What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee.

[Τὸ τῷ σμήνει μὴ συμφέρον οὐδὲ τῇ μελίσσῃ συμφέρει.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher

Meditations, Book 6, #54 (2nd C AD)

Original here. Alt. trans.:

• "That which is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bee." [tr. Casaubon (1634); numbered 49]
• "What does not benefit the hive is no benefit to the bee." [tr. Farquharson (1944)]
• "That which is not for the interest of the whole swarm is not for the interest of the bee." [tr. Collier]
• "What injures the hive injures the bee." [tr. Hays (2002)]
• "What is not good for the hive is not good for the bee."