"Never stand surety" Ἐγγύα, πάρα δ᾽ἄτα, Thales of Miletus
- Ariane Bilheran
- Jul 1
- 9 min read
La Licorne (The Unicorn) No. 15 by Ariane Bilheran, July 1, 2025.
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For this Unicorn No. 15, let's return to our Seven Sages of Antiquity, to continue our investigations into their precious advice. This time, we're talking about Thales of Miletus, and his enigmatic phrase: "Never stand surety" indicating that standing surety leads to ruin or misfortune.
"To raise an animal that can promise, is that not the paradoxical task that nature has set itself with regard to man?"
F. Nietzsche, Second Dissertation, 1, Genealogy of Morality.
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