And you shall cry out on that day because of that person, your king, whom you chose for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in those days, since you chose for yourselves a king. #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Look, we don't know what a cow would do with a quarter-share of a stag, but we do know: "Numquam est fidelis cum potente societas." gnomai.com/stories/the-... #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

“Virtue relies wholly on its use.” “virtus in usu sui tota posita est” (Cic. Rep. 1.2) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

“Cicero, what is there for you in a stranger's generation? Our age is now finished.” “Cicero, quid in alieno saeculo tibi? iam nostra peracta sunt.” (Sen. Suas. 6.1) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Babrius is right: the union makes us strong! Happy Labor Day! gnomai.com/stories/divi... #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

For wretched infatuation, sire of calamity, plotting disgraces, emboldens mortals. βροτοὺς θρασύνει γὰρ αἰσχρόμητις τάλαινα παρακοπὰ πρωτοπήμων. (Aesch. Ag. 222f) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

In place of sleep, there drips before the heart the pain of misery recalled: even upon the unwilling comes a measured mind. στάζει δ᾿ ἀνθ᾿ ὕπνου πρὸ καρδίας μνησιπήμων πόνος· καὶ παρ᾿ ἅ- κοντας ἦλθε σωφρονεῖν. (Aesch. Ag. 179-181) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

“Nothing is beyond hope, and one must hope for everything.” “ἄελπτον οὐδέν, πάντα δ᾿ ἐλπίζειν χρεών.” (Euripides “Hypsipyle”, fr. 761 = Stob. 4.46.16) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

“For evil men, profit is greater than justice.” “κακοῖς τὸ κέρδος τῆς δίκης ὑπέρτερον.” (Euripides “Hypsipyle” fr. 760a = 758 Nauck/Stob. 3.10.26) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

“I often note that poor men are wiser than the rich and that those who make small sacrifices to the gods are more pious than those who sacrifice oxen.” (Euripides "Danae" fr. 327, ll. 5-8) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

οἱ μὴ κολάζοντες τοὺς κακοὺς βούλονται ἀδικεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀγαθούς. (Attributed to Pythagoras; Stobaeus 4.5.112) “Those who do not chastise evildoers will that good people suffer injustice.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

μηδένα ζήλου τῶν ἐξ ἀδικίας κερδαινόντων, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀποδέχου τοὺς μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ζημιωθέντας· οἱ γὰρ δίκαιοι τῶν ἀδίκων εἰ μηδὲν ἄλλο πλεονεκτοῦσιν, ἀλλ᾿ οὖν ἐλπίσι γε σπουδαίαις ὑπερέχουσιν. (Isoc. 1.39)

οὕτω καὶ κυβερνήτου νοσοῦντος, ὅλον συμπάσχει τὸ σκάφος… (Himerius 45.16f) “Likewise, when the helmsman is sick, the whole ship suffers together...” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Βιοῦν ἀλύπως θνητὸν ὄντ' οὐ ῥᾴδιον. (“Menandri sententiae”, Ed. Jaekel, S. l. 97) “It is not easy to live a mortal life without grief.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

οἴνου γὰρ εὕροις ἄν τι πρακτικώτερον; (Ar. Eq. 91) “Could you discover anything more efficacious than wine?” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

"...insurgere paulatim, munia senatus, magistratuum, legum in se trahere, nullo adversante, cum ferocissimi per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri nobilium, quanto quis servitio promptior, opibus et honoribus extollerentur..." (Tac. An. 1.2)

Οὐ γὰρ δοκῶ σοι ἀπολογεῖσθαι μελετῶν διαβεβιωκέναι; (Xen. Ap. 3) “Well, don't I seem to you to have spent my whole life preparing to defend myself?” - Socrates, when asked why he wasn't preparing his defense #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

ἁπλοῦς ὁ μῦθος τῆς ἀληθείας ἔφυ, κοὐ ποικίλων δεῖ τἄνδιχ᾿ ἑρμηνευμάτων· ἔχει γὰρ αὐτὰ καιρόν· ὁ δ᾿ ἄδικος λόγος νοσῶν ἐν αὑτῷ φαρμάκων δεῖται σοφῶν. (Eur. Phoen. 469-472) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Ἔοικεν ὁ βίος θεάτρῳ· διὸ πολλάκις χείριστοι τὸν κάλλιστον ἐν αὐτῷ κατέχουσι τόπον. (Stobaeus 4.42.14) “Life is like a theater: wherefore the worst people often occupy the finest place in it.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics It's Friday: see a show and unwind!

Οὔτε πῦρ ἱματίῳ περιστεῖλαι δυνατὸν οὔτε αἰσχρὸν ἁμάρτημα χρόνῳ. (Attributed to Socrates; Stobaeus 3.6.14) It is not possible to cloak fire in your mantle, nor a shameful sin in time. #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

σφόδρ᾿ εὐάλωτόν ἐστιν ἡ πονηρία· εἰς γὰρ τὸ κέρδος μόνον ἀποβλέπουσ᾿ ἀεὶ ἀφρόνως ἀπαντᾷ καὶ προπετῶς συμπείθεται. (Demetrius, a comic poet (I or II, PCG), fr. 4K, ed. Storey; Stobaeus 3.2.1) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

ἀνδρῶν δ᾿ ἐκ μεγάλων πόλις ὄλλυται, ἐς δὲ μονάρχου δῆμος ἀϊδρίῃ δουλοσύνην ἔπεσεν. λίην δ᾿ ἐξάραντ᾿ <οὐ> ῥᾴδιόν ἐστι κατασχεῖν ὕστερον, ἀλλ᾿ ἤδη χρή <τινα> πάντα νοεῖν. (Solon, fr. 9, ed. Gerber; Diod. Sic. 9.20.2, ll. 3-6): #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Ἐλευθέρου γάρ ἐστι τἀληθῆ λέγειν. (234, Menandri sententiae, Ed. Jaekel, S.) “Part of freedom is to speak the truth.” (More literally: “For it is (a characteristic/part) of the free man to speak true things.”) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Καλὸν μὲν ἡ ἀλήθεια, ὦ ξένε, καὶ μόνιμον· ἔοικε μὴν οὐ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι πείθειν. (Pl. Leg. 663e) “The truth is a fine thing, stranger, and lasting; and yet it does not seem easy to convince people." #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Βίων ἔφη τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἄρχοντα παυόμενον τῆς ἀρχῆς μὴ πλουσιώτερον ἀλλ' ἐνδοξότερον γεγονέναι. (Bion of Borysthenes fr. 43a; Stobaeus 4.5.23) “Bion used to say that a good magistrate, on leaving office, was not wealthier, but held in greater esteem.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

τυραννὶς χρῆμα σφαλερόν, πολλοὶ δὲ αὐτῆς ἐρασταί εἰσι… (Herodotus 3.53) Tyranny is a slippery thing, but many are its lovers… #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

βραχεῖα τέρψις ἡδονῆς κακῆς. (Euripides fr. 362, l. 23) “Short is the delight of an evil pleasure.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

ἤθους δὲ βάσανός ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις χρόνος. (Menandri sententiae 304; Ed. Jaekel) “Time is a test of character for men.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/t... There is a free tier. If you have your own website, check it out!

From the Gnomologium Vaticanum (229): "Ὁ αὐτὸς ἔφη πόλεως εἶναι ψυχὴν τοὺς νόμους· “ὥσπερ δὲ σῷμα στερηθὲν ψυχῆς πίπτει, οὕτω καὶ πόλις μὴ ὄντων νόμων καταλύεται”." #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

A two-for-one fragment Friday featuring Sophocles (*The Sons of Aleus*): ἐνταῦθα μέντοι πάντα τἀνθρώπων νοσεῖ, κακοῖς ὅταν θέλωσιν ἰᾶσθαι κακά (Fr. 77) “Hereupon do all matters of men rot in sickness: whenever they are eager to cure evils with evils.”

Thirsty Thursday with Theognis (211f): οἶνόν τοι πίνειν πουλὺν κακόν· ἢν δέ τις αὐτὸν πίνῃ ἐπισταμένως, οὐ κακὸς ἀλλ᾿ ἀγαθός. “Well, sure, drinking lots of wine is bad; but if one were to drink it adroitly, it is not bad, but a blessing.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

Some Pre-Socratic wisdom for your Wednesday, courtesy of Democritus: τὰ μὲν καλὰ χρήματα τοῖς πόνοις ἡ μάθησις ἐξεργάζεται, τὰ δ’ αἰσχρὰ ἄνευ πόνων αὐτόματα καρποῦται. (D407/B182; Stob. 2.31.66)

It's Tuesday. Do something fun. Archilochus would approve. οὔτε τι γὰρ κλαίων ἰήσομαι, οὐτε κάκιον θήσω τερπωλὰς καὶ θαλίας ἐφέπων. (Archilochus fr. 11; Plut. quomodo aud. poet. 12.33a-b)

Some _Thyestes_ (205-207) for your Thursday: Atreus: “Maximum hoc regni bonum est, quod facta domini cogitur populus sui tam ferre quam laudare.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

Words for your Wednesday, from Antigone: “ὧν τοὔργον Ἅιδης χοἰ κάτω ξυνίστορες· λόγοις δ᾿ ἐγὼ φιλοῦσαν οὐ στέργω φίλην.” (Soph. Ant. 542f) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

Today, we explore the age-old question: "Complete and total freedom or belly rubs?" gnomai.com/stories/the-... #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassic

Some ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ (25:35-36) for your Monday: ἐπείνασα γὰρ καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν, ἐδίψησα καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με, ξένος ἤμην καὶ συνηγάγετέ με, γυμνὸς καὶ περιεβάλετέ με, ἠσθένησα καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με, ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην καὶ ἤλθατε πρός με.

Dropping a new web component today: Unencumbered <line-numbers> will add line numbers alongside a `<pre>` or `<textarea>` (and updates when input value changes) README: github.com/zachleat/lin... Demo: zachleat.github.io/line-numbers...

*crab-walked

Some Wednesday words from the Septuagint and Vulgate...

Some Friday fun from Ennius (via Cic. Nat. D. 1.97): "simia quam similis turpissima bestia nobis" #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky

TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM

Open access!

Some ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ (7:12) for your Monday: Πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἂν θέλητε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς· οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται. #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky

Some Friday fun from Seneca the Elder, quoting Aufidius Bassus’ “eulogy” for Cicero (Suas. 6.23): “Vixit sexaginta et tres annos, ita ut semper aut peteret alterum aut invicem peteretur, nullamque rem rarius quam diem illum quo nullius interesset ipsum mori vidit.” #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky

When the kite does take the snake, the snake will bite the kite. (gnomai.com/stories/the-...) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

But I never thought the kite would eat MY face... (gnomai.com/stories/the-...) #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

They're not all good dogs, Bront. gnomai.com/stories/aeso... #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics

Looking for other or similar attestations of a "cure" found in an Aesopic fable, namely the feeding to a dog of bread dipped in blood from a wound caused by said dog. (See below for excerpts.) Any help or thoughts on this would be much appreciated. #AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics