Peter Costello
These days we hear a great deal about the decline of the classics, especially from those of a traditionalist and conservative outlook. And certainly the literature of the Greeks and Romans provided for centuries models of all kinds: of nobility, and authoritarian rule, of lyric poetry and epic, of morality and courage.
In the last four years we have heard much of Donald Trump with the golden touch. This was certainly true for gold in one way or another seemed symbolic of his life. People would carelessly talk of him as a business man with ‘the golden touch’.
This alluded to the legend of Midas, who sought from the gods the request that everything he touched would turn to gold.
But now that an ingrained knowledge of the classics was gone, nobody seemed to recognise the significance of the Midas legend. Everything turned to gold for Midas, even the food he wanted and needed to consume. That too turned to gold, and so Midas was brought to ruin by his own greed, until the god that had granted his wish helped him remove it.
It is certainly a frightening tale. Yet we go on admiring the rich with the Midas touch, our newspapers telling us last week that Irish billionaires have grown richer still after the terrible year the rest of have passed through.
Ancient folklore, pagan philosophers, Jewish prophets, learned moralists of Christianity: all have said the same: gold maims the soul. But it seems to do little to change the mental habits of many.