Moderation

Nothing in excess. The golden mean. The Greeks distrusted extremes and prized the disciplined middle.

Inscribed at Delphi alongside Know Thyself was another commandment: Nothing in Excess. Aristotle made this principle systematic: every virtue is a mean between two vices. Courage sits between cowardice and recklessness. Generosity between stinginess and extravagance. Epicurus, too, counseled moderation; not wild pleasure but measured contentment. The Greek ideal was not passion but proportion.