Although Hesiod nowhere uses the word, which may not yet be current in mainland Greece, his view of life and of the relations between god and man is thoroughly imbued with sophrosyne in one of its later aspects. |
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However, this characterization of sophrosyne does not have the effect of relegating its practice to a small number of gifted or exceptional moral agents. |
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it seems reasonable to understand sophrosyne as a certain kind of democratic virtue, a psychic condition or identity which reconstructs rather than suppresses democracy's variety. |
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Sophrosyne is honored not only by the ancient philosophers, but also by the dramatists and historians, as that habit of character that enables human beings to attain wholeness and avoid the tragic disasters that occur when we forget who we are. |
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