“The tyrant is a child of Pride
Who drinks from his sickening cup
Recklessness and vanity,
Until from his high crest headlong
He plummets to the dust of hope.”

—  Sophocles

Source: Oedipus Rex, Line 872.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The tyrant is a child of Pride Who drinks from his sickening cup Recklessness and vanity, Until from his high crest …" by Sophocles?
Sophocles photo
Sophocles 68
ancient Greek tragedian -496–-406 BC

Related quotes

Diogenes of Sinope photo

“One day, observing a child drinking out of his hands, he cast away the cup from his wallet with the words, "A child has beaten me in plainness of living."”

Diogenes of Sinope (-404–-322 BC) ancient Greek philosopher, one of the founders of the Cynic philosophy

Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 37
Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius

Elia M. Ramollah photo

“Try to find out the answer to, “Who am I?” and drink from the cup of union.”

Elia M. Ramollah (1973) founder and leader of the El Yasin Community

Flow of Divine Guidance (vol.1)

Arthur Schopenhauer photo

“Pride is an established conviction of one’s own paramount worth in some particular respect, while vanity is the desire of rousing such a conviction in others, and it is generally accompanied by the secret hope of ultimately coming to the same conviction oneself. Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself. Vanity is the desire to arrive at this appreciation indirectly, from without.”

Arthur Schopenhauer book Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life

Vol. 1, Ch. 4, § 2
Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life

Reginald Heber photo

“The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood red banner streams afar:
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink his cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below,
He follows in His train.”

Reginald Heber (1783–1826) English clergyman

"The Son of God Goes Forth to War", st. 1 (1812).
Hymns

Omar Khayyám photo

“I must abjure the Balm of Life, I must,
Scared by some After-reckoning ta'en on trust,
Or lured with Hope of some Diviner Drink,
To fill the Cup — when crumbled into Dust!”

Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer

The Rubaiyat (1120)

Miguel de Unamuno photo

“Once the needs of hunger are satisfied — and they are soon satisfied — the vanity, the necessity — for it is a necessity — arises of imposing ourselves upon and surviving in others. Man habitually sacrifices his life to his purse, but he sacrifices his purse to his vanity. He boasts even of his weakness and his misfortunes, for want of anything better to boast of, and is like a child who, in order to attract attention, struts about with a bandaged finger.”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), III : The Hunger of Immortality

Steve Martin photo

“Why sip from a tea cup, when you can drink from the river.”

Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer

Source: L.A. Story and Roxanne: Screenplays

Confucius photo

“The Superior Man has nothing to compete for. But if he must compete, he does it in an archery match, wherein he ascends to his position, bowing in deference. Descending, he drinks (or has [the winner] drink) the ritual cup.”

Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher

Bowing is a courtesy for the host who invites him as well drinking a cup.
Source: The Analects, Chapter III

Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset photo

“His drinke, the running streame, his cup, the bare
Of his palme cloasde, his bed, the hard cold ground:
To this poore life was Misery ybound.”

Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536–1608) English politician and poet

Source: The Induction (1563), Line 264, p. 320

Mansur Al-Hallaj photo

“The beloved does not drink a single drop of water without seeing His Face in the cup.”

Mansur Al-Hallaj (858–922) Persian mystic, revolutionary writer and teacher of Sufism

As quoted in Mystical Dimensions of Islam http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=583 (1978) by Annemarie Schimmel
Context: The beloved does not drink a single drop of water without seeing His Face in the cup. Allah is He Who flows between the pericardium and the heart, just as the tears flow from the eyelids.

Related topics