Just as the good actor perform well whatever role the poet assigns, so too must the good man perform whatever Fortune assigns. For she, says Bion, just like a poet, sometimes assigns the leading role, sometimes that of the supporting role; sometimes that of a king, sometimes that of a beggar. Do not, therefore, being a supporting actor, desire the role of the lead.
Quotations by:
Bion
Referring to a wealthy miser he said, “He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him.”
Bion used to say that the way to the shades below was easy; he could go there with his eyes shut.
Love of money is the mother-city (metropolis) of all evils.
Bion of Borysthenes (c. 325-c. 250 BC) Greek philosopher, cynic, wit
In Stobaeus, Anthology, Book 3, 10.37 (c. 5th C)
See Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10
Therefore we should not try to alter circumstances but to adapt ourselves to them as they really are, just as sailors do. They don’t try to change the winds or the sea but ensure that they are always ready to adapt themselves to conditions. In a flat calm they use the oars; with a following breeze they hoist full sail; in a head wind they shorten sail or heave to. Adapt yourself to circumstances in the same way.