Quotes from book
Works and Days

Hesiod Original title Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι

The Works and Days is a didactic poem of some 800 lines written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BC. At its center, the Works and Days is a farmer's almanac in which Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts.


Hesiod photo
Hesiod photo

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

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

Hesiod photo
Hesiod photo

“For trust and mistrust, alike ruin men.”

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

Hesiod photo

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

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

Hesiod photo
Hesiod photo

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

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

Hesiod photo

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

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.