''
A citizen of ancient Greece, could he have heard us talk,
would not have known what we meant. ``Moderation in all
things'' was the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress
him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a
hollow phrase used upon special occasions: it influenced the
life of the Greeks from the day of their birth to the hour of
their death. It was part of their literature and it made them
build small but perfect temples. It found expression in the
clothes which the men wore and in the rings and the bracelets
of their wives. It followed the crowds that went to the theatre
and made them hoot down any playwright who dared to
sin against the iron law of good taste or good sense.
The Greeks even insisted upon this quality in their politicians
and in their most popular athletes. When a powerful
runner came to Sparta and boasted that he could stand longer
on one foot than any other man in Hellas the people drove him
from the city because he prided himself upon an accomplish-
ment at which he could be beaten by any common goose.
``That is all very well,'' you will say, ``and no doubt it is a
great virtue to care so much for moderation and perfection,
but why should the Greeks have been the only people to develop
this quality in olden times?'' For an answer I shall
point to the way in which the Greeks lived.
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