The best of all things for earthly men is not to be born and not to see the beams of the… — Theognis of Megara
The best of all things for earthly men is not to be born and not to see the beams of the bright sun; but if born, then as quickly as possible to pass the gates of Hades, and to lie deep buried.
In the original Greek
πάντων μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον, μηδ᾽ ἐσιδεῖν αὐγὰς ὀξέος ἠελίου: φύντα δ᾽ ὅπως ὤκιστα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περῆσαι, καὶ κεῖσθαι πολλὴν γῆν ἐπαμησάμενον.
Elegies · 545 BC
★ 1.9Other tags relating to this quote
Medium
Person
Provenance
Current citation
Theognis. "Elegies." Hesiod and Theognis: Theogony, Works and Days, and Elegies, translated by Dorothea Wender. Penguin Classics, 1976.
Original citation
Theognis. Elegies. c. 541 BC.
