Fred Kiesche

“In the final book, Achilles treats the suppliant Priam with mercy, and allows for a brief cessation of fighting to enable the dignified burial of his enemy Hector. The limitless wrath of Achilles can end only once he recognizes that no absolute, permanent victory is ever possible. Everyone must bear unbearable losses, for which no compensation could ever be enough. In the end, we all lose. Our best hope is to accept partial, temporary limits on conflict, accepting human companionship and community as our only, always inadequate compensation, for the pervasive experience of loss.”
― Homer, The Iliad

“From the drawer where I had put them on returning, I got a gun and holster and put them on. Wolfe sat scowling at me. Physical commotion and preparations for it irritate him, but as a practicing detective he defers to the necessity of putting people—me, for instance—in situations where they may get plugged or knifed or shoved off a cliff. In view of his distaste for such doings it’s damn generous of him.”
― Rex Stout, The Golden Spiders

“But The Iliad suggests that “good” and “bad” kinds of conflict cannot be so easily disentangled. The desire to outdo rivals inspires brave, glorious actions, and also leads to massive loss of life. Battle is the “sphere where men win glory” (kudianeira), but also where many lose their lives—so war is also “the cause of many tears,” “the cause of so much grief” (polydakrytos, polystonos). The work of war entails a constant struggle to gain glory or a win (kudos) and an opportunity to boast (euchos), which must be achieved by outdoing fellow warriors on the battlefield, gaining both the glory and the material wealth that comes from slaughtering, stripping, and humiliating the enemy. The more people you kill, the greater your triumph. An individual fighter gains an aristeia (“bestness”—a period of extraordinary military success) when he robs numerous opponents of their lives, their weapons, and their honor, and thus shows himself the “best” among his peers. Warriors compete against not only their enemies but also, simultaneously, their own comrades, who are their rivals for the title of “best” (aristos).”
― Homer, The Iliad

“When the self-selected, self-confident, highly educated Jasons were stuck on a calculation, they took it to Dyson. Set up the calculation right, you can solve it on a laptop or maybe you need giant computers, said one Jason, “but if you have Freeman, you don’t need either one.”43”
― David Kaiser, "Well, Doc, You're In": Freeman Dyson’s Journey through the Universe