The fool learns by suffering.

παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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Topic

Learning from suffering School of hard knocks Fools

Author

Hesiod

Source

Works and Days

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Poet Writer

From

Turkey Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 218.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 218.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Hesiod about learning from suffering: “The fool learns by suffering.”
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A quote by Hesiod about learning from suffering: “The fool learns by suffering.”
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A quote by Hesiod about learning from suffering: “The fool learns by suffering.”
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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 by Hesiod

Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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More information about this quote
Topic
Hard work Excellence Character Virtue The human condition

Author

Hesiod
Source
Works and Days
Medium
Poem
Genre
Didactic poem
Language
Greek
Time
700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 289.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 289.

Another quote from the 8th century BC

We are quick to flare up, we races of men on the earth.

Homer

The Odyssey

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More information about this quote
Topic
Temper Anger Human nature

Author

Homer
Source
The Odyssey
Medium
Poem
Genre
Epic poem
Language
Greek
Time
700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 7, l. 307.

Current Citation

Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 7, l. 307.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

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 originally in Greek

How many things I can do without!

Socrates

Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius

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More information about this quote
Topic
Simple living Materialism
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Diogenes Laërtius
Source
Socrates The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Genre
Biography
Language
Greek
Time
399 BC 390s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laertius. c. 240 AD, bk. 2, ch. 5.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited by James Miller. Oxford University Press, 2018, bk. 2, ch. 5.