“O reverend prince! (Tydides thus replies) Thy years are awful, and thy words are wise. But ah, what grief! should haughty Hector boast I fled inglorious to the guarded coast. Before that dire disgrace shall blast my fame, O’erwhelm me, earth; and hide a warrior’s shame!” To whom Gerenian Nestor thus replied:[194] “Gods! can thy courage fear the Phrygian’s pride? Hector may vaunt, but who shall heed the boast? Not those who felt thy arm, the Dardan host, Nor Troy, yet bleeding in her heroes lost; Not even a Phrygian dame, who dreads the sword That laid in dust her loved, lamented lord.” He said, and, hasty, o’er the gasping throng Drives the swift steeds: the chariot smokes along; The shouts of Trojans thicken in the wind; The storm of hissing javelins pours behind. Then with a voice that shakes the solid skies, Pleased, Hector braves the warrior as he flies. “Go, mighty hero! graced above the rest In seats of council and the sumptuous feast: Now hope no more those honours from thy train; Go less than woman, in the form of man! To scale our walls, to wrap our towers in flames, To lead in exile the fair Phrygian dames, Thy once proud hopes, presumptuous prince! are fled; This arm shall reach thy heart, and stretch thee dead.”Iliad 8.13 · Iliad · 8
Iliad 8.13
Iliad · translated by Alexander Pope
Themes in this passage
PrideWarHopeLeadershipNatureCourageThe DivineFear
Pride in other traditions
The same theme, as Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism address it.
Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.Proverbs 21:24 · Bible · Proverbs
"'Bhishma said, "Hear, O King, what the foundation is of sin. Covetousness alone is a great destroyer (of merit and goodness). From covetousness proceeds sin. It is from this source that sin and irreligiousness flow, together with great misery. This covetousness is the spring of also all the cunning and hypocrisy in the world. It is covetousness that makes men commit sin. From covetousness proceeds wrath, from covetousness flows lust, and it is from covetousness that loss of judgment, deception, pride, arrogance, and malice, as also vindictiveness, shamelessness, loss of prosperity, loss of virtue, anxiety, and infamy spring, miserliness, cupidity, desire for every kind of improper act, pride of birth, pride of learning, pride of beauty, pride of wealth, pitilessness for all creatures, malevolence towards all, mistrust in respect of all, insincerity towards all, appropriation of other people's wealth, ravishment of other people's wives, harshness of speech, anxiety, propensity to speak ill of others, violent craving for the indulgence of lust, gluttony, liability to premature death, violent propensity towards malice, irresistible liking for falsehood, unconquerable appetite for indulging in the passions, insatiable desire for indulging the ear, evil-speaking, boastfulness, arrogance, non-doing of duties, rashness, and perpetration of every kind of evil act,--all these proceed from covetousness. In life, men are unable, whether infants or youth or adults, to abandon covetousness. Such is the nature of covetousness that it never decays even with the decay of life. Like the ocean that can never be filled by the constant discharge of even innumerable rivers of immeasurable depths, covetousness is incapable of being gratified by acquisitions to any extent.Mbh 12.158.2a · Mahabharata · SANTI PARVA
He ended and the giant host Who heard their chief's triumphant boast, Rejoiced with equal pride elate, Entangled in the noose of Fate.Ramayana 3.148 · Ramayana · 3
The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind is damaged by vanity: therefore a gift bestowed on those who are free from vanity brings great reward.Dhp 24.358 · Dhammapada · Thirst
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