
“Ruling hell might be better than being a subject in hell, but not by much.”
Other
King's Crossing.
Lyrics, From a Basement on the Hill (posthumous, 2004)
“Ruling hell might be better than being a subject in hell, but not by much.”
Other
XI. 489–492 (tr. Robert Fagles); Achilles' ghost to Odysseus.
Alexander Pope's translation:
: Rather I'd choose laboriously to bear
A weight of woes, and breathe the vital air,
A slave to some poor hind that toils for bread,
Than reign the sceptred monarch of the dead.
With many a weary step, and many a groan,
Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone;
The huge round stone, resulting with a bound,
Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground. P. S. Worsley's translation:
: Rather would I, in the sun's warmth divine,
Serve a poor churl who drags his days in grief,
Than the whole lordship of the dead were mine.
Odyssey (c. 725 BC)
“The rule of law is not an exception to rule by fear; it is the fulfillment of rule by fear.”
Fear: The History of a Political Idea