Delphic Maxims, Ranked

Delphic Maxims, Ranked
  1. Deal kindly with everyone
  2. Pursue harmony
  3. Be grateful
  4. Yield to justice
  5. Reach the end without sorrow
  6. Gratify without harming
  7. Love friendship
  8. Control anger
  9. Having heard, perceive
  10. Shun murder
  11. Be happy with what you have
  12. In middle age, be just
  13. Share the load of the unfortunate
  14. Love those you raise
  15. Accept old age
  16. Think as a mortal; be prudent like one who can die
  17. When an elder, be reasonable
  18. Exercise prudence
  19. Guard friendship
  20. Govern yourself
  21. If you are a stranger act like one
  22. Do not tire of learning
  23. Despise evil
  24. Do not oppose someone who is absent
  25. Be yourself
  26. Venture into danger prudently
  27. Flee hatred
  28. Shun evil
  29. Be courteous
  30. Be jealous of no one
  31. Give timely counsel
  32. Seek wisdom
  33. Know your opportunity
  34. Do not abandon honor
  35. Don't look down on anyone
  36. Consult the wise
  37. Do not boast about your strength
  38. Do not act in a way that curses your descendents
  39. Praise the good
  40. Praise virtue
  41. Practice what is just
  42. Be impartial
  43. Speak well of everyone
  44. Accept due measure; wait for the right moment
  45. Do not be discontented with your manner of living
  46. Fear power
  47. Finish without timidity
  48. Listen to all
  49. Treat yourself well
  50. Give back what you have received
  51. Give what you have
  52. Let go of enmity
  53. Respect an elder
  54. Exercise nobility of character
  55. Revere the shame that leads to admission of wrongdoing
  56. Know what you have learned
  57. Be kind to your friends
  58. Master the eye
  59. Acquire wealth justly
  60. Gain possessions justly
  61. Do not trust fortune
  62. Teach the young
  63. Respect yourself
  64. Do what you mean to do
  65. Use your skill
  66. Adapt to everything
  67. Do not trust wealth
  68. Act with constancy
  69. Repent when failing of your purpose
  70. Shun what belongs to others
  71. Obey the law
  72. Nothing to excess
  73. Honor good men
  74. Give a timely response
  75. Despise a slanderer
  76. Have respect for suppliants
  77. Use time sparingly
  78. Govern your expenses
  79. Fulfill a promise
  80. Watch out for your enemies
  81. Restrain the tongue
  82. Do not depend on strength
  83. Speak plainly
  84. Educate your sons
  85. Tell when you know
  86. Accuse only one who is present
  87. Use what you have
  88. Pursue the profitable
  89. Fulfill a favor
  90. Make just judgments
  91. Work for what you can own
  92. Observe what you have heard
  93. Be fond of fortune
  94. Pray for happiness
  95. Keep hidden that which should not be spoken
  96. Find fault with no one
  97. Do a favor for a friend
  98. Respect your parents
  99. Fear deceit
  100. Be on your guard
  101. Praise hope
  102. Act quickly
  103. As a youth, be self-disciplined
  104. Make no public promises
  105. Do not stop being thrifty
  106. Admire oracles (Ed. note: this seems frankly self-serving)
  107. Don't be the leader in insolence
  108. Struggle with glory
  109. Cling to discipline
  110. Live together meekly
  111. Despise disgrace
  112. Keep yourself from insolence
  113. Judge incorruptibly
  114. Live without sorrow
  115. Acknowledge fortune
  116. As a child, be well-behaved
  117. Flee a pledge
  118. Honor benefaction
  119. Act when you know
  120. Test the character
  121. Do not insult the dead
  122. Honor providence
  123. Do not be unjust to the dead
  124. Act when you know
  125. Foresee the future
  126. Despise insolence
  127. Speak the possible
  128. Choose the divine
  129. Practice auspicious speech
  130. Be well off as a mortal
  131. Crown your ancestors
  132. Grieve for no one
  133. Guard what is yours
  134. Associate with your equals
  135. Do not use an oath
  136. Honour the hearth
  137. Know the judge
  138. Worship the gods
  139. Intend to marry
  140. Show your wife the way
  141. Beget from good lineage
  142. Master wedding-feasts
  143. Die for your country

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