Quite by accident (while looking to invent interesting but not-too-outlandish names) I came across the Delphic Maxims.

These are epigrams scribbled in antiquity on the walls of the Oracle. No one can be certain who did the scribbling.

I offer them not so much as words to live by, but more as curiosities. Some of them are odd little chestnuts that you can roll around in the fire of your contemplation. The wording is weird in several, and that may be due to problems in translation.

There are 147 of them. These are a few that struck me for one reason or another. I may have added a few words to one or two of them. See if you can tell.

* Be overcome by justice
* Know what you have learned
* Perceive what you have heard
* Intend to get married
* Think as a mortal
* If you are a stranger, act like one
* Act when you know
* To wish with all the strength of your soul
* Do what you mean to do
* Honor a benefaction, especially if it's a name brand
* Know who is judging
* Observe what you have heard
* Tell when you know
* Do not depend on strength
* Live without sorrow
* Don't hesitate to finish fully what you started, especially if you have posted more than two chapters
* Control the eye
* Flee enmity, but first find out what "enmity" is
* Venture into danger prudently
* Do not oppose someone who is absent
* Do not begin to be insolent, but if you are already insolent, go with it
* Do not make fun of the dead
* Share the load of the unfortunate
* Beget from noble routes
* Be well off as a mortal