27.6
What! said Croesus, who by this time was angered, dost thou not count us among happy men at all? Then Solon, who was unwilling to flatter him and did not wish to exasperate him further, said: O king of Lydia, as the Deity has given us Greeks all other blessings in moderation, so our moderation gives us a kind of wisdom which is timid, in all likelihood, and fit for common people, not one which is kingly and splendid. This wisdom, such as it is, observing that human life is ever subject to all sorts of vicissitudes, forbids us to be puffed up by the good things we have, or to admire a man’s felicity while there is still time for it to change.
27.7
For the future which is advancing upon every one is varied and uncertain, but when the Deity bestows prosperity on a man up to the end, that man we consider happy; to pronounce any one happy, however, while he is still living and running the risks of life, is like proclaiming an athlete victorious and crowning him while lie is still contending for the prize; the verdict is insecure and without authority. When he had said this, Solon departed, leaving Croesus vexed, but none the wiser for it.
