The Laws of Human Nature

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical abuse, rape, illness, and death.

Pericles (495-429 BC) was an Athenian statesman whose strategic thinking and wise, objective leadership brought Athens into a golden age. He grew up in an aristocratic family but “allied himself with the growing lower and middle classes of the city” which helped him earn their trust and respect (14). He sought to help his people drive out the Spartans, planning to exhaust them into leaving. However, this did not work, and he died from a plague in 429 BC. Following his death, the Athenians abandoned his rational strategy and fought bitterly with the Spartans, eventually losing the war in 405 BC.

Greene uses Pericles to show how the Law of Irrationality takes its natural hold when one lets go of rational thinking and wisdom. He highly valued wisdom, revering the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, and building a large statue of her in Athens. He also diligently practiced rational thinking and would isolate himself when he felt his emotions starting to take control, giving himself time to calm down and regain a clear mind. That Athens’s Golden Age began and ended with his wise leadership is a reflection of how rational he was and how hard he worked to promote rationality in Athenian policy.