(i) Solon, fr. 8 (Diehl), ll. 5–6. (ii) Thucydides, I, 11, 1

Extract

‘Υμέων δ’ εἷς μὲν ἕκαστος ἀλώπεκος ἴχνεσι βαίνει,
σύμασιν δ' ὑμῑν χαῦνος ἔνεστι νόος.
Plut., Sol. 30, 2 Diod. ix, 20, 3. Diog. Laert. I, 52.
6 κοῦφος Diod., Diog.

There seems to me to be a strong antithesis between the two lines; individually the Athenians are as clever as foxes, collectively they are fools. If so, both the logical and the syntactical balance would be improved by emending χαῦνος to χηνός. But there are two difficulties. First, the corruption would have to be very early, since apparently the standard Hellenistic text read χαῦνος. Secondly, I have found no ancient reference to the folly of the goose except for an entry (which I cannot locate) in Dindorf's Thesaurus, s.v. χήν- ‘Apud Plutarch, vero χηνὸς ἀφρονέστερος, proverb., quoniam stolidum prae multis aliis est hoc animal.’