“Now that the wars are coming to an end, I wish you to prosper in peace. May all mortals from now on live like one people in concord and for mutual advancement. Consider the world as your country, with laws common to all and where the best will govern irrespective of tribe. I do not distinguish among men, as the narrow-minded do, both among Greeks and barbarians. I am not interested in the descent of the citizens or their racial origins. I classify them using one criterion: their virtue. For me every virtuous foreigner is a Greek and every evil Greek is worse than a barbarian. If differences ever develop between you, never have recourse to arms, but solve them peacefully. If necessary, I should be your arbitrator.”
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About this quote
Now that the wars are coming to an end, I wish you to prosper in peace urges hard choices: treat the world as a single community ruled by shared laws and judged by virtue. It demands judging people by their actions, not their origin, and placing merit above tribe. It pushes for peaceful problem solving and for leaders chosen on ability, not birth. Apply these standards everywhere: expect accountability, reward virtue, and refuse violence as the first answer.
When to use it
- Use the line when mediating a heated workplace conflict to insist on a peaceful, merit-based solution rather than team loyalties.
- Quote the passage when setting hiring or promotion standards: prioritize character and competence over background or connections.
- Invoke the idea in community rebuilding work after a local dispute: push for shared rules, fair leadership, and nonviolent resolution.
- Share the message in a speech about national unity to demand leaders be chosen for ability and to remind people to judge by virtue, not descent.