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He is a fool who tries to withstand the stronger, for he does not get the mastery and suffers pain besides his shame.

— Hesiod Works and Days (-700)

Ἄφρων δ᾽, ὅς κ᾽ ἐθέλῃ πρὸς κρείσσονας ἀντιφερίζειν·
νίκης τε στέρεται πρός τ᾽ αἴσχεσιν ἄλγεα πάσχει.

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.

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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.

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

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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.