[WT Sharpe]

Here are three quotes from Anacharsis, a Scythian philosopher who flourished around 600 BCE. These are all taken from The Great Thoughts by George Seldes (Introduction and new compilation by David Laskin).

.....Written laws are like spiders’ webs, and will like them only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful easily break through them.
..........— Anacharsis, quoted in Plutarch, The Lives of The Noble Grecians and Romans, "Solon."

The next one reminded me very much of the tenor of much of the book I'm currently reading, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck:

.....The market-place is a place set aside where men may deceive and overreach each other.
..........— Anacharsis, quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Libro de la vita de philosophi et delle loro elegantissime sentencie (Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers).

And the last reminds me of Walt Kelly's "Pogo." Those who are old enough will know why.

.....What is man’s chief enemy? Each man is his own.
..........— Anacharsis, quoted in Stobaeus, Florilegium, II, 43

Spoiler: