The tension or even opposition between the theoretical and practical, between words and deeds, is nothing new; the ancients were fully aware of it, and indeed, were obsessed by it. For them, as we see vividly in Homer, deeds are by far the more important of the two; the Homeric hero is defined, condemned, and redeemed by his deeds: they are his virtue, his honor, his fate, his life, and his death. Courage is the central virtue of the hero; and just as the hero is the most actionoriented of men, courage is the most action-oriented of the virtues. But at the same time, the hero is dependent on the bard and poet, on the speaker and singer of words, for his fame, and his fame is an essential part of his fate; thus words, too, are an essential part of his very identity. Through his words, the Homeric poet not only measures the extent of the hero’s fame, but even its worth, through praise or condemnation of his deeds. The poetic word becomes, in short, the measure of the deed, and is, as such, itself activity, creative force, a deed.
The Measure of the Good Life. Reflections on Philosophy as a Practical Affair
JVF Conference Papers
