Pointing at me, he went on:
“Look at the way The General goes after a rabbit: he puts on a show, a huge burst of speed, muscles rippling as he clears the fence on the way, as if there’s never any doubt he’ll nail it – but the rabbit always gets to the burrow first. He stands there, wagging his tail, as if he missed it by accident.”
It was a short leap from me to the Gods.
“Greek mythology had a lot to say about the perils of hubris.
“First there was Icarus, whose father made him a pair of wax wings and cautioned him not to fly too high with them. Becoming overconfident, Icarus flew as high as he wanted. The sun melted his wings and he fell to his death.
“Then there was Achilles in The Illiad - Achilles’ pride kept him from making amends with Agamemnon by fighting in a war. This decision unleashed a series of events that resulted in Achilles’ downfall.
The Boss told them literature is full of similar stories. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s Chaunticleer was a rich, educated rooster. His pride in his wealth and accomplishments led him to lose track of what was real, and he was duped by a fox that flattered his vocal ability. The fox ate him.
Then there was Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who believed he was a good judge of character and became overconfident in his abilities to read other people. He was critical of everyone but himself and it led to his death.
By this time, it is clear to me – and the kids – that he’s trying to avoid Gladys, who is the current living example of hubris for dogs and children everywhere. That’s why they asked The Boss what it means in the first place – they heard someone on the news accusing Gladys of hubris.
That's because, when Victoria was entering the lockdown before this one, the NSW Premier told assembled reporters:
“I fear for Victoria and I worry about what their government may do. I hope we have demonstrated to other states it is possible to manage an outbreak and not shut down a city.
And she kept digging:
“It’s much easier to lockdown because you don’t have to worry about anything, it’s much more difficult to let people move around when the virus is circulating and that’s been a challenge for us but it’s been a worthwhile challenge.”
Hmmn. The worst I do is miss out on my feed of underground mutton. Woof!
6°C