Gates of Fire

by Steven Pressfield

“Never forget, Alexandros, that this flesh, this body, does not belong to us. Thank God it doesn’t. If I thought this stuff was mine, I could not advance a pace into the face of the enemy. But it is not ours, my friend. It belongs to the gods and to our children, our fathers and mothers and those of Lakedaemon a hundred, a thousand years yet unborn. It belongs to the city which gives us all we have and demands no less in requital.”

This is what has been lost in the psyche of the American people today. Self is the lord of all. No system of society can survive being ruled by so many kings.

“War, not peace, produces virtue. War, not peace, purges vice. War, and preparation for war, call forth all that is noble and honorable in a man. It unites him with his brothers and binds them in selfless love, eradicating in the crucible of necessity all which is base and ignoble.

“Habit is a mighty ally, my young friend. The habit of fear and anger, or the habit of self-composure and courage.”

“Look at him. If his face gets any redder, he’ll burst like a tomato.”

Eleiria would not know about tomatoes until almost 2,000 years later when explorers brought them back to Europe from the Americas.

Bear witness to that lesson they teach: nothing good in life comes but at a price. Sweetest of all is liberty. This we have chosen and this we pay for.

the possum players

There are no possums in Greece.

This is why the true warrior cannot speak of battle save to his brothers who have been there with him. This truth is too holy, too sacred, for words.