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Prophets find bad news useful. Why, the primary aim Of all their wordy wisdom is to make men gape. (tr. P. Vellacott)

— Aeschylus Oresteia (-458)

κακῶν γὰρ διαὶ
πολυεπεῖς τέχναι
θεσπιῳδοὶ φόβον φέρουσιν μαθεῖν.

Original text (Ancient Greek)

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Only when man's life comes to its end in prosperity can one call that man happy.

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It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.

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Death is better, a milder fate than tyranny.

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Time waxing old can many a lesson teach.

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Attribution

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