I’ve started to read a biography of Alexander the Great. One of the first things I noticed was that his father was king. Well duh, we all know about King Philip of Macedonia, but what we may not realize is that he was the head of the anti-Persian league. Basically, even before Alexander was born all of Greece stood behind King Philip and their spears quivered in anticipation of the chance to gut the once mighty Persian Empire.
I guess what I’m saying is Alexander was set up to receive the title Great. Don’t get me wrong, he was a brilliant tactician (though it would have behooved him to know a little more about weather patterns, specifically Monsoons), a dynamic guy, and did indeed change the world forever. For that matter, the way in which Alexander co-opted the Persian Empire over and against the Greeks was something I doubt his father would ever have dreamed up. Still, everyone comes from somewhere; no man is an island unto himself. All we do is rested on someone and something else. All that we are is a continuity, a procession, of things previous.
This is of course a blow to Ego. We want to think that we’ve made it on our own, that what we accomplish is from the sweat of our brow, the genius of our mind, and the razor of our tongue, not received. Yet all was not accomplished by our own force of will, and we should humbly accept this. In doing this we may then thank those who have shaped us positively and, in maturity, take time to mentor others. Who knows, we may touch the brow of the next Alexander, or raise up the maid of Aristotle, the tutor of the King.
Peace,
Chris
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