apeilei gar ho theos kai kolazei tous blakas
For the god threatens and punishes the stupid men.
(Xenophon, Oeconomicus, VIII.16)

A short line from Xenophon's Economics, it illustrates the nature of the Ancient Greek world. If you make a mistake, you will be crushed. If you are stupid or careless, even unintentionally, you will be crushed. In the Oeconomomicus, the line is spoken by a bos'n's mate, an indication that this was popular theology, not elite philosophy.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Xen.+Ec.+8.1
Text is based on:
Xenophon. Xenophontis opera omnia, vol. 2, 2nd ed. E.C. Marchant. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1921 (repr. 1971).

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