Edith Hamilton Quotes

A collection of quotes by Edith Hamilton.

Edith Hamilton was a renowned American classicist and educator, born on August 12, 1867, in Dresden, Germany. She grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she received a thorough education from her parents and attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut.

Hamilton demonstrated a remarkable passion for the classics from an early age. After completing her studies at Bryn Mawr College in 1894, where she specialized in Greek and Latin languages, she pursued further academic endeavors. She continued her education at the University of Leipzig and then at the University of Munich, where she earned a doctoral degree in classics.

Hamilton's passion for the ancient world led her to become a dedicated educator. She taught in various prestigious schools, including Bryn Mawr College and Miss Porter's School, where she served as headmistress. However, she is best known for her influential writings on classical civilization.

In 1930, Hamilton published her most famous work, "The Greek Way," which provided a comprehensive and engaging account of ancient Greek culture and its lasting importance. She followed this success with several other highly regarded books, including "The Roman Way" (1932) and "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" (1942).

Throughout her career, Edith Hamilton played a crucial role in introducing ancient Greek and Roman literature to a wider audience, captivating readers with her accessible and insightful interpretations. Her evocative writings have had a lasting impact on the study of Classical civilizations, making her one of the most notable figures in the field.

The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering ev

The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.

History Inspirational

Civilization...is a matter of imponderables, of delight in t

Civilization...is a matter of imponderables, of delight in the thins of the mind, of love of beauty, of honor, grace, courtesy, delicate feeling. Where imponderables, are things of first importance, there is the height of civilization, and, if at the same time, the power of art exists unimpaired, human life has reached a level seldom attained and very seldom surpassed.

Civilization

What the people wanted was a government which would provide

What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them, and with this as the foremost object ideas of freedom and self-reliance and service to the community were obscured to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a co-operative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share. Athens had reached the point of rejecting independence, and the freedom she now wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of a life that was self-dependent and also responsible for the common good, they would cease to be free at all. Responsibility was the price every man must pay for freedom. It was to be had on no other terms.

He was, first and last, the born fighter, to whom the consci

He was, first and last, the born fighter, to whom the consciousness of being matched against a great adversary suffices and who can dispense with success. Life for him was an adventure, perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens. The fullness of life is in the hazards of life. And, at the worst, there is that in us which can turn defeat into victory.

None but a poet can write a tragedy. For tragedy is nothing

None but a poet can write a tragedy. For tragedy is nothing less than pain transmuted into exaltation by the alchemy of poetry.

Tragedy

There are few efforts more conducive to humility than that o

There are few efforts more conducive to humility than that of the translator trying to communicate an incommunicable beauty. Yet, unless we do try, something unique and never surpassed will cease to exist except in the libraries of a few inquisitive book lovers.

Translation

Mind and spirit together make up that which separates us fro

Mind and spirit together make up that which separates us from the rest of the animal world, that which enables a man to know the truth and that which enables him to die for the truth.

Humanity

When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from respo

When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.

Freedom

Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are fo

Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.

Assumptions

A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowled

A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.

Books

The fundamental fact about the Greek was that he had to use

The fundamental fact about the Greek was that he had to use his mind. The ancient priests had said, Thus far and no farther. We set the limits of thought. The Greek said, All things are to be examined and called into question. There are no limits set on thought.

Mind