"Call no man happy till he is dead"

Aeschylus contends that it is impossible to pronounce someone truly happy before their life is complete, for fate's capriciousness and the uncertainty of the future make true happiness always provisional. Life is a tapestry of joy and suffering, fortune and misfortune; as long as a person remains alive, the possibility of catastrophe, disgrace, or loss still exists. Success, wealth, and happiness attained at any given moment can be overturned by a single twist of fate in the future. Thus, only after death, when the entirety of a person's experiences is finalized and no further upheavals or downfalls are possible, can a fair assessment of their happiness be made.

Aeschylus reflects the worldview of Ancient Greece, where human life was dominated by forces beyond individual control: the gods, fate, and chance. The ancients believed that hubris, overconfidence in one’s current fortune, invites the envy or anger of the gods, accelerating one’s downfall. Therefore, they viewed it as both wise and modest to withhold ultimate judgment about any man’s happiness, for fate’s wheel might still turn. Happiness, then, is not merely an ephemeral state of mind or a sum of possessions; it is a judgment of a life’s total arc, visible only in retrospect.

By urging restraint in declaring others happy, Aeschylus warns against complacency and premature judgment, reminding us all that life's story is not finished until the final chapter is written. His wisdom invites humility and a recognition of life’s uncertainties. Only with a life completed and its narrative sealed by death do the balance of joy and suffering, virtue and disgrace, stand clear. In this light, the true measure of happiness becomes not a fleeting satisfaction, but the overall integrity and fulfillment of a completed life.