Aeschylus Quotations

From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.

God lends a helping hand to the man who tries hard.

I have learned to hate all traitors, and there is no disease that I spit on more than treachery.

By polluting clear water with slime you will never find good drinking water.

My friends, whoever has had experience of evils knows how whenever a flood of ills comes upon mortals, a man fears everything; but whenever a divine force cheers on our voyage, then we believe that the same fate will always blow fair.

It is always in season for old men to learn.

Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.

I, schooled in misery, know many purifying rites, and I know where speech is proper and where silence.

Of all the gods only death does not desire gifts.

It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.

God always strives together with those who strive.

There is no sickness worse for me than words that to be kind must lie.

You have been trapped in the inescapable net of ruin by your own want of sense.

God loves to help him who strives to help himself.

I know how men in exile feed on dreams.

For this is the mark of a wise and upright man, not to rail against the gods in misfortune.

For know that no one is free, except Zeus.

It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.

What is there more kindly than the feeling between host and guest?

Ah, lives of men! When prosperous they glitter - Like a fair picture; when misfortune comes - A wet sponge at one blow has blurred the painting.

There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.

There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls.

In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend.

Obedience is the mother of success and is wedded to safety.

Destiny waits alike for the free man as well as for him enslaved by another's might.

To be free from evil thoughts is God's best gift.

For the poison of hatred seated near the heart doubles the burden for the one who suffers the disease; he is burdened with his own sorrow, and groans on seeing another's happiness.

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

What atonement is there for blood spilt upon the earth?

Bronze in the mirror of the form, wine of the mind.

It is best for the wise man not to seem wise.

It is easy when we are in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted.

When a man's willing and eager the god's join in.

Unions in wedlock are perverted by the victory of shameless passion that masters the female among men and beasts.

God's most lordly gift to man is decency of mind.

The man who does ill must suffer ill.

Search well and be wise, nor believe that self-willed pride will ever be better than good counsel.

Alas for the affairs of men! When they are fortunate you might compare them to a shadow; and if they are unfortunate, a wet sponge with one dash wipes the picture away.

Who apart from the gods is without pain for his whole lifetime's length?

It is an ill thing to be the first to bring news of ill.

I would rather be ignorant than knowledgeable of evils.

Too few rejoice at a friend's good fortune.

And one who is just of his own free will shall not lack for happiness; and he will never come to utter ruin.

And though all streams flow from a single course to cleanse the blood from polluted hand, they hasten on their course in vain.

Whoever is new to power is always harsh.

Whenever a man makes haste, God too hastens with him.

Neither a life of anarchy nor one beneath a despot should you praise; to all that lies in the middle a god has given excellence.

In the lack of judgment great harm arises, but one vote cast can set right a house.

What good is it to live a life that brings pains?

When strength is yoked with justice, where is a mightier pair than they?

Justice turns the scale, bringing to some learning through suffering.

The one knowing what is profitable, and not the man knowing many things, is wise.

A god implants in mortal guilt whenever he wants utterly to confound a house.

Death is easier than a wretched life; and better never to have born than to live and fare badly.

For somehow this disease inheres in tyranny, never to trust one's friends.

Know not to revere human things too much.

To mourn and bewail your ill-fortune, when you will gain a tear from those who listen, this is worth the trouble.

Married love between man and woman is bigger than oaths guarded by right of nature.

Only when a man's life comes to its end in prosperity dare we pronounce him happy.

For the impious act begets more after it, like to the parent stock.

It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.

I willingly speak to those who know, but for those who do not know I forget.

If you pour oil and vinegar into the same vessel, you would call them not friends but opponents.

The anvil of justice is planted firm, and fate who makes the sword does the forging in advance.

For children preserve the fame of a man after his death.

His resolve is not to seem the bravest, but to be.

The man whose authority is recent is always stern.

For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of sight.

It is good even for old men to learn wisdom.

There is no disgrace in an enemy suffering ill at an enemy's hand, when you hate mutually.

Mourn for me rather as living than as dead.

We must pronounce him fortunate who has ended his life in fair prosperity.

When a match has equal partners then I fear not.

Who, except the gods, can live time through forever without any pain?

Self-will in the man who does not reckon wisely is by itself the weakest of all things.

For a murderous blow let murderous blow atone.

I say you must not win an unjust case by oaths.

For hostile word let hostile word be paid.

If a man suffers ill, let it be without shame; for this is the only profit when we are dead. You will never say a good word about deeds that are evil and disgraceful.

Time as he grows old teaches all things.

He who goes unenvied shall not be admired.

Since long I've held silence a remedy for harm.

Be bold and boast, just like the cock beside the hen.

Don't you know this, that words are doctors to a diseased temperment?

It is a light thing for whoever keeps his foot outside trouble to advise and counsel him that suffers.

Words are the physicians of a mind diseased.

What exists outside is a man's concern; let no woman give advice; and do no mischief within doors.

By Time and Age full many things are taught.

We shall perish by guile just as we slew.

The evils of mortals are manifold; nowhere is trouble of the same wing seen.

Obedience is the mother of success, and success the parent of salvation.

I would far rather be ignorant than wise in the foreboding of evil.

But from the good health of the mind comes that which is dear to all and the object of prayer-happiness.

To learn is to be young, however old.

Time cleanses what it touches over time.

The future you shall know when it has come; before then, forget it.

There is a limit to the best of health, disease is always a near neighbor.

Pleasantest of all ties is the tie of host and guest.

Necessity is stronger far than art.