“Accept of things, having procured them by persuasion, not by force.”
– Bias of Priene
I saw a bunch of this Greek philosopher’s quotes and liked most of them, but found this one odd, like the beginning and end don’t belong together. I showed it to a friend who feels the same way; it’s meaning is elusive.
So can anyone explain what they think this quote means?
Also, feel free to post other quotes you would like discussed.
Maybe I’m just taking it at face value, but it sounds like he’s saying “If you acquire things through proper/honorable means, rather than through brute force, you deserve to enjoy them.” I don’t think he means just material objects, either, but who knows.
Or perhaps, since he uses the term “accept”, he means that if what you succeed in persuading others to give you is not quite what you wanted, it’s enough that it was freely given without resort to force — be happy with what you’ve got.
I read it as, “Hey man, you asked me what I thought, so just shut up already.”
You’re reading C.D. Yonge’s translation of πείσας λαβέ, μὴ βιασάμενος - R.D. Hicks translates it as “Gain your point by persuasion, not by force.” The word λάβε, translated as “accept” or “gain” is also translated as "adopt or “take,” as in the Spartan “Μολὼν λάβε” (“Come and take them!”). The quote is from Diogenes Laertius, who gives no further context as to what is being taken.
It doesn’t sound honest either way. Swindle people instead of mugging them.
Persuasion and swindle are not the same. The purpose of any well thought out argument or debate is to persuade the person to see things your way.
Persuasion is a large part of a swindle though.
But swindle is not necessarily a part of persuasion.
I know, but that was my take on the original quote.
To me, it seems to be a more classic (and classy) way of saying “Beggars can’t be choosers”.
Miz
I took it differently- Rhetoric and persuasion, not violence, is the honorable way to get things.