When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
It was a Roman who said it was sweet to die for one's country. The Greeks never said it was sweet to die for anything. They had no vital lies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the contrasting values of Romans and Greeks regarding sacrifice for one's nation or ideals.
Edith Hamilton contrasts the Roman view of patriotic sacrifice with the Greek perspective of 'vital lies'—myths or beliefs that provide meaning and purpose to life. She suggests that while Romans glorified dying for their country, Greeks were more skeptical about such notions, implying that they sought deeper truths outside of nationalistic fervor.
Themes
SacrificePatriotismTruthValuesCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about national service, one might quote this to highlight the importance of sacrifice.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes →The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
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Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
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To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
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Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
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So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
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