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Admire a small ship, but put your freight in a large one; for the greater the lading, the greater will be your piled gain, if only the winds will keep back their harmful gales.

— Hesiod Works and Days (-700)

Nῆ᾽ ὀλίγην αἰνεῖν, μεγάλῃ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φορτία θέσθαι·
μείζων μὲν φόρτος, μεῖζον δ᾽ ἐπὶ κέρδει κέρδος
ἔσσεται, εἴ κ᾽ ἄνεμοί γε κακὰς ἀπέχωσιν ἀήτας.

Original text (Ancient Greek)

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More quotes by Hesiod

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

Works and Days (-700)

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

Works and Days (-700)

Often an entire city has suffered because of an evil man.

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

Works and Days (-700)

Do not get a name either as lavish or as churlish; as a friend of rogues or as a slanderer of good men.

Works and Days (-700)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Hesiod (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.