indeed the unrighteous shall have the greater right.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 271.

“Wealth should not be seized: god-given wealth is much better.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 320.

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

Hesiod

This quote has been attributed to Hesiod on the internet, and even published with citation as a dubious attribution, but there are no known occurrences of it in his writings.
Misattributed

“For a man wins nothing better than a good wife, and, again, nothing worse than a bad one.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 702.

“For trust and mistrust, alike ruin men.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 372.

“The gods have placed sweat as the price of all things.”

Hesiod

Perhaps a mistranslation of line 289 of Works and Days, actually:
: But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat
Misattributed

“Fools, they do not even know how much more is the half than the whole.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 40; often translated as "The half is greater than the whole."

“Diligence increaseth the fruit of toil. A dilatory man wrestles with losses.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 412.

“Do not seek evil gains; evil gains are the equivalent of disaster.”

Hesiod book Works and Days

Gain not base gains; base gains are the same as losses.
Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 352; compare: "the gains of the wicked bring trouble", Book of Proverbs 15:6.

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

Hesiod

We know to tell many fictions like to truths, and we know, when we will, to speak what is true.
We know how to tell many lies that pass for truth, and we know, when we wish, to tell the truth itself.
Source: The Theogony (c. 700 BC), lines 27–28. Variant translations:

“On the tongue of such an one they shed a honeyed dew, and from his lips drop gentle words.”

Hesiod

Source: The Theogony (c. 700 BC), line 82.