Adopt the character of the twisting octopus, which takes on the appearance of the nearby rock. Now follow in this direction, now turn a different hue.

πουλύπου ὀργὴν ἴσχε πολυπλόκου, ὃς ποτὶ πέτρῃ τῇ προσομιλήσῃ τοῖος ἰδεῖν ἐφάνη: νῦν μὲν τῇδ᾽ ἐφέπου, τότε δ᾽ ἀλλοῖος χρόα γίνου.

Theognis of Megara

More information about this quote

Topic

Adaptability

Author

Theognis of Megara

Source

Elegies

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Advice

Language

Greek

Time

541 BC 540s BC 6th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Poet

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Theognis. Elegies. c. 541 BC.

Current Citation

Theognis. "Elegies." Hesiod and Theognis: Theogony, Works and Days, and Elegies, translated by Dorothea Wender. Penguin Classics, 1976.

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A quote by Theognis of Megara about adaptability: “Adopt the character of the twisting octopus, which takes on the…”
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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 from the 6th century BC

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Ahiqar

More information about this quote
Topic
Minimizing risk Risk

Author

Ahiqar
Source
Proverbs of Ahiqar
Genre
Wisdom literature
Language
Assyrian
Time
500 BC 500s BC 6th century BC
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Ahiqar. The Story of Ahikar. c. 500 BC.

Current Citation

Ahiqar. The Story of Ahikar, translated by Herbert Lindenberger. The John Hopkins Near Eastern Studies, 1983.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

You know as well as we do that right, as the word goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

Thucydides

History of the Peloponnesian War

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Read History of the Peloponnesian War at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Justice Power relations Political theory

Author

Thucydides
Source
History of the Peloponnesian War
Genre
Historical literature
Language
Greek
Time
404 BC 400s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. c. 431 BC, bk. 5.

Current Citation

Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War, translated by Martin Hammond. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 5.

Another quote originally in Greek

The character which results from wealth is that of a prosperous fool.

Aristotle

Rhetoric

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More information about this quote
Topic
Corrosive effects of wealth Downsides of wealth Wealth Character Fools

Author

Aristotle
Source
Rhetoric
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Aristotle. Rhetoric. 322 BC, bk. 2, pt. 16, sect. 3.

Current Citation

Aristotle. The Art of Rhetoric, translated by Robin Waterfield. Oxford University Press, 2018, bk. 2, pt. 16, sect. 3.

Another quote of the following type Advice

See many skies and seas.

Gustave Flaubert

More information about this quote
Topic
Broadening one's horizons Travel

Author

Gustave Flaubert
Source
Letters of Gustave Flaubert
Medium
Letter
Statement Type
Advice
Language
French
Time
1857 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 1
Citation

Flaubert, Gustave. Letter to Mademoiselle Leroyer de Chantepie. c. 1840.