"Let no one be called happy before his death." (Greek Philosophy, Herodotus, Histories 1.32)
True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.
My thoughts:
Two things worth noting, to start:
- Herodotus (an historian) wasn't saying this in the first person. He attributed it to Solon, the "father of Greek democracy."
- It's not the whole aphorism. There's a second sentence: "Till then, he is not happy, only lucky."
Solon took a ... long view ... of life. Happiness, as an external observation from others, he believed shouldn't be thought of as a judgment of a moment, but as a description of a whole life.
The person who seems happy at noon may have received word that a loved one died, or that his bank account was emptied by thieves, by 1 pm. So while he might appear happy at noon, he was actually just in a moment of good fortune before his luck changed.
I don't personally see much utility in this aphorism. Unless I know others' futures, I'd rather just accept their apparent happiness while it's there, and be happy with and for them. I do find a lot of utility in long-term thinking, but not in this specific case.
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