A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong…For neither in war nor yet at law ought I or any man to use every means of escaping death

Gyorgy Kepes, A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong...For neither in war nor yet at law ought I or any man to use every means of escaping death ...The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness...Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty that no evil can happen to a good man in life or after death. --Socrates on doing right or wrong. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1952, gouache and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.156
Copied Gyorgy Kepes, A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong...For neither in war nor yet at law ought I or any man to use every means of escaping death, 1952, gouache and pencil on paperboard, sheet: 16 x 11 7⁄8 in. (40.7 x 30.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.156

Artwork Details

Title
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong…For neither in war nor yet at law ought I or any man to use every means of escaping death …The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness…Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty that no evil can happen to a good man in life or after death. –Socrates on doing right or wrong. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.
Artist
Date
1952
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 16 x 11 7⁄8 in. (40.7 x 30.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Container Corporation of America
Mediums
Mediums Description
gouache and pencil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1984.124.156
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1984.124.156