The poor, trying to imitate the powerful, perish.
Inops, potentem dum vult imitari, perit.
More quotes by Phaedrus
You will soon break the bow if you keep it always stretched.
He carried and nourished in his breast a snake, tender-hearted against his own interest.
You may also like
It is better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be stupid and speak lies.
If a poor person envies a rich person, he is no better than the rich person.
Attribution
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Phaedrus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.