NURSE:Surely this doth bind,
Through all ill days, the hurts of humankind,
When man and woman in one music move.[ΤΡΟΦΌΣ: ἥπερ μεγίστη γίγνεται σωτηρία,
ὅταν γυνὴ πρὸς ἄνδρα μὴ διχοστατῇ.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 14ff (431 BC) [tr. Murray (1906)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:Hence bliss supreme arises, when the bond
Of concord joins them.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]This is the state of firmest happiness,
When from the husband no discordant will
The wife estranges.
[tr. Potter (1814)]In which the better part of safety lies
That the woman should not differ from the man.
[tr. Webster (1868)]The greatest safeguard this when wife and husband do agree.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]Which is the surest support of conjugal happiness, when the wife is not estranged from the husband.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]Which is the chief salvation of the home,
When wife stands not at variance with her lord.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]This is indeed the greatest salvation of all --
For the wife not to stand apart from the husband.
[tr. Warner (1944)]Happy is the house
Where the man and the woman love and are faithful.
[tr. Jeffers (1946)]And in a marriage that's the saving thing,
When a wife obediently accepts her husband's will.
[tr. Vellacott (1963)]This, to my mind, is a woman’s greatest safety:
Not to take the opposite side from her husband.
[tr. Podlecki (1989)]This it is that most rescues life from trouble, when a woman is not at variance with her husband.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]This is what keeps a marraige intact more than anything, when a husband can count on complete support from his wife.
[tr. Davie (1996)]That, you see, is how a woman earns her security: never argue with your husband!
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]This is what brings the greatest stability at home:
when a woman does not challenge her husband.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]That’s when life is most secure and safe,
when woman and her husband stand as one.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]This provides the greatest security,
when a wife doesn't oppose her husband.
[tr. Kovacs / Kitzinger (2016)]That is the best security,
when the wife does not quarrel with her husband.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]This is the greatest safety [sōtēriā], when wife does not stand apart from husband.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]
Quotations about:
partnership
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow,
Thou’rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow ,
Hast so much wit, and mirth, and spleen about thee,
There is no living with thee, nor without thee.Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1711-05-18), The Spectator, No. 68
(Source)
Addison's translation of Martial's Epigram 12.47.
Divorce is very expensive, both economically and psychologically as well, but it probably isn’t any more so than living with someone who isn’t really on your side.
Merle Shain (1935-1989) Canadian journalist and author
Some Men Are More Perfect than Others (1973)
(Source)
Captious, yet kind; pleasant but testy too;
I cannot bear to part, or live with you.[Difficillis facillis, iucundus acerbus es idem:
Nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te.]Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 12, epigram 47 (12.47) (AD 101) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
(Source)
Sometimes given as 12.46. Ker notes the second line is borrowed from Ovid, Amores, 3.9.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow,
Thou'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow;
Hast so much wit, and mirth, and spleen about thee
There is no living with thee, or without thee.
[Addison, The Spectator No. 68 (1711-05-18)]Such stiffness, ease; such sweets and sours about thee!
I cannot live, or with thee, or without thee.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 12, #126]Difficult and easy, churlish and pleasing; you are all of these, and yet one person;
there is no living with thee, nor without thee.
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3 #85]Thou'rt merry, sad; easy, and hard to please;
Nor with nor from thee can I live at ease.
[tr. Wright (<1859)]You are at once morose and agreeable, pleasing and repulsive.
I can neither live with you, nor without you.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]Captious, yet complaisant, sweet and bitter too,
I cannot with thee live, nor yet without thee.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]Difficult and easy-going, pleasant and churlish, you are at the same time:
I can neither live with you nor without you.
[tr. Ker (1919)]O sweet and bitter in a breath,
O genial comrade, crusty friend,
Without thee life had sudden end,
With thee to dwell were sudden death.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), #662]There's something easy, difficult,
Hard and soft about you
All the time. I cannot live
With you or without you.
[tr. Marcellino (1968)]Amiable but unco-operative,
Sweet-natured but a grouse --
Though I can't live without you, I can live
Without you in the house.
[tr. Michie (1972)]You are difficult and easy, pleasant and sour; and I can't live with you nor yet without you.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993), 12.46]You're difficult and easy, sweet and tart.
I cannot live with you, nor live apart.
[tr. McLean (2014), 12.46]Difficult or easy, pleasant or bitter, you are the same you:
I cannot live with you -- or without you.
[Source]
Marriage is not a noun, it’s a verb. It’s not something you have, like a house or a car. It is not a piece of paper that proves you are husband and wife. Marriage is a behavior. It is a choice you make over and over again, reflected in the way you treat your partner every day.
Barbara De Angelis (b. 1951) American relationship consultant, lecturer, author
Ask Barbara: The 100 Most-Asked Questions About Love, Sex, and Relationships (1997)
(Source)
Marriage is not just spiritual communion and passionate embraces; marriage is also three-meals-a-day and remembering to carry out the trash.
Joyce Brothers (1927-2013) American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist
“When Your Husband’s Affection Cools,” Good Housekeeping (May 1972)
There is nothing we like to see so much as the gleam of pleasure in a person’s eye when he feels that we have sympathized with him, understood him, interested ourself in his welfare. At these moments something fine and spiritual passes between two friends. These moments are the moments worth living.
Don Marquis (1878-1937) American journalist and humorist
Prefaces, “Preface to a Memorandum Book” (1919)
Did you ever hear my definition of marriage? It is, that it resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.
Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 11 (1855)
(Source)
I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options. That you had to be someone less to live with someone else when, of course, you have to be someone more.
Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. That is what makes a marriage last — more than passion or even sex!
Simone Signoret (1921-1985) German-French actress [b. Simone Kaminker]
Daily Mail (London) (4 Jul 1978)