Vitae philosophorum

In mother earth here Periander lies,
1. The prince of sea-girt Corinth rich and wise.

Grieve not because thou hast not gained thine end,

1. But take with gladness all the gods may send;
2. Be warned by Periander’s fate, who died
3. Of grief that one desire should be denied.

To him belongs the maxim: Never do anything for money; leave gain to trades pursued for gain. He wrote a didactic poem of 2000 lines. He said that those tyrants who intend to be safe should make loyalty their bodyguard, not arms. When some one asked him why he was tyrant, he replied, Because it is as dangerous to retire voluntarily as to be dispossessed. Here are other sayings of his: Rest is beautiful. Rashness has its perils. Gain is ignoble. Democracy is better than tyranny. Pleasures are transient, honours are immortal.

Be moderate in prosperity, prudent in adversity. Be the same to your friends whether they are in prosperity or in adversity. Whatever agreement you make, stick to it. Betray no secret. Correct not only the offenders but also those who are on the point of offending.

He was the first who had a bodyguard and who changed his government into a tyranny, and he would let no one live in the town without his permission, as we know from Ephorus and Aristotle.

Sotion and Heraclides and Pamphila in the fifth book of her Commentaries distinguish two Perianders, one a tyrant, the other a sage who was born in Ambracia.

Neanthes of Cyzicus also says this, and adds that they were near relations. And Aristotle[*](Periander is mentioned in the Politics of Aristotle (v. 4, 1304 a 32), but not as one of the Seven Wise Men. In Plato’s Protagoras, 343 A, where the Seven Wise Men are enumerated, Periander’s name is omitted, his place being taken by Myson. It would almost seem as if Diogenes Laertius knew of some passage in Aristotle in which Periander was called one of the Seven, though no such passage is extant.) maintains that the Corinthian Periander was the sage; while Plato denies this.

His apophthegm is: Practice makes perfect. He planned a canal across the Isthmus.

A letter of his is extant:

Periander to the Wise Men

Very grateful am I to the Pythian Apollo that I found you gathered together; and my letters will also bring you to Corinth, where, as you know, I will give you a thoroughly popular reception. I learn that last year you met in Sardis at the Lydian court. Do not hesitate therefore to come to me, the ruler of Corinth. The Corinthians will be pleased to see you coming to the house of Periander.