"Far from home he (Patroclus) has fallen, dead in a strange land, with no quiet grave. My hand did not help him in his hour of need—now is the world empty of all delight. I have brought no promised bounty to Patroclus or to my comrades, so many slaughtered in battle by Hector. I stay here, alone by my ships, sitting, a useless burden on earth, who in fight has no peer among the Achaeans. But some are wiser than me. How now shall I pray? That strife among men may perish? And anger too—Anger that seeps like smoke through the soul. Anger that tastes sweeter than honey. Anger that makes even a virtuous man harden his heart—even so did Agamemnon infect me with anger. And yet—no more. It’s over. I now must force my soul into subjection, go fight for the Achaeans. I will find Hector, who has slain my dear friend, and face what my fate is."
Achilles in Homer's Iliad
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2 comments:
Anger that seeps like smoke through the soul ...
I really like this phrase.
If it be revenge, it seems to be a leaden, plodding revenge, not a revenge driven by white-hot emotions
I copied this passage from a site without recording the translator. Now I can't find it. The translation though poetic seems a bit free.
I'm always impressed how everpresent the spectre of war is in all of human history. Everybody hates it and deplores it, in all ages, but every society resorts to war first in a crisis. And on the person-to-person level too smashing up another human being seems to satisfy the male psyche and define manliness. At least it did for the Greeks and Romans, our spiritual ancestors.
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