This book, concerning man and ethics, consists of carefully selected texts from ancient Greek literature in the original, their translations, and commentaries. The primary criterion for selection has been the contribution of the text to education.

An Introduction is presented, which briefly covers: a) essential elements of the nature of man and the essence of ethics as the highest expression of his freedom; b) the life and works of the poets Homer, Hesiod, Mimnermus, Simonides, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and the philosophers Democritus, Plato, Aristotle.

In the First Part, the theme is man. Intelligence is exalted as his essential feature for existence; the primitive life and his pathway to civilization are narrated; the transition from vengeful self-justice to established justice is mythologized; his happiness is characterized as ephemeral, but his share in divinity is also emphasized; his grandeur in the face of Nature is praised; and his nobility, counter to his tragic fate, is celebrated.

In the Second Part, the theme is the relationship of ethics to man. The value of ethics is emphasized, and significant moral demands are presented; the feelings inherent to the family are indirectly exalted, the concept of virtue is analyzed, friendship is described as a moral good, and self-serving behavior and other moral flaws are presented; the inclination towards justice is characterized as the likeness of man to God, and various ways of life and the conditions of his happiness are explored.

[Excerpt from the text of the foreword]