“He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.”

– Theognis of Megara

This quote fascinates me because it is so counter to how I was raised in the cold war era of spy films and socialist paranoia. Eh, maybe it’s just me, but I was taught in that general, second-hand-smoke sort of way that not trusting was the normal way of being.

As an adult, I really appreciate a different view; wars, I think, make monsters of men (to gender generalize, and thus capitalize on the alliteration). Wars make people, in general, less trustworthy. Now, I’ll grant you, I’m a hell of a pacifist at this point, so you can take that with a grain of salt if you like. But taking this point of view does make Theognis of Megara’s piece of wisdom more understandable. Where are you on this?