Avoid Extremes
Preserved but no longer current.
A traditional saying of Pittacus of Mitylene (652-569 B.C.), one of the seven Wise Men of Greece. It is echoed in many writers and literatures. Compare the advice given by Phoebus to Phaethon when he was preparing to drive the chariot of the sun: — Medio tutissimus ibis (You will go more safely in the middle).— OVID: Met, ii, 137.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Avoid Extremes” mean?
A traditional saying of Pittacus of Mitylene (652-569 B.C.), one of the seven Wise Men of Greece. It is echoed in many writers and literatures. Compare the advice given by Phoebus to Phaethon when he was preparing to drive the chariot of the sun: — Medio tutissimus ibis (You will go more safely in the middle).— OVID: Met, ii, 137.
Is “Avoid Extremes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.