Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.

μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον

Sophocles

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More information about this quote

Topic

Being born The human condition

Author

Sophocles

Source

Oedipus at Colonus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

406 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Playwright Writer

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Sophocles. Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ [Oedipus at Colonus]. 401 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Oedipus at Colonus." The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Odeipus at Colonus, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2000.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Sophocles about being born: “Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.”
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A quote by Sophocles about being born: “Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.”
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A quote by Sophocles about being born: “Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote about The human condition

As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.

Psalm 103:15-16

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More information about this quote
Topic
Ephemeral nature of life Shortness of life The human condition
Source
Psalms The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
Hebrew
Time
450 BC 450s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson, 1982. (Psalm 103:15-16).

Another quote from the 5th century BC

Man is the measure of all things.

Protagoras

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of man
Speaker
Protagoras

Author

Plato
Source
Theaetetus
Medium
Philosophical dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
420 BC 420s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Plato. Θεαίτητος [Theatetus]. c. 400 BC.

Current Citation

Plato. Theatetus, translated by John McDowell. Oxford University Press, 2014.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.

Aristotle

Politics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Economic inequality Decline of democracy Tyranny

Author

Aristotle
Source
Politics
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 4.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 4.

Another quote originally in Greek

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Jesus

Matthew 7:13-14

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More information about this quote
Topic
Salvation Damnation Sermon on the Mount
Speaker
Jesus
Source
Gospel of Matthew The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Language
Greek
Time
60 60s 1st century
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society, 1978. (Matthew 7:13-14).