Aeschylus

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

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

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

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

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

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

From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.

What atonement is there for blood spilt upon the earth?

Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

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.

The words of truth are simple.

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

Time brings all things to pass.

Call no man happy till he is dead.

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

A people's wrath voiced abroad bringeth grave Danger, no less than public curse pronounced.

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

But time growing old teaches all things.

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

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

For hostile word let hostile word be paid.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

It is always in season for old men to learn.

There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain.

Death is softer by far than tyranny.

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

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

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

Tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Time as he grows old teaches all things.

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

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.

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

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

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

I know how men in exile feed on dreams.

Wisdom comes alone through suffering.

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

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

The tongue of slander is too prompt with wanton malice to wound the stranger.

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

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

The wisest of the wise may err.

He who goes unenvied shall not be admired.

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

Of prosperity mortals can never have enough.

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

Words are the physicians of a mind diseased.

Excessive fear is always powerless.

The will was of Zeus, the hand of Hephaestus.

Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?

Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.

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

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

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

It is good even for old men to learn wisdom.

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

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

Bronze is the mirror of the form wine of the heart.

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

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

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

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

The man who does ill must suffer ill.

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

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

I would rather be ignorant than knowledgeable of evils.

God always strives together with those who strive.

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

There is no avoidance in delay.

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

Memory is the mother of all wisdom.

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

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.

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

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

For a murderous blow let murderous blow atone.

Everyone's quick to blame the alien.

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

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.

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.

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

The man whose authority is recent is always stern.

For know that no one is free, except Zeus.

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

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

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

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

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

By Time and Age full many things are taught.

Know not to revere human things too much.

Willingly no one chooses the yoke of slavery.

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.

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

A prosperous fool is a grievous burden.