Simonides

Every line we carry

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

1. Stranger, tell the Spartans: here we lie, obedient to their word.

   The epitaph for the three hundred Spartans who died at Thermopylae asks a passing stranger to carry a message home: here we lie, having obeyed their orders. Herodotus records it on the monument. No complaint, no boast, just duty done.

   Epitaph at Thermopylae (Herodotus 7.228), our translation from the Greek

2. If dying well is the greatest part of courage, fortune gave it to us.

   An epitaph for Greeks who fell defending freedom: if dying well is the largest share of virtue, fortune granted it to them above all, and they lie in praise that does not grow old. How you meet the end is part of the life.

   Anthologia Palatina 7.253, our translation from the Greek

3. It is hard to become truly good.

   Plato's Protagoras discusses this line of Simonides: to become a truly good man is hard. Being good is not a switch but a long project. Respect the difficulty and keep working at it.

   Plato, Protagoras 339b, our translation from the Greek

4. Painting is silent poetry. Poetry is painting that speaks.

   Plutarch reports that Simonides called painting silent poetry and poetry speaking painting. Both arts do the same work by different means. It is a reminder that creative skills feed each other.

   Plutarch, On the Glory of the Athenians 346f, our translation from the Greek

5. I've often regretted speaking. Never keeping quiet.

   Plutarch tells the talkative to keep Simonides' saying at hand: he often regretted having spoken, never having stayed silent. Silence can be fixed later; words cannot be taken back.

   Plutarch, On Talkativeness 514f-515a, our translation from the Greek