Quote by Theognis of Megara: “No one is good except for good fortune.”

This cynical line suggests that a person's perceived goodness is often tied to their success or luck, rather than their inherent character. It implies that people are judged more by outcomes and wealth than by their true moral nature or intentions.

Theognis often expressed a conservative aristocratic worldview, lamenting the decline of traditional values and the rise of 'bad' (common) men. This quote reflects his pessimistic view of human nature and societal judgment during his era.

Greek elegiac poet from Megara, active around 540–490 BCE. His surviving poems, collected in the Theognidea, address topics of aristocratic life, friendship, justice, and loss with a distinctive bitterness shaped by political exile and social upheaval. He is one of the earliest Greek poets whose work survives in substantial quantity.