Publius Syrus

“ Disgrace is honorable when you die in a good cause.
1007.
Cruel punishments do no honor to the king's majesty.
1008.
The exile without a home, is a dead man without sepulture.
1009.
Anger would inflict punishment on another; meanwhile, it tortures it self.
1010.
The happy man is not he who seems thus to others, but who seems thus to himself.
1011.
You may despair of quiet, if you manage the affairs of women.
1012.
Error and repentance are the attendants on hasty decisions.
1013.
He who conquers his passions is a man of more nerve than he who subdues the enemy. ”

“ Syrus followed him closely in this new path. He tempered the license of the mimes with many grave features, and a morality so severe, that Seneca, in his disquisitions on the Stoic philosophy, often cited their maxims as authority, and still more frequently made them the themes of lengthy essays.
Syrus traveled Italy for a long time, writing and playing by turns, every where applauded as a poet and as an actor. The fame of his success finally reached Rome, and an occasion offered for his appearance there with honor to himself. ”

“ A write whom these Reviewers had never read, who yet furnished their journal with a very appropriate motto, and with whom many of our popular proverbs originated, I here take the liberty to introduce to the people in a free English dress, knowing that if his noble shade is yet cognizant of his literary remains, he will tank me for bringing him before a public more capable of appreciating his good things than a Roman mob, and better able to practice his wiser moral precepts if so disposed, than most of the best of his contemporaries. ”

“ Whether from resentment, or a sense of justice, Cæsar awarding to Syrus the prize of the theatrical content, immediately passed him the triumphal palm, saying to the knight, with a mocking smile, "Although I was on your side, Laberius, a Syrian has beaten you." "Such is the fate of man," answered the poet; "to-day, ever thing; to-morrow, nothing." Notwithstanding, to restore the honor of the knight, lost by compliance with his own orders, Cæsar passed him a gold ring, the symbol of knightly rank, and added to it a present of five hundred thousand sesterces (about nineteen thousand dollars) . ”

“ Laberius appeared on the stage, and began, in an admirable prologue, with deploring his compulsory appearance, as an actor, so little in keeping with his age and rank. "Behold me, then, who after having spent a life of sixty years without a stain on my honor, have left my house a knight, to return to it a mere actor. I have lived too long by one day." Then thinking of the talent of his young rival, and fearing a defeat, he added, to extenuate its possible disgrace, and gain the pity of the spectators - "what do I bring upon the stage to day? ”

“ As there could be no final scene in a play without a plot, whenever an actor could not carry out his part, he took to his heels, and his flight put an end to the play.
The mimetic art was in this condition, that is to say, in its infancy, when Syrus composed his mimes. Laberius, a Roman knight, had just produced the first examples of mimetic poetry. Though aiming to amuse the people, he desired to instruct them, and therefore sought to blend useful truths and noble maxims with the pleasantries demanded in this species of comedy. ”

“ The more skillfully the language of goodness is assumed, the greater the depravity. ”

“ He is a despicable sage whose wisdom does not profit himself. ”

“ To depend on another's nod for a livelihood, is a sad destiny. ”

“ It is harder to judge between friends than enemies.
1027.
He who subdues his temper vanquishes his greatest enemy.
1028.
Call yourself happy, and you invite [the visits of] misfortune.
1029.
Fear the envy of your friends more than the snares of your enemies.
1030.
Malice swallows the greater part of its own venom.
1031.
There is the greatest danger in guarding what the multitude covet.
1032.
I am not your friend unless I share in your fortune.
1033.
Death is a blessing to infancy, bitter for youth, too tardy for old age. ”

“ It is folly to punish your neighbour by fire when you live next door. ”

“ The anger of lovers renews the strength of love.
25.
A god could hardly love and be wise.
26.
Love is youth's privilege, but an old man's shame.
27.
If your parent is just, revere him; if not, bear with him.
28.
If you cannot bear the faults of a friend, you make them your own [because you have not the charity to correct them] .
29.
Be not blind to a friend's faults, nor hate him for them.
30.
If you bear the faults of a friend, you make them your own [that is, you show a disposition to correct them] . ”

“ Fortunate often spare men a present affliction, that they may suffer a greater.
271.
Fortunate makes a fool of him who she favors too much.
272.
Fortune masters us if we do not master her.
273.
Fortunate has no more power over our destiny than our own actions.
274.
Fortunate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.
275.
When Fortune is on our side, popular favor bears her company.
276.
Fortunate has more power over a man than his own forethought.
277.
When fortune flatters, she does it to betray. ”

“ Kindness of heart is always happy. ”

“ The sayings were for that age of secondary consideration; they are now his chief performance. Thus deprived of the glory he once had, he has conquered another, and the once celebrated dramatist has become posterity's famous gnomic poet.
Like Terence and Phaedrus, Syrus passed his early years in slavery; but as we have no evidence that he was born a slave, it is suppose he became one, when Syria, his native country, was reduced to a Roman province by Pompey (year of Rome 690; B.C. 64) . ”

“ Fortune is fickle, and speedily asks back her favors.
428.
The love of pleasure is universal, though every face does not show it.
429.
When you assail truth, you may give loose reins to your tongue.
430.
Dignities heaped on the undeserving, are a badge of disgrace.
431.
A slanderous tongue is the sign of a bad heart.
432.
He who lives in solitude, may make his own laws.
433.
A long life makes acquaintance with a thousand ills. ”

“ The master who fears his slave, is the greater slave.
494.
The good man can be called miserable, but he is not so.
495.
Wretched the pleasure which is alloyed with a sense of danger.
496.
Unhappy he who must pass life in the midst of perils.
497.
To live free from danger is to know nothing of misery.
498.
A beneficent citizen is a blessing to his country.
499.
It is an unhappy lot which finds no enemies.
500.
It is an unhappy lot which an enemy does not envy.
501.
To depend on another's nod for a livelihood, is a sad destiny. ”

“ A great fortune sits gracefully on a great man.
441.
A noble spirit finds a cure for injustice in forgetting it.
442.
Mighty rivers may easily be leaped at their source.
443.
Excessive indignation is sometimes evidence of a great crime.
444.
It is a bad cause that takes refuge in the lenity of the judge.
445.
Hard to bear is the poverty which follows [a bad use of] riches.
446.
It is a bad medicine that exhausts the powers of nature.
447.
It is a sorry pleasure which is dispensed at the pleasure of another.
448.
A miserable death is an insult from destiny. ”

“ When you give to avarice you invite an injury.
818.
When you forgive an enemy you gain many friends.
819.
When a wise man conquers himself, his conquest is worth something.
820.
When vice is profitable, he errs who does right. [2]
821.
A frog would leap from a throne of gold into a puddle.
822.
It is robbery to receive a favor which you cannot return.
823.
It is robbing, not asking, when you take from a man against his will.
824.
That must be rare which you desire to be a long time precious.
825.
He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap. ”

“ Avarice is as destitute of what it has, as what is has not. ”

“ It is folly to punish your neighbour by fire when you live next door.
911.
Whom fortune wishes to destroy, she first makes mad.
912.
It is folly for him to rule over others who cannot govern himself.
913.
He is a fool who envies the happiness of the proud.
914.
Let a fool hold his tongue, and he will pass for a sage.
915.
He preserves his family's property who does not waste his own.
916.
Benevolence tries persuasion first, and the severer measures.
917.
A pleasant life this, if you know nothing; for ignorance is a painless evil. ”

“ A wise man rules his passions, a fool obeys them.
50.
When reason rules, money is a blessing.
51.
Reason guides, and not the eye, when chaste women select a husband.
52.
A [haughty] spirit in disgrace is a show for the rabble.
53.
Human reason grows rich by self-conquest.
54.
To know when to fear, is to be in the path of safety.
55.
He has existed only, not lived, who lacks wisdom in old age.
56.
Death laughs when old women frolic.
57.
Woman becomes good, when she is openly wicked. ”

“ It is well to yield up a pleasure, when a pain goes with it.
79.
The guilty man deserves to lose the money with which he would bride the judge.
80.
Happy he who died when death was desirable.
81.
A good reputation is a second patrimony.
82.
We make the nearest approaches to the gods in our good deeds.
83.
No one but a knave or a fool thinks a good deed thrown away.
84.
The more benefits bestowed, the more received.
85.
Never forget a received; be quick to forget a favor bestowed. ”

“ A slave against his will is wretched, but none the less a slave.
758.
He who adheres to his oath will come out where he wishes.
759.
They who plow the sea do not carry the winds in their hands.
760.
He who guards against calamities rarely meets them.
761.
It is no vice to keep a vice out of sight.
762.
He who can play the fool at pleasure can be wise if he will.
763.
He who has the power to injure is feared in his absence.
764.
He who has the power to harm is dreaded when does not intend harm. ”

“ There is more of fear than delight in a secret pleasure.
991.
There is a great difference between seeming wise, and being so.
992.
What has been given can be taken away.
993.
The more skilful the gambler, the greater the scoundrel.
994.
Sympathy in benevolence is the strongest of ties.
995.
It is a consolation to the wretched to have companions in mis ery.
996.
A good conscience never utters mere lip-prayers.
997.
A man of courage never endures an insult; an honorable man never offers one.
998.
Even for wisdom it is a hard matter to bear affliction. ”

“ The crime of the parent should never be a prejudice to the son.
1057.
Money is a servant if you know how to use it; if not, it is a master.
1058.
When we speak evil of others, we generally condemn ourselves.
1059.
To apply a common fund to our individual uses is the beginning of discord.
1060.
Confession of our faults is the next thing to innocence.
1061.
The later in life evil courses are begun, the more disgraceful they are.
1062.
When you can not restrain a man by kindness, try something else. ”

“ No tears are shed, when an enemy dies.
377.
However humble your enemy, it is wise to fear him.
378.
To avenge one's self on an enemy, is to receive a second life.
379.
A neighbor is apt to look on our affairs with an evil eye.
380.
Slander is more injurious than open violence.
381.
The ear bears an injury better than the eye.
382.
It is easier to do an injury than bear one.
383.
To forget the wrongs you receive, is to remedy them.
384.
He confers a double favor on the needy, who gives in season.
385.
Poverty needs little; avarice every thing. ”

“ Man's life is short; and therefore an honorable death is his immortality.
↑ This is no better than the Old Testament maxim: "A tooth for a tooth, and an eye for an eye."- Trans. ↑ * This maxim is at once the climax of worldly wisdom and genuine folly, and was probably put by Syrus in the mouth of some unscrupulous scoundrel personated in a mime. ↑ Truisms in matters touching human progress in one age, become falsehoods in another. Syrus would-not have said this, had he been a contemporary of Franklin. ”

“ To make such impressions in favor of virtue and morality was the glorious purpose which Syrus had in view.
THE SAYINGS OF PUBLIUS SYRUS.
(FROM THE LATIN.)
1.
As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.
2.
The evil you do to others you may expect in return.
3.
Allay the anger of your friend by kindness.
4.
To dispute with a drunkard is to debate with an empty house. ”

“ Trust no man as a friend till you have tried him.
132.
Beware of him who has once deceived you.
133.
You can never dispense with prudence.
134.
The wounds of conscience always leaves a scar.
135.
The danger despised is the first to reach us.
136.
Falsities are quick to appear in their true character.
137.
We are anxious to avoid the faults which are ashamed to have committed.
138.
There is but a step between a proud man's glory and his disgrace.
139.
The joys of the worthless speedily turn to their own destruction. ”

“ When Gold argues the cause, eloquence is impotent. ”

“ He who fears his friend teaches his friend to fear him.
773.
He who distrusts his friend knows not the meaning of the word.
774.
He who dreads all manner of snares will fall into none.
775.
He who comes to injure intended the evil before he set out.
776.
Give to the good and a share returns to yourself.
777.
In every enterprise consider where you would come out.
778.
Virtue's deeds are glory's deeds.
779.
The honors for which we are indebted to fortune, quickly lose their luster.
780.
It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity. ”

“ When the wise man thinks, he arms himself against the assaults of the whole world.
857.
The sage briefly refuses your request by his silence.
858.
Folly is very often wisdom's companion.
859.
Useful, and not multifarious knowledge, is wisdom.
860.
Vain is that wisdom which does not profit the possessor.
861.
You are eloquent enough if the truth speaks through you.
862.
Happy he who can die when he wishes.
863.
It is enough to vanquish an enemy; more than enough to ruin him. ”

“ Men will judge your past deeds by your last.
249.
Versatility of mind is a natural bias to folly.
250.
It is easier to add to a great reputation than to get it.
251.
Good fortune renders a man agreeable, if the good fortune is not seen.
252.
By concealing the deed, you render the accusation more serious.
253.
Calumny is a malevolent lie.
254.
Many consult their reputation; but few their conscience.
255.
The master is a slave when he fears those whom he rules. ”

“ Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them. ”

“ Punishment creeps upon wickedness secretly in order to crush it.
685.
The less the pain, the lighter the punishment.
686.
Punishment tarries for vice, but never passes it by.
687.
Whoever is useful to his country, is the people's property.
688.
The memory of great misfortunes suffered, is itself a misfortune.
689.
A merciful man in power is a public blessing.
690.
To get angry with power, is to invite danger on one's own head.
691.
Freedom alone is the source of noble action.
692.
Prosperity has no power over adversity. ”