Not to be born surpasses thought and speech. The second best is to have seen the… — Sophocles
Not to be born surpasses thought and speech. The second best is to have seen the light And then to go back quickly whence we came.
In the original Greek
μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον: τὸ δ᾽, ἐπεὶ φανῇ, βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει, πολὺ δεύτερον, ὡς τάχιστα.
Oedipus at Colonus · 406 BC
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Current citation
Sophocles. "Oedipus at Colonus." The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Odeipus at Colonus, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2000.
Original citation
Sophocles. Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ [Oedipus at Colonus]. 401 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.