Ancient Wisdom: The Great Sophocles' Immortal Quotes
This world was blessed with many exceptional wise people. Their ancient wisdom is timeless, and has endured even to this day. One of those brilliant thinkers is Sophocles.
The famous Greek poet and tragedian Sophocles was born in 496 BC in Colonos, a suburb of Athens, and died there in 406 BC. Along with Aeschylus and Euripides, Sophocles laid the foundations of classical Greek tragedy, and throughout his life, he received much praise for his works.
Even after his death, the great writer continued to dominate the Greek stage, with performances of his plays enjoying great success.
Sophocles introduces great innovations in theatrical technique, including abandoning the trilogy connection and creating independent plays. His work comprises over 120 plays, of which only 7 have survived in their entirety. Among the remaining plays are Ajax, Antigone, Trachinias, Electra, and Oedipus at the Colonos.
In creating his tragedies, Sophocles draws inspiration from the same sources as Aeschylus: legends and mythological heroes.
At the age of 80, Sophocles is appointed special commissioner to investigate the Athenian military disaster in Sicily. He dies ten years later and is buried at Colonos, in his native land, to which he brought praise and glory in his last play, Oedipus at Colonos.
We will review just a few of the great playwright's famous sayings, which have touched the hearts of generations to come.
- Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness. Wisdom surpasses all wealth.
- Empty barrels make the most noise.
- The first condition of happiness is wisdom.
- What bravery it would be to kill the dead again.
- Wisdom is the most precious commodity.
- Foolishness is indeed the sister of wickedness.
- It is better to fail in honorable circumstances than to succeed by fraud.
- There is no greater joy than that which comes unexpectedly.
- It is a painful enough thing to look at your own troubles and know that you have created them for yourself.
- Old age and the passage of time teach us everything.
- The intelligent man judges the new by the old.
- There is no success without hard work.
- Perfidy attracts perfidy.
- When anger boils in your breast, learn to control your mouth.
- There are many wonderful things, but none more wonderful than man.
- Man holds in his soul the seed from which he reaps his joy and his sorrow.
- If some readers think I write naive things, then I am satisfied that such people consider me a fool.
- Time is the gentle god. All is good in its time.
- For humans, there is nothing that lasts: not the starry night, not misfortune, not wealth; it's all gone in a day.
These wise sayings of the great tragedian can be a source of inspiration and can help us to act more righteously in the maze of life that often puts us in difficult situations.
The famous Greek poet and tragedian Sophocles was born in 496 BC in Colonos, a suburb of Athens, and died there in 406 BC. Along with Aeschylus and Euripides, Sophocles laid the foundations of classical Greek tragedy, and throughout his life, he received much praise for his works.
Even after his death, the great writer continued to dominate the Greek stage, with performances of his plays enjoying great success.
Who Was Sophocles?
Sophocles was born into a wealthy family, and his father, being a wealthy armorer, was able to provide him with a very good education typical of young people of that time. At the age of 16 (480 BC), he became an accomplished lyric dancer and singer and was chosen to stage a performance to mark the victory over the Persians at Salamis, the beginning of the golden age of Athens.Sophocles introduces great innovations in theatrical technique, including abandoning the trilogy connection and creating independent plays. His work comprises over 120 plays, of which only 7 have survived in their entirety. Among the remaining plays are Ajax, Antigone, Trachinias, Electra, and Oedipus at the Colonos.
In creating his tragedies, Sophocles draws inspiration from the same sources as Aeschylus: legends and mythological heroes.
At the age of 80, Sophocles is appointed special commissioner to investigate the Athenian military disaster in Sicily. He dies ten years later and is buried at Colonos, in his native land, to which he brought praise and glory in his last play, Oedipus at Colonos.
We will review just a few of the great playwright's famous sayings, which have touched the hearts of generations to come.
Sophocles' Famous Immortal Quotes
- The gods, by giving birth to reason in men, gave them the greatest of all goods.- Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness. Wisdom surpasses all wealth.
- Empty barrels make the most noise.
- The first condition of happiness is wisdom.
- What bravery it would be to kill the dead again.
- Wisdom is the most precious commodity.
- Foolishness is indeed the sister of wickedness.
- It is better to fail in honorable circumstances than to succeed by fraud.
- There is no greater joy than that which comes unexpectedly.
- It is a painful enough thing to look at your own troubles and know that you have created them for yourself.
- Old age and the passage of time teach us everything.
- The intelligent man judges the new by the old.
- There is no success without hard work.
- Perfidy attracts perfidy.
- When anger boils in your breast, learn to control your mouth.
- There are many wonderful things, but none more wonderful than man.
- Man holds in his soul the seed from which he reaps his joy and his sorrow.
- If some readers think I write naive things, then I am satisfied that such people consider me a fool.
- Time is the gentle god. All is good in its time.
- For humans, there is nothing that lasts: not the starry night, not misfortune, not wealth; it's all gone in a day.
These wise sayings of the great tragedian can be a source of inspiration and can help us to act more righteously in the maze of life that often puts us in difficult situations.
