Great Books Ep 45. The Odyssey Book 17. Resilience: The Nobility in Begging, Futility of War, and the Continuity of Life

People who beg for life and livelihood since they don't have any choice are heroes helping to keep the flicker of life in the vast emptiness of space alight.

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

“A fellow like this never won a prize for anything in his life, but will go about rubbing his shoulders against every man’s door post, and begging, not for swords and cauldrons like a man, but only for a few scraps not worth begging for.”

~ The Odyssey - Book XVII (Samuel Butler Translation. p279)

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In Book 17, the key hi…