Katharine Schneider
SAGE
October 10, 2015
Essay 1
Ancient Texts: Wisdom and Warnings
Every ancient and medieval civilization has a literary history that gives us, today, lessons/ideas of wisdom and warnings of dangers that I can personalize and apply in my own life. The ancient texts this paper will be focusing on is the Hebrew Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Cave by Plato, and The Oedipus Trilogy. Despite originating from different cultures, each of these texts bear wisdom and caution. Ancient texts offer us many lessons and ideas of wisdom that can help us lessen our struggle in attaining “the Good Life.” For one, we are told to worship our God. The Hebrew Bible is especially adamant about this. Chapter 5 of the book of Ecclesiastes …show more content…
The speaker begins with a dark image of prisoners trapped in a dark cave. Sunlight is above them, and as one prisoner comes into the light, he is temporarily blinded. However, as his vision clears, his begins to see things as real and understand the sun to be the source of energy and life. He gains the educational capacity of sight and realizes the sun is the Form of the Good. By the end, the prisoner has attained a higher level of understanding. The speaker says that “it is the task of [people] to compel the best natures to attain that learning which we said was the greatest, both to see the good, and to ascend that ascent” (Plato). Education’s goal is to bring us, the “prisoners” as far out of the darkness of the cave as possible. Education’s goal is to turn our souls towards the light, or, in other words, values and morals. Similarity, the book of Job talks about going toward the light. Elihu, a man in the book of Job, says of God, “He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light” …show more content…
The Oedipus Trilogy ends with a warning about pride—the consequence of an excessive amount of pride will be punished. The Chorus says, “Swelling words of high-flown might Mightily do the gods do smite” (Sophocles). In other words, we should not be too prideful because it can hurt those we love. For instance, Creon, the king of Thebes in the Trilogy, ends up alone and despairing over the death of Antigone, Oedipus’s daughter, and Haemon, Creon’s son, who both commit suicide. Creon takes the responsibility for the tragedies and hopes for a fast death. In the account of the great flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods flooded the earth because they were prideful and thought themselves above the human race. Offended by “evil things [Ishtar said] in the Assembly of the Gods,” they ordered “a catastrophe to destroy” humans.” However, after the flood and the destruction of humans, the gods regret their decision because they did not want mankind to be
SAGE
October 10, 2015
Essay 1
Ancient Texts: Wisdom and Warnings
Every ancient and medieval civilization has a literary history that gives us, today, lessons/ideas of wisdom and warnings of dangers that I can personalize and apply in my own life. The ancient texts this paper will be focusing on is the Hebrew Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Cave by Plato, and The Oedipus Trilogy. Despite originating from different cultures, each of these texts bear wisdom and caution. Ancient texts offer us many lessons and ideas of wisdom that can help us lessen our struggle in attaining “the Good Life.” For one, we are told to worship our God. The Hebrew Bible is especially adamant about this. Chapter 5 of the book of Ecclesiastes …show more content…
The speaker begins with a dark image of prisoners trapped in a dark cave. Sunlight is above them, and as one prisoner comes into the light, he is temporarily blinded. However, as his vision clears, his begins to see things as real and understand the sun to be the source of energy and life. He gains the educational capacity of sight and realizes the sun is the Form of the Good. By the end, the prisoner has attained a higher level of understanding. The speaker says that “it is the task of [people] to compel the best natures to attain that learning which we said was the greatest, both to see the good, and to ascend that ascent” (Plato). Education’s goal is to bring us, the “prisoners” as far out of the darkness of the cave as possible. Education’s goal is to turn our souls towards the light, or, in other words, values and morals. Similarity, the book of Job talks about going toward the light. Elihu, a man in the book of Job, says of God, “He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light” …show more content…
The Oedipus Trilogy ends with a warning about pride—the consequence of an excessive amount of pride will be punished. The Chorus says, “Swelling words of high-flown might Mightily do the gods do smite” (Sophocles). In other words, we should not be too prideful because it can hurt those we love. For instance, Creon, the king of Thebes in the Trilogy, ends up alone and despairing over the death of Antigone, Oedipus’s daughter, and Haemon, Creon’s son, who both commit suicide. Creon takes the responsibility for the tragedies and hopes for a fast death. In the account of the great flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods flooded the earth because they were prideful and thought themselves above the human race. Offended by “evil things [Ishtar said] in the Assembly of the Gods,” they ordered “a catastrophe to destroy” humans.” However, after the flood and the destruction of humans, the gods regret their decision because they did not want mankind to be