But my wish, O King, is to do right and miss my aim, rather than succeed by evil ways.
βούλομαι δ᾿, ἄναξ, καλῶς
δρῶν ἐξαμαρτεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ νικᾶν κακῶς.
δρῶν ἐξαμαρτεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ νικᾶν κακῶς.
Original text (Ancient Greek)
More quotes by Sophocles
It is no weakness for the wisest man
To learn when he is wrong.
A prudent mind can see room for misgiving, lest he who prospers should one day suffer reverse.
When the mind hath once become a parent of evil, it teaches men to be evil thenceforth.
I well believe it, to unwilling ears;None love the messenger who brings bad news.
Evil seems good, soon or late, to him whose mind the god draws to mischief.
Attribution
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Sophocles (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.