In Iliad, when King Priam begged Achilles to release body of Hector so the Trojans can mourn him and give him a proper burial ton hat instant, “Achilles—and Homer—open to an alternative mode of being, one that values not strength or beauty or even shining intellect, but compassion…it appears that Achilles tastes the spring of human benevolence; for an instant he is not a hero, not an individual, not a power, but simply one with another suffering being within the universe of pain.”
from: self and soul A Defense of Ideals by Mark Edmundson
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