Bias of Priene (fl. 6th century BCE) was a Greek orator celebrated for his honesty and his pithy sayings.
A native of Priene, an ancient Ionian city, Bias distinguished himself through his skill as an advocate, and for his use of it in defense of the right. He was one of the “Seven Wise Men” of Greece; the others are the politician Chilon of Sparta, poet Cleobulus, monarch Periander of Corinth, military general Pittacus of Mytilene, legislator Solon of Athens, and philosopher Thales of Miletus.
Many pithy sayings of Bias originate from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, the biographer of ancient Greek philosophers.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Bias of Priene
Most people are evil.
—Bias of Priene
Great riches come to many men by chance.
—Bias of Priene
The naive men are easily fooled.
—Bias of Priene
The greatest misfortune of all is not to be able to bear misfortune.
—Bias of Priene
We should live as though our life would be both long and short.
—Bias of Priene
Truth breeds hatred.
—Bias of Priene
Topics: Truth
Love prudence.
—Bias of Priene
Cherish wisdom as a means of travelling from youth to old age, for it is more lasting than any other possession.
—Bias of Priene
Topics: Wisdom
I carry all my effects with me.
—Bias of Priene
Do not speak fast, for that shows folly.
—Bias of Priene
So order your affairs as if you were to live long, or die soon.
—Bias of Priene
Accept of things, having procured them by persuasion, not by force.
—Bias of Priene
Whatever good fortune befalls you, attribute it to the gods.
—Bias of Priene
You should look into a mirror: if you look fine, do fine things; if you look ugly, correct by nobility the defect of your nature.
—Bias of Priene
We should live as though our life would be both long and short.
—Bias of Priene
Speak of the Gods as they are.
—Bias of Priene
All men are wicked.
—Bias of Priene
It is difficult to bear a change of fortune for the worse with magnanimity.
—Bias of Priene
Choose the course which you adopt with deliberation; but when you have adopted it, then persevere in it with firmness.
—Bias of Priene
Love your friends as if they would some day hate you.
—Bias of Priene
Topics: Friendship
Do not praise an undeserving man because of his riches.
—Bias of Priene
Hear much; speak little.
—Bias of Priene
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