α4096Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν
office exposes a man
[sc. A proverb] applied to those who are decent men before holding office but become violent in the post itself. They say that this a dictum of Solon's, though Aristotle and Theophrastus [says it is] Bias's.
Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν· ἐπὶ τῶν πρὸ μὲν τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπιεικῶν, ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ ἀρχῇ βιαίων γενομένων. Σόλωνος δὲ εἶναί φασιν αὐτὸ ἀπόφθεγμα, Ἀριστοτέλης δὲ καὶ Θεόφραστος Βίαντος.