Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPoet
wisdom men drink
If you were to offer a thirsty man all wisdom, you would not please him more than if you gave him a drink.
life cheating failure
I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.
luxury house excellence
What house, bloated with luxury, ever became prosperous without a woman's excellence?
men states one-man
A state is not a state if it belongs to one man.
helping-others luck needs
If we always helped one another, no one would need luck.
speech wells one-thing
Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.
kindness goodness-and-kindness love-and-kindness
Kindness is ever the begetter of kindness.
grief grieving mind
Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.
decision quick-decisions unsafe
Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.
truth prussia argument
The truth is always the strongest argument.
war fate ships
Fate has terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships outrun it.
men intuition would-be
The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct; but since we are all likely to go astray, The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach
adversity sorrow causes
The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
acting tests trials
Knowledge must come through action. You can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial.