"I choose the likely man in preference to the rich man; I want a man without money rather than money without a man"
About this Quote
Themistocles is selling a ruthless kind of meritocracy: not the modern LinkedIn kind, but the battlefield-and-assembly version where a city survives because it can still find the right people. “Likely” here isn’t about charm. It’s probability, competence, and follow-through-the man you can bet on when decisions get irreversible. By setting “the likely man” against “the rich man,” he’s puncturing the lazy assumption that wealth is proof of worth. In early classical Athens, money could buy influence, but it couldn’t row a trireme, hold a line, or persuade a volatile citizenry to fund ships instead of comforts.
The quote works because it flips the usual hierarchy without pretending wealth is irrelevant. Themistocles isn’t romanticizing poverty; he’s insisting that capital is inert without a capable operator. “Money without a man” is dead weight: resources that can’t be mobilized, spent wisely, or converted into power. The subtext is political, almost electoral. He’s arguing for trust in talent over pedigree at a moment when Athens was becoming a naval empire and needed administrators, strategists, and persuaders more than landlords.
There’s also a warning embedded in the preference. A rich man can be loyal, but he can also be bought, complacent, or invested in the status quo. The “man without money” has fewer conflicting interests and more hunger. Themistocles is making an old soldier’s bet: back the person who can win, and the money will follow.
The quote works because it flips the usual hierarchy without pretending wealth is irrelevant. Themistocles isn’t romanticizing poverty; he’s insisting that capital is inert without a capable operator. “Money without a man” is dead weight: resources that can’t be mobilized, spent wisely, or converted into power. The subtext is political, almost electoral. He’s arguing for trust in talent over pedigree at a moment when Athens was becoming a naval empire and needed administrators, strategists, and persuaders more than landlords.
There’s also a warning embedded in the preference. A rich man can be loyal, but he can also be bought, complacent, or invested in the status quo. The “man without money” has fewer conflicting interests and more hunger. Themistocles is making an old soldier’s bet: back the person who can win, and the money will follow.
Quote Details
| Topic | Relationship |
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