Solon of Athens (c. 638–c. 558 BC):
How déjà vu nigh every empire, before and since, as Solon says! Can the servants (once citizens) of the latest, great incarnation of power see (and act) before it is too late? Take time to review:“The ruin of our state will never come by the doom of Zeus or through the will of the blessed and immortal gods ; ... It is the townsfolk themselves and their false-hearted leaders who would fain destroy our great city through wantonness and love of money. But they are destined to suffer sorely for their outrageous behavior. They know not how to hold in check their full-fed lust, ... . . . They are rich because they yield to the temptation of dishonest courses. . . . They spare neither the treasures of the gods nor the property of the state, and steal like brigands one from another. They pay no heed to the unshaken rock of holy Justice, who, though she be silent, is aware of all that happeneth now or hath happened in the past, and, in course of time, surely cometh to demand retribution. Lo, even now there cometh upon the whole city a plague which none may escape. The people have come quickly into degrading bondage ; bondage rouseth from their sleep war and civil strife ; and war destroyeth many in the beauty of their youth. As if she were the prey of foreign foes, our beloved city is rapidly wasted and consumed in those secret conspiracies which are the delight of dishonest men.
“These are the evils which stalk at home. Meanwhile the poor and needy in great numbers are loaded with shameful bonds and sold into slavery in foreign lands. . . . Thus public calamity cometh to the house of every individual, and a man is no longer safe within the gates of his own court, which refuse him their protection. It leapeth over the garden-(p. 141) wall, however high it be, and surely findeth him out, though he run and hide himself in the inmost corner of his chamber.
“These things my heart prompteth me to teach the Athenians, and to make them understand that lawlessness worketh more harm to the state than any other cause. But a law-abiding spirit createth order and harmony, and at the same time putteth chains upon evil-doers ; it maketh rough things smooth, it checketh inordinate desires, it dimmeth the glare of wanton pride and withereth the budding bloom of wild delusion ; it maketh crooked judgments straight and softeneth arrogant behavior ; it stoppeth acts of sedition and stoppeth the anger of bitter strife. Under the reign of law, sanity and wisdom prevail ever among men. (p. 143)
“Out of the cloud come snow and hail in their fury, and the thunderbolt springeth from the lightning's flash : so from great men ruin issueth upon the state, and the people through their own folly sink into slavery under a single lord. Having raised a man to too high a place, it is not easy later to hold him back : now is the time to be observant of all things.” (p. 145)1
TEACHINGS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON
[Hugh W. Nibley]
[Hugh W. Nibley]
Semester 1, Lecture 5
(Jeremiah)
Insights from Lehi’s Contemporaries:
Solon and Jeremiah
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* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solon
1. THE FRAGMENTS OF SOLON'S POEMS XIII-XIV ~ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011212503, (p. 141-145; all bold emphasis added).
Actual page: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=100;id=loc.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft0gt6fp8w;q1=towns-folk;page=root;seq=155;num=141
MORE of Solon at http://dejavu-times.blogspot.ca/2017/04/a-set-of-simpletons.html
