![\"Solon](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2012\/08\/solon1.jpg\" "\\"solon\\"")
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As Herodotus tells it, Croesus, the ancient king of Lydia, was once visited at his palace by Solon, a wise sage and Athenian lawgiver. The king was delighted to have the itinerant philosopher in residence, and welcomed him with warm hospitality. For several days, Croesus instructed his servants to show off the full measure of the king\u2019s enormous power and wealth.<\/p>\n
Once he felt Solon had been sufficiently awed by his riches, Croesus said to him:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, my Athenian friend, I have heard a great deal about your wisdom, and how widely you have travelled in the pursuit of knowledge. I cannot resist my desire to ask you a question: who is the happiest man you have ever seen?\u201d<\/p>\n
King Croesus was already certain that he<\/em> was in fact the happiest man in the world, but wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of hearing his name parroted back to him from such a venerated sage.<\/p>\n But Solon, who was not one for flattery, answered: \u201cTellus the Athenian.\u201d<\/p>\n The king was quite taken aback and demanded to know how such a common man might be considered the happiest of all.<\/p>\n Tellus, Solon replied, had lived in a city with a government that allowed him to prosper and born fine sons, who had in turn given him many grandchildren who all survived into youth. After enjoying a contented life, he fought with his countrymen, bravely died on the battlefield while routing the enemy, and was given the honor of a public funeral by his fellow Athenians.<\/p>\n Croesus was perplexed by this explanation but pushed on to inquire as to who the next happiest man was, sure that if he wasn\u2019t first, he had to be second.<\/p>\n But again Solon answered not with the king\u2019s name, but with a pair of strapping young Argives: Cleobis and Biton.<\/p>\n Known for their devotion to family and athletic prowess, when their mother needed to be conveyed to the temple of Hera to celebrate the goddess\u2019 festival, but did not have any oxen to pull her there, these brothers harnessed themselves to the incredibly heavy ox cart and dragged it over six miles with their mother aboard. When they arrived at the temple, an assembled crowd congratulated the young men on their astounding feat of strength, and complimented their mother on raising such fine sons. In gratitude for bestowing such honor upon her, the mother of these dutiful lads prayed to Hera to bestow upon them \u201cthe greatest blessing that can befall mortal men.\u201d After the sacrifices and feasting, the young brothers laid down in the temple for a nap, and Hera granted their mother\u2019s prayer by allowing them to die in their sleep. \u201cThe Argives,\u201d Solon finished the tale, \u201cconsidering them to be the best of men, had statues made of them, which they sent to Delphi.\u201d<\/p>\n Now King Croesus was livid. Three relative nobodies, three dead<\/em> men were happier than he was with his magnificent palace and an entire kingdom of his own to rule over? Surely the old sage had lost his marbles. Croesus snapped at Solon:<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all very well, my Athenian friend; but what of my own happiness? Is it so utterly contemptible that you won\u2019t even compare me with mere common folk like those you have mentioned?\u201d<\/p>\n Solon explained that while the rich did have two advantages over the poor \u2013 \u201cthe means to bear calamity and satisfy their appetites\u201d \u2013 they had no monopoly on the things that were truly valuable in life: civic service, raising healthy children, being self-sufficient, having a sound body, and honoring the gods and one\u2019s family. Plus, riches tend to create more issues for their bearers \u2013 more money, more problems.<\/p>\n More importantly, Solon continued, if you live to be 70 years old, by the ancient calendar you will experience 26,250 days of mortal life, \u201cand not a single one of them is like the next in what it brings.\u201d In other words, just because things are going swimmingly today, doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t be hit with a calamity tomorrow. Thus a man who experiences good fortune can be called lucky<\/em>, Solon explained, but the label of happy <\/em>must be held in reserve until it is seen whether or not his good fortune lasts until his death.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why,\u201d Solon finally concludes to Croesus, \u201cI cannot answer the question you asked me until I know the manner of your death. Count no man happy until the end is known.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Croesus was now sure Solon was a fool, \u201cfor what could be more stupid\u201d he thought, than being told he must \u201clook to the \u2018end\u2019 of everything, without regard for present prosperity?\u201d And so he dismissed the philosopher from his court.<\/p>\n While the king quickly put Solon\u2019s admonitions out of his mind, the truth of it would soon be revealed to him in the most personal and painful way.<\/p>\n First, Croesus\u2019 beloved son died in a hunting accident. Then, blinded by hubris (excessive pride), he misinterpreted the counsel of the oracles at Delphi and began an ill-advised attempt to conquer King Cyrus\u2019 Persian Empire. As a result, the Persians laid siege to his home city of Sardis, captured the humbled ruler, and placed him in chains on top of a giant funeral pyre. As the flames began to lick at his feet, Croesus cried out, \u201cOh Solon! Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Count no man happy until the end is known!\u201d<\/p>\n What did Solon mean by his seemingly cryptic statement?<\/p>\n Can a fulfilled life truly only be measured after all is said and done? This seems to fly in the face of modern Western thought. We see happiness as a subjective mood, a feeling that can fluctuate from day to day and be boosted by a pill or a bottle or a romp in the hay. For the ancient Greeks, however, happiness was encapsulated by the concept of eudaimonia<\/em>, a word we do not have a modern equivalent for, but best translates as human<\/em> flourishing<\/em>. Happiness was not seen as an emotional state, but rather an assessment as to whether a man had attained virtue and excellence, achieved his aims, and truly made the most of his life. A man\u2019s life might start well, and continue in prosperity through middle age, but if it ended poorly? His eudaimonia<\/em> was not complete.<\/p>\n Thus, Solon was not arguing that men like Tellus and Biton were happier in death than in life; he was not referring to the afterlife. Rather, he argues that a man\u2019s happiness can only be measured by a full accounting of it from start to finish, a measurement that cannot be taken until after he draws his last breath.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever has the greatest number of the good things I have mentioned [family, health, sufficiency, honor], and keeps them to the end<\/em>, and dies a peaceful death,\u201d that man, Solon argues, \u201cdeserves to be called happy.\u201d Simply living a long life or attaining fine things does not make one happy; happiness is a label solely reserved for he who \u201cdies as he has lived.\u201d<\/p>\n The truth of this observation was not only lived out by Croesus (although his \u201cend\u201d upon the pyre was ultimately postponed by the mercy of Cyrus who decided to spare his life, and by the god Apollo who put out the flames), but in the lives of more modern men as well.<\/p>\n Ulysses S. Grant achieved one of the greatest degrees of success a man can possibly hope for: winning a war and then the White House. But after the presidency, he invested almost all of his assets in a banking firm his son had founded with a partner. The partner turned out to be a swindler, the firm went belly up, and Grant was left destitute, forcing him to sell his Civil War<\/a> mementos to repay his loans. That same year, Grant, who had long had a habit of chain-smoking cigars, was diagnosed with throat cancer. In an attempt to pay off his debts, he worked on writing his memoirs until his death at age 63, only one year later.<\/p>\n William C. Durant became incredibly wealthy as he moved from lumberyard worker, to door-to-door cigar salesman, to founder of both General Motors and Chevrolet. Durant became a mover and shaker on Wall Street during the 1920s, and in the aftermath of the crash of \u201929, though his friends advised against it, he joined with Rockefeller and others in buying large quantities of stock to shore up public confidence in the market. Durant subsequently lost his shirt and became bankrupt at age 75. A stroke in 1942 weakened his physical and cognitive abilities, and he lived out his days managing a bowling alley in Flint, Michigan until his death five years later.<\/p>\n Most recently, Joe Paterno could not more clearly embody Solon\u2019s admonition to count no man happy until the end is known. For decades Paterno was revered as not just a football coach, but as an upstanding mentor who emphasized the importance of character to his players. Students bought shirts with his name emblazoned upon them and a statue of his energetic likeness was erected on the Penn State campus. But a luminous half-century long career ended not with adulation and fanfare, but a dismissal for his role in the Sandusky sex abuse scandal. He died two months later of cancer. A posthumous investigation heightened the blame for his role in the scandal, erased his record of achievements, crippled his beloved football program, and resulted in the removal of his statue. Truly,<\/ins> a tragedy of Greek proportions.<\/p>\n Solon\u2019s counsel may sound rather bleak \u2013 no one wants to think about the fact that each day could bring disaster and ruin our happiness \u2013 but Croesus\u2019 cry of \u201cOh Solon! Oh Solon! Oh Solon!\u201d has come to me quite often since hearing Herodotus\u2019 tale, and has served to remind me of several important truths:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t take things for granted.<\/strong> Solon\u2019s forecast for life may be gloomy, but it\u2019s realistic. Nobody knows if the things they enjoy today might be taken from them tomorrow. It\u2019s important to be grateful for what you have each day \u2013 soak it in, make the most of it, don\u2019t leave things unsaid and undone.<\/p>\n Focus on what matters most<\/strong>. Unfortunately, some of the wealthy concentrate on their riches to the exclusion of everything else. And yet, money can be so fleeting and contributes so little to \u201cthe good life\u201d; if it disappears, they are left with nothing else from which to draw satisfaction. Solon argues that the man who dies with the most \u201cthings\u201d that truly matter — self-sufficiency, health, virtue, family, piety, honor — is happiest. Concentrate on the things which last \u2013 that which remains after all else passes way.<\/p>\n Stay vigilant and beware of pride.<\/strong> Some calamities come to us by chance \u2013 disease and accidents can cause unforeseen reversals in our fortunes. We can only prepare for them by living providentially in our finances and cultivating the virtues of resiliency<\/a> and calmness<\/a>. But oftentimes, a man\u2019s downfall could have been prevented through vigilance and humility. When men like Tiger Woods and John Edwards reflected on their downfall post-scandal, both said they had gotten to the point where they no longer believed the ordinary rules applied to them. When men become successful, they often get sloppy in their decision-making, less circumspect about with whom they associate, and indulge in vices that lead to ruin. A man who seeks eudaimonia<\/em> can never afford to let down his guard.<\/p>\n Endure to the end.<\/strong> As soon as you think you\u2019ve \u201cmade it,\u201d you\u2019ve already begun to decline. It\u2019s easier, and a great deal more fun, to find success\u2026much harder to maintain it over the long haul. But there\u2019s no coasting in life \u2013 you\u2019re either moving forward or backward. To attain happiness, a man must follow Solon\u2019s counsel to look to the end, while also having the discipline to do the dull, unglamorous day-to-day tasks required to reach that end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Herodotus tells it, Croesus, the ancient king of Lydia, was once visited at his palace by Solon, a wise sage and Athenian lawgiver. The king was delighted to have the itinerant philosopher in residence, and welcomed him with warm hospitality. For several days, Croesus instructed his servants to show off the full measure of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,6,42269],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-26627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-featured","category-self-improvement"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2012\/08\/solon1-500x280.jpg","aom":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2012\/08\/solon1-372x230.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2012\/08\/solon1-320x252.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26627"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169196,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26627\/revisions\/169196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26627"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=26627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Count No Man Happy Until the End Is Known<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Four Lessons from the Tale of Solon & Croesus<\/strong><\/h3>\n