Let another man praise you,
And not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
Proverbs 27:2
In his classic work The Metamorphosis, Ovid tells the
story of Arachne. This mythical tale
concerns a woman who believes she is go good at weaving that she boasts herself
to be even better than the goddess Athena.
This arrogance ultimately ends in Arachne being turned into a spider and made to weave for the rest of her days (along with all or her
creepy offspring). It is absolutely amazing
how infrequently a person needs to tell others how good they are at
something. It is amazing because that
does not stop people from taking the opportunity to tell others how good they
think they are at something.
Interestingly arrogance is becoming an absolute cultural ethic! If the story of Arachne were to be made a
fresh today it would surely be a story of how Arachne boasted and then finally
defeated Athena – yet the old wisdom is the best. A person can render a wonderful talent,
beauty or ability utterly worthless with just a touch of arrogance. Yet, interestingly, no assessment needs to be
made of one’s own abilities to continue to strive to improve and appreciate
them.
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