"Zeno always said that nothing was more unbecoming than putting on airs, especially with the young."-DIOGENES LAERTIUS, LIVES OF THE EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS, 7.1.22
("제노는 항상 허세를 부리는 것이 특히 젊은이들 사이에서 가장 어울리지 않는다고 말했습니다." - 디오게네스 라에르티오스, <유명 철학자들의 생애>, 7.1.22)
Isocrates’s famous letter to Demonicus (which later became the inspiration for Polonius's "To thine own self be true" speech) holds a similar warning to Zeno. Writing to the young man, Isocrates advises: "Be affable in your relations with those who approach you, and never haughty; for the pride of the arrogant even slaves can hardly endure."
One of the most common tropes in art—from ancient literature to popular movies is the brash and overconfident young man who has to be taken down a peg by an older, wiser man. It's a cliché because it's a fact of life: people tend to get ahead of themselves, thinking they've got it all figured out and are better than those that don't. It becomes so ...
