This World My Brother

I will like to start this piece by quoting and making reference to Sophocle's Oedipus if you allow me a little latitude.

So when it was foretold that Oedipus would kill the father and marry the mother, he tried to avert the prophecy by running away. On the way however, he met an old man and killed him unknown to him that, it was his father. He later explained the meaning of an adage and became qualified to marry the late King's wife who happened to be his mother and also queen.

Few years later, when the town started experiencing difficulties however, he (Oedipus) made a decree that, the one who killed the late king was to be found and killed. When the seer later told him he was the one, and he was banished, it was pathetic.

Here, when he was leaving, the commoners around made the following remarks.

Please take note of this remarks, for herein lies my emphasis and subject

" Behold son and daughters of Thebes, this was Oedipus, the greatest of all men. He was envied by all men. Behold what a tide of misfortune swept over his head".

The earth is a place where the modern man must always look to his ending and none can be called happy until the day that he dies and carries his happiness to the grave".

I took a lesson from this story and will proceed thus;

Success and wealth in life is not permanent. As long as we are alive, the claim that one is successful or intelligent is not only arrogant but misguided.

For the moment, what we appear to be doing is that, we are on the right path and what we should do is to pray we should continue to be on that path.

History has demonstrated times without number that, men whom we thought to be successful orwealthy were betrayed and became paupers at the eleventh hour of their lives. Ours thus is to be humbled.

I still want to send you back to Greece. The god Apolo sent one of his oracles to go out and find out who was the wisest. In those days, Greece was known for many great things and men.

When the Oracle came out, it said the wisest person in Greece was Socrates. This was because when Socrates was asked what he knew, he said in respect of wisdom, he knew nothing. This was the answer that endeared him to the Oracle as the wisest person.

I submit to you that humility is key in life. We those who are alive today, I humbly entreat us to reflect on this.