PHOCYLIDES

Miletus, 6th century B.C.
MANY STARS SHINE WITHOUT ENVYING THE GREATER LIGHT OF THE SUN
MANY STARS SHINE WITHOUT ENVYING THE GREATER LIGHT OF THE SUN - PHOCYLIDES

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Poet of maxims from Miletus, who flourished in 537 BC. Together with his contemporary Demodocus, from Leros, also a poet, they teased each other with verses. He wrote moral rules in hexameters and couplets that always began with the three words: "And then Phokideo". A large didactic Poem of 200 hexameters, which survived in its entirety and is called "Focylidea", does not belong to him, but to an alexandrian judean, a synonym of the poet, who lived between the 2nd century BC and Nero's empire.

Quotes


  1. MANY STARS SHINE WITHOUT ENVYING THE GREATER LIGHT OF THE SUN
  2. DO NOT TRY TO GET RICH BY INJUSTICES, BUT TRY TO PROVIDE FOR THE NECESSARY OF YOUR LIFE ACCORDING TO THE MORAL LAW
  3. BE SUFFICIENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AND DO NOT WISH FOR THOSE OF OTHERS
  4. AVOID FALSE TESTIMONY. COURAGEOUSLY PREACH WHAT IS RIGHT
  5. QUARREL SEEDS QUARREL
  6. THE IGNORANT CANNOT LISTEN TO A GREAT LESSON
  7. DON'T MAKE FRIENDS FLATTERERS, THAT FLATTER IN ORDER TO EAT A LOT
  8. DON'T BELIEVE THE PEOPLE. A VERSATILE GROUP IT IS, PEOPLE AND FIRE AND WATER INCEASANTLY
  9. DON'T DISPLAY WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN TO THE SUN
  10. DON'T PITY WEALTH. REMEMBER YOU ARE MORTAL
  11. MIND RULES FARMS, REPUBLICS AND SHIPS
  12. DO NOT ACCEPT TO KEEP STOLEN THINGS BECAUSE THERE WILL BE TWO THIEVES THEN
  13. IF AN ENEMY'S ANIMAL FALLS DOWN, PICK IT UP
  14. NEVER EXTEND A VIOLENT HAND TO SOFT INFANTS
  15. BE SHY IN FRONT OF WHITE TEMPLES
  16. WHATEVER YOU PROMISE YOUR SERVANT GIVE HIM, SO THAT HE WILL BE PLEASED WITH YOU
  17. DO NOT HARM YOUR SERVANT BY ACCUSING HIM TO THE KING
  18. LOVE OF WEALTH IS THE MOTHER OF ALL EVIL
  19. YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH OTHERWISE THAN WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR MIND AND HEART
  20. DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND, PUT A LEASH ON WILD RAGE
  21. MANY TIMES WITH ONE HIT, YOU KILL UNINTENTIONALLY
  22. IT'S GOOD TO GIVE FOOD TO THE STRANGER IMMEDIATELY WHEN THE FEAST IS NOT GREAT
  23. IF YOU WANT TO GET RICH, GROW A FIELD. THE FIELD, THEY SAY, IS A TRUE HORN OF AMALTHEIA
  24. BETTER TO LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN THAN A BIG ONE
  25. DO NOT ENGAGE IN PLOTS, NOR GET BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS
  26. GIVE ADVICE TO THE LOST, SAVE THE OBSCENE, SIMILAR THE PASSIONS.
  27. WORK AND LIVE FROM YOUR LABOR. EVERY IDLE PERSON, IT'S NATURAL EITHER TO STEAL TO EAT OR PICK UP THE CRUMBS FROM A STRANGER'S TABLE
  28. IF YOU HAVEN'T LEARNED AN ART, DIG WITH A SHOVEL. EVERY WORK IS PART OF LIFE. BECOME A SAILOR, GREAT IS THE SEA
  29. NEVER SHOW YOURSELF TO YOUR CHILDREN WITH A HARSH FACE. YOUR SWEETNESS WINS THEIR LOVE
  30. THE GOODS OF ANOTHER DO NOT ENVY
  31. LOGIC IS A WEAPON MORE PENETRATING THAN IRON
  32. NOR DOES THE EARTH ENVY THE HEAVEN, NOR THE RIVER THE SEA. EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS UNDER A UNIFIED VIEW
  33. GIVE TO THE POOR IMMEDIATELY, DON'T TELL HIM