Quote of the Day (Phillip Lopate, on Samson’s Resemblance to Greek Tragic Heroes)

“With his last noble words, he exiles himself from his own people and joins the Diaspora of the dead: a bitter ending. But he has come a long way from the younger, self-righteous Samson who petulantly said before wreaking havoc: Now am I blameless for the harm I will do them. Like a hero in a Greek tragedy, he has finished his journey from warrior pride to humility, by taking responsibility for violating the tribal laws.”—Phillip Lopate, “Judges: Tests of Weakness: Samson and Delilah,” Congregation: Contemporary Writers Read the Jewish Bible, edited by David Rosenberg (1987)

Lopate’s essay in the marvelous anthology Congregation is a dazzler, incorporating close Biblical reading, film criticism (his explication of Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah is hilarious), and autobiography.