Tao Te Ching

“The creed of democracy—spiritual and political liberty for all—and each man a willing servant of the the state, was the conception which underlay the highest reach of Greek genius. It was fatally weakened by the race for money and power, war destroyed it, and Greece lost it forever. Nevertheless, the ideal of free individuals unified by a spontaneous service to the common life was left as a possession to the world, never to be forgotten.”

— Edith Hamilton 1867 – 1963 CE
from The Greek Way, 1930