Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Aeschylus Αἰσχύλος

525 – 455 BCE

The Father of Tragedy

Although Aeschylus was the first to present plays as trilogies, the initiator of many theatrical innovations, and the “father of tragedy;” his Greek epitaph didn’t mention his plays, only his military roles. Although not fully acknowledged in ancient Greece, his influence has seeped through history and into the present as an inspiration for Wagner, Milton, the Romantics, Eugene O’Neill, and Robert F. Kennedy who claimed him as his favorite poet who he quoted in a speech to African Americans after Martin Luther King’s assassination. This same quote—“to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world”— became inscribed on Kennedy’s memorial after his own assassination. Aeschylus’ costumes and performances were so vivid that they were said to cause children to faint, men to urinate in their robes, and pregnant women to go into labo

Eras

Unlisted Sources

Agamemnon

Prometheus Bound 478 BCE

Prometheus Bound 478 BCE, Eumenides 458 BCE

Prometheus Vinctus

Quotes by Aeschylus (12 quotes)

“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

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“Wisdom comes only through suffering.”

Themes: Suffering Wisdom

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“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.”

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“To learn is to be young, however old.”

Themes: Longevity Old Age

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“There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.”

Themes: Memory

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“Many value appearances more than reality—thus they violate what’s right.”

Themes: Reality

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“Many value appearances more than reality—thus they violate what’s right.”

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“The wisest of the wise still fail.”

Themes: Failure

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“In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

from Agamemnon

Themes: Wisdom Suffering

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“Time in its aging course teaches all things, overtakes all things alike, and brings all things to pass.”

from Prometheus Bound 478 BCE, Eumenides 458 BCE

Themes: Time

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“To make wail and lament for one's ill fortune, when one will win a tear from the audience, is well worthwhile.”

from Prometheus Bound 478 BCE

Themes: Complaint

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“The force of necessity is irresistible.”

from Prometheus Vinctus

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Quotes about Aeschylus (2 quotes)

“Aeschylus so changed the system of the tragic stage that he has more claim than anyone else to be regarded as the founder (Father) of Tragedy.”

Eugene O'Neill 1888 – 1953 CE

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“He was, first and last, the born fighter, to whom the consciousness of being matched against a great adversary suffices, and who can dispense with success. Life for him was an adventure, perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens. The fullness of life is in the hazards of life. And, at the worst, there is that in us which can turn defeat into victory.”

Edith Hamilton 1867 – 1963 CE
from Three Greek Plays, 1937

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