There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.
HomerRead
Achilles glared at him and answered, "Fool, prate not to me about covenants. There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out an through. Therefore there can be no understanding between you and me, nor may there be any covenants between us, till one or other shall fall
Interpretation
The quote reflects the futility of trying to establish agreements between fundamentally opposing forces.
Achilles' statement underscores the inherent conflict and animosity between beings that are fundamentally different, such as men and lions or wolves and lambs. It suggests that true understanding and agreements are impossible between those who are in direct opposition to each other, illustrating a broader commentary on power dynamics and enmity in human relations.
In practice
In a debate about foreign policy, one might quote this to emphasize the futility of negotiations with hostile entities.
There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.
For Fate has wove the thread of life with pain,_x000D_ _x000D_ And twins ev'n from the birth are Misery and Man!
Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.
Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.
There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.
[I]t is the wine that leads me on, the wild wine that sets the wisest man to sing at the top of his lungs, laugh like a fool – it drives the man to dancing... it even tempts him to blurt out stories better never told.
To be able to rise from the earth; to be able, from a station in outer space, to see the relationship of the planet earth to other planets; to be able to contemplate the billions of factors in precise and beautiful combination that make human existence possible; to be able to dwell on an encounter of the human brain and spirit with the universe
I am not of Virginia blood; she is of mine.
A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age.
If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.
Among the facts of the universe to be accounted for, it may be said, is Mind; and it is self evident that nothing can have produced Mind but Mind.
Opinion is like a pendulum and obeys the same law.
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