Same, Pericles, Same by Hannah Schofield

Death. 

The inevitable outcome that has been and always will be the one thing that has the power to grab us and shake us to our core whether we are personally involved or not. It's hard to face, hard to live with, and hard to get past. Now, I have no idea if any of you have ever had to stand and face a crowd of mourners at a funeral to speak, sing, or play an instrument, but it is, quite frankly from personal experience, uncomfortable. Shaky hands and sweaty palms usually derive from the intense urge to appease the heartbroken people– maybe even ease your own torment. 

Essentially, I commend Pericles for the impressive job he did at holding himself together and trying his hardest to relate with the people of Athens. He tries to soothe them by saying, 

"...you must yourselves realize the power of Athens, and feed your eyes upon her from day to day, till love of her fills your hearts; and then, when all her greatness shall break upon you, you must reflect that it was by courage, sense of duty, and a keen feeling of honour in action that men were enabled to win all this, and that no personal failure in an enterprise could make them consent to deprive their country of their valour, but they laid it at her feet as the most glorious contribution that they could offer."

Pericles wanted them to understand that he fully recognized the sacrifice of the brave men. He wanted to console the families by inspiring a sense of gratitude for the city of Athens. Directly, I believe he did an excellent job at successfully doing the hardest thing at a funeral as a speaker– truly reaching all types of people present in the crowd.

Commented on: Gray's & Dakota's