Sophocles Quotes
When he endures nothing but endless miseries-- What pleasure is there in living the day after day,
Edging slowly back and forth toward death?
Anyone who warms their heart with the glow
Of flickering hope is worth nothing at all.
The noble man should either live with honor or die with honor. That's all there is to be said.
Sophocles. The Ajax of Sophocles. Translated by R. C. Jebb, Cambridge University Press, 1896, p. 77, lines 473-480.
In 1877 Gen. O. O. Howard and 600 men fought Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce warriors near Kamiah, Idaho. Outnumbered and outflanked, Chief Joseph headed his band toward the Canadian border, but before they reached it they were captured. Chief Joseph's surrender speech was recorded by General Howard's adjutant: Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
It was this code, and its implementation in Saipan, Okinawa, and other Japanese held islands taken by the allies that caused Japanese soldiers to fight to the death or commit suicide. The prospect of this code being followed by Japanese soldiers, civilians or both in an invasion of the Japanese mainland, was one of the major arguments in favor of dropping the Atomic Bomb in World War II.
Sophocles (/ˈsɒfəkliːz/; Greek: Σοφοκλῆς, pronounced [so.pʰo.klɛ̂ːs]; c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
