And as for the maxim "A pledge, and ruin is nigh," some have assumed that by it Chilon was advising against marriage; for among most Greek peoples the agreement to marry is also called a "pledge," and this is confirmed by the common experience of men in that the worst and most numerous ills of life are due to wives. But some writers say that such an interpretation is unworthy of Chilon, because if marriage were destroyed life could not continue, and that he declares that "ruin" is nigh to such pledges as those made in connection with contracts and with agreements on other matters, all of which are concerned with money. As Euripides says:
No pledge I give, observing well the loss
Which those incur who of the pledge are fond;
And writings there at Pytho say me nay.
Eur. fr. 923 [Nauck(2)]
9.10.5But some also say that it is not the meaning of Chilon nor is it the act of a good citizen, not to come to the aid of a friend when he needs help of this kind; but rather that he advises against strong asseverations, against eagerness in giving pledges, and against irrevocable decisions in human affairs, such as the Greeks once made in connection with their victory over Xerxes. For they took oath at Plataea note that they would hand down enmity to the Persians as an inheritance even to their children's children, so long as the rivers run into the sea, as the race of men endures, and as the earth brings forth fruit; and yet, despite the binding pledge they had taken against fickle fortune, after a time they were sending ambassadors to Artaxerxes, Xerxes' son, to negotiate a treaty of friendship and alliance. note
9.10.6Chilon's precepts, though brief, embrace the entire counsel necessary for the best life, since these pithy sayings of his are worth more than all the votive offerings set up in Delphi. The golden ingots of Croesus note and other handiwork like them have vanished and were but great incentives to men who chose to lift impious hands against the temple; but Chilon's maxims are kept alive for all time, stored up as they are in the souls of educated men and constituting the fairest treasure, on which neither Phocians nor Gauls would be quick to lay their hands. noteConst. Exc. 4, pp. 283-285.
ch. 11
9.11.1
Pittacus note of Mitylene was not only admired of men for his wisdom, but he was also such a citizen as the island never produced again, nor, in my opinion, could produce in time to come—not until it bears wine both more abundant and more delicious. For he was an excellent law-giver, in his dealings with individual citizens affable and kindly, and he freed his native land from the three greatest evils, from tyranny, civil strife, and war.
9.11.2Pittacus was a man of consequence, gentle and inclined to self-disparagement. Consequently he was regarded by all as a man who, beyond dispute, was perfect in respect of every virtue: for as to his legislation, he showed himself statesmanlike and prudent, as to keeping his plighted faith strictly just, as to his distinction in armed combat, courageous, and as to his greatness of soul in the matter of lucre, having no trace of avarice.Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 218.
ch. 12
9.12.1
When the inhabitants of Mitylene offered to Pittacus the half of the land for which he had fought in single combat, note he would not accept it, but arranged to assign to every man by lot an equal part, uttering the maxim, "The equal share is more than the greater." note For in measuring "the greater" in terms of fair dealing, not of profit, he judged wisely; since he reasoned that equality would be followed by fame and security, but greediness by opprobrium and fear, which would speedily have taken away from him the people's gift.
