My dad always used to say ‘Pan Metron Ariston’, which roughly translated from Greek to ‘all good things in moderation’. Interestingly though if you look at each word in that phrase individually the meaning can change dramatically.
‘Pan’ is probably a pronoun you’ve come across before. It’s the same ‘pan’ in panopticon or pan pacific, meaning all encompassing, everything, completely. ‘Metron’ can mean middle or balanced but perhaps the most interesting word in this phrase is ‘Ariston’.
‘Ariston’ is a word derived from the ancient philosopher’s name Aristotle. The word ‘Ariston’ in Greek is used to describe someone who is exceptional, brilliant and measured. An A+ student.
And so although this is just the opinion of an amatuer philologist, I think the phrase ‘Pan Metron Ariston’ can have another interpretation. So rather than ‘everything in moderation’ maybe it’s ‘everything in balanced brilliance’. I’m pretty sure that’s what my dad meant when he used to say that to us a kids. I doubt my dad would be encouraging me to lead a life of mediocrity…and so my take on it is that we should pursue our endeavors with ‘everything in balanced brilliance’.
Be the best that you can be in everything you do and keep your head up enough to stay balanced and keep stock of whats up ahead.