"The tale of Achilles' wrath, and therefore the poem, ends only once the alienated hero is able to accept loss as an inevitable element in the shared life of mortals."

"Beauty, terrible beauty! A deathless goddess — so she strikes our eyes!"

"Not to have been born is best, but if one has seen the light of day, the next best thing is to return as quickly as possible to where he came from."

"Very like leaves upon this earth are the generations of men -- old leaves, cast on the ground by wind, young leaves the greening forest bears when spring comes in. So mortals pass; one generation flow…"

"And empty words are evil."