I seem to remember something about Blog etiquette that had to do with not posting long quotations on a blog. Hmmm... Ok, so everyone still gets to enjoy Schiller's "Ode to Joy" and the Hymn of the same title: "Joyously, as his suns speed Through Heaven's glorious order, hasten, Brothers, on your way, as a knight in victory." "Be embraced, all ye Millions! Take this kiss for all the world! Surely we've a loving Father dwelling there beyond the stars. Do you sink before him, Millions? World! Your Creator sense! Seek him then beyond the stars! Where He dwells beyond the stars." I like Goethe too, especially the angelic hymn at the opening of "Faust". Try singing it to the tune of the German National Anthem! Anyhow, this is a weekend for the Romantics. The Platypus goes on his way rejoicing, like knight in victory! Sans "Storm and Stress", of course...
Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
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