“Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing, sooner than of war.”

— Homér, Iliad

A misquotation http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2009-August/092648.html of: Πάντων μὲν κόρος ἐστὶ καὶ ὕπνου καὶ φιλότητος μολπῆς τε γλυκερῆς καὶ ἀμύμονος ὀρχηθμοῖο, τῶν πέρ τις καὶ μᾶλλον ἐέλδεται ἐξ ἔρον εἷναι ἢ πολέμου· Τρῶες δὲ μάχης ἀκόρητοι ἔασιν. Men get Their fill of all things, of sleep and love, sweet song And flawless dancing, and most men like these things Much better than war. Only Trojans are always Thirsty for blood! Iliad, XIII, 636–639 (tr. Ennis Rees) The misquotation implies that an overweening love of war was the norm, whereas the real quote decries the Trojans as inhumane for keeping the war going. Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Feb. 9, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing, sooner than of war." by Homér?

Homér217

Ancient Greek epic poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey

Related quotes

“How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”

Jane Austen book Pride and Prejudice

Source: Pride and Prejudice

“Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved.”

Alice Walker book The Color Purple

Source: The Color Purple

“Gentle lady, do not sing
Sad songs about the end of love;
Lay aside sadness and sing
How love that passes is enough.

Sing about the long deep sleep
Of lovers that are dead, and how
In the grave all love shall sleep:
Love is aweary now.”

James Joyce book Chamber Music

Source: Chamber Music

““Do you get tired, singing?” she asked.
Gan Itai laughed quietly. “Does a mother grow tired raising her children? Of course, but it is what I do.””

Tad Williams (1957) novelist

Source: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Stone of Farewell (1990), Chapter 23, “Deep Waters” (p. 591).

“And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep—
And good-by to the bar and its moaning.”

Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) English clergyman, historian and novelist

The Three Fishers, st. 3,

“Tired, but not the kind of tired that sleep fixes.”

Maureen Johnson book Let It Snow

Source: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”

Jane Austen (1775–1817) English novelist

“Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony”

Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince

Source: The Prince

“For what would I be otherwise but sport,
In love with one who does not care for me?
I will hide pain in smiles, sooner than be
The common talk. It is a bitter art
To sing a happy song with a sad heart.”

Christine de Pizan De triste cuer chanter joyeusement

Car en mon cuer porte couvertement Le dueil qui soit qui plus me puet desplaire, Et si me fault, pour les gens faire taire, Rire en plorant et très amerement De triste cuer chanter joyeusement. Rondeau "De triste cuer chanter joyeusement", line 8; Maurice Roy (ed.) Œuvres Poétiques de Christine de Pisan (1886) vol. 1, p. 154, as translated by http://www.brindin.com/pfpistri.htm by Sheenagh Pugh.

“I detect
More good than evil in humanity.
Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes,
And men grow better as the world grows old.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author and poet

Optimism
Poetry quotes, Poems of Pleasure (1900)
Context: I find a rapture linked with each despair,
Well worth the price of anguish. I detect
More good than evil in humanity.
Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes,
And men grow better as the world grows old.

“Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing, sooner than of war.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Homér217

Related quotes

Related topics