The Bacchae - Euripides
"To be clever is not to be wise, and thoughts that go beyond mortal limits spell a short life. In view of this who would pursue great ambitions rather than accept his present lot? These are the ways of madmen, in my verdict, whose wits have left them." - Antistrophe
This is saying that people who push themselves are mad; in other words, Pentheus, who is pushing himself to total ignorant stubbornness just to exert his power, is mad, because he is committing blasphemy. If he just accepted the trend of people worshipping Dionysus, he would have learned the beauty of his rites, and it would have been a merry time for all. To be easygoing is to be stress-free is to be wise, perhaps, in the Bacchic view.
Friday, February 5, 2010
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I think this is true, but in modern life some stress is necessary. Going with the flow is good, but to not pursue ambition to some extent makes life meaningless.
ReplyDeleteTrue enough. Without some ambition, we would end up as couch potatoes.
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