In the Odyssey one may liken Homer to the setting sun, of which the grandeur remains without the intensity.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Homer's later work is compared to a setting sun that keeps grandeur but loses intensity.
- In plain terms
- Older Homer is grand but less intense than his prime.
- What can you take from it?
- Artists may fade in intensity while retaining grandeur.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can art remain intense forever?
- How does age affect creativity?
Another view
The analogy implies inevitable decline which may not be true.
More from Homer
Indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus. I'm aggrieved when sometimes even excellent Homer nods.
Permalink to quote #12 Homer, the sovereign poet.
Permalink to quote #14 But how did you come to have this skill about Homer only, and not about Hesiod or the other poets? Does not Homer speak of the same themes which all other poet…
Permalink to quote #11
Related quotes
Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir, a la chandelle, Assise aupres du feu, devidant et filant, Direz, chantant mes vers, en vous emerveillant: 'Ronsard me c…
Pierre de RonsardPierre de Ronsard quote #1 The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men of early performance it is useless. To others, who are late to develop, it just enable…
Thomas HardyThomas Hardy quote #36 Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me - That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free for…
Alfred (Lord) TennysonAlfred (Lord) Tennyson quote #113