Menander

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Education is the one possession no one can take.

   A one-line maxim from the collection of sayings handed down under Menander's name: learning is a possession that cannot be taken from mortals. Money, jobs and looks can go. What you have learned goes with you.

   Monostichoi 2, our translation from the Greek

2. You're mortal. Don't keep an immortal grudge.

   The saying sets a deathless hatred against a short life: being mortal, do not guard an undying feud. Grudges outlive their usefulness and eat the time you have. Let them go before you have to.

   Monostichoi 5, our translation from the Greek

3. Time brings the truth to light.

   Time leads truth into the light. You do not always have to win the argument today. Facts have a way of surfacing.

   Monostichoi 13, our translation from the Greek

4. A man bears what comes with dignity.

   The mark of a man is to bear whatever falls on him nobly. You do not choose the hits. You choose how you carry them.

   Monostichoi 15, our translation from the Greek

5. You're human. Learn to master your anger.

   Being human, learn to rule your anger. Temper is natural, but so is the ability to govern it. That ability is a skill, and skills are learned.

   Monostichoi 22, our translation from the Greek

6. A man's character shows in his speech.

   The Greek word charakter means the stamp pressed into a coin. A person's stamp is recognized from the way he talks. Listen to how someone speaks about others when they are not in the room.

   Monostichoi 27, our translation from the Greek

7. The man who runs will fight again.

   The saying defends a strategic retreat: the man who flees will fight another day. Losing a round is not losing the war. Live to paddle back out.

   Monostichoi 56, our translation from the Greek

8. Lovers of money are never free.

   The Greek is a pun: the money-lovers are aneleutheroi, unfree and stingy at once. Greed is a leash. The more you need, the more you obey.

   Monostichoi 45, our translation from the Greek

9. A wise man doesn't make the same mistake twice.

   To err twice in the same way is not the act of a wise man. Everyone gets the first one free. The second is a choice.

   Monostichoi 183, our translation from the Greek

10. Counsel comes to the wise at night.

    Good decisions come to the wise in the night. The old advice to sleep on it is this line. Big choices made in the heat of the day often look different by morning.

    Monostichoi 222, our translation from the Greek

11. Be daring, not reckless.

    The saying draws a sharp line between eutolmos, well-daring, and tolmeros, rash. Courage weighs the risk and goes. Recklessness skips the weighing. Paddle out on the big day if you can handle it, not to prove a point.

    Monostichoi 226, our translation from the Greek

12. Master your temper and you'll live the best life.

    You will live the strongest life if you rule your temper. Anger burns friendships, deals and days. The calm person keeps all three.

    Monostichoi 269, our translation from the Greek

13. Time is the touchstone of character.

    The basanos was the dark stone used to test gold. The saying makes time that stone for character. Anyone can look good for a week. Years tell the truth.

    Monostichoi 304, our translation from the Greek

14. Give me not what I want, but what is good for me.

    A one-line prayer: may I get not what I wish for but what benefits me. Wants and needs are different things. The wise ask for the second.

    Monostichoi 481, our translation from the Greek

15. The father is the one who raised you, not the one who sired you.

    The one who raised you is your father, not just the one who begot you. Parenthood is made by showing up, year after year. It is a line for every stepdad, coach and mentor who did the work.

    Monostichoi 647, our translation from the Greek

16. Laziness ruins a whole life.

    Slackness is the ruin of an entire life. It rarely looks dramatic on any single day. That is what makes it dangerous.

    Monostichoi 695, our translation from the Greek

17. Work hard and you'll build a good life.

    Be a lover of work, philoponos, and you will gain a good life. It is the plainest advice in the collection and still the most reliable.

    Monostichoi 811, our translation from the Greek

18. Bearing poverty well takes a wise man.

    Not everyone can bear being poor, only the wise. Hard times reveal whether your peace depends on your bank balance. Build the kind that does not.

    Monostichoi 633, our translation from the Greek

19. Help a friend with his work and you help yourself.

    A friend who toils for a friend toils for himself. Loyalty pays you back in kind. The help you give comes home.

    Monostichoi 803, our translation from the Greek

20. One hand washes the other.

    Hand washes hand, finger washes finger. The phrase is still used across Europe. People get further by helping each other than by going it alone.

    Monostichoi 59 Brunck, our translation from the Greek