Seven Sages Series: the wisdom of Bias of Priene

Like many of the other sages, there's not much we know for certain about Bias of Priene. His biography, written by Diogenes Laertius in the late second century CE, has some length, but does not appear to be very reliablebut since Diogenes Laertius wrote more than seven centuries after Bias' life, we could not have expected something else.

Bias of Priene (Βίας ὁ Πριηνεύς) lived in the 6th century BC. He was a Hellenic sage and renowned for his goodness. Like many of his peer sages, he was active in politics and he appeared in court as a lawyer and was very gifted at it. He also adviced kings and generals about battle strategies and seems to have made very wise decissions here also. We know that his father was named 'Teutamus', and the ancient writer Satyrus puts him at the head of the Seven Wise Men.

An annecdote by Phanodicus says that he ransomed some Messenian maidens who had been taken prisoners, and educated them as his own daughters, gave them dowries, and then sent them back to Messina to their fathers--something seen as very noble and cherishable.

It's said that Bias only pleaded cases of those he truly believed to be innocent and/or in the right. A well known saying quoted by Diogenes Laertius appears to have been: 'If you are a judge, give a Prienian decision'.

We have quite a few of sayings attriuted to him, although we can, of course, never be sure if Bias ever said them out loud:

"The naïve men are easily fooled."
"Most people are evil."
"All men are wicked."
"It is difficult to bear a change of fortune for the worse with magnanimity."
"Choose the course which you adopt with deliberation; but when you have adopted it, then persevere in it with firmness."
"Do not speak fast, for that shows folly."
"Love prudence."
"Speak of the Gods as they are.""Do not praise an undeserving man because of his riches."
"Gain your point by persuasion, not by force."
"Cherish wisdom as a means of traveling from youth to old age, for it is more lasting than any other possession."

Bias is said to have died at a very advanced age while pleading a cause for his client. After he had finished speaking, he rested his head on his grandson. When the advocate on the opposite side had spoken, the judges decided in favor of Bias' client, by which time Bias had died. The city gave him a magnificent funeral and inscribed on his tomb:

"Beneath this stone lies Bias, who was born
In the illustrious Prienian land,
The glory of the whole Ionian race."