Boris Johnson’s speech on climate at the UN in ancient Greek

Its use ancient Greek recruited by Boris Johnson, who addressed the General Assembly on Thursday.

The British Prime Minister called on the people to mobilize for the environment, citing Sophocles, as broadcast by ERT.

“Sophocles had said”πολλὰ τὰ δεινὰ κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει“. Man is “afflicted” and the word “scary” is not a proper translation for the word “afflicted”. What Sophocles meant is that the human species is wonderful. “It’s scary, but also admirable,” he said.

Boris Johnson used the phrase from Antigone – “there are many terrible things, but there is nothing more terrible than man” – to point out that we are all capable of evil, but also good.

And he called on humanity to mature, then invoked him Kermit from the Muppet Show.

He then called on all countries to join 26th Conference of the United Nations for the environment to be held in Glasgow at the end of October.

Scholarship for the Department of Humanities

As ERT reminds, the love of Johnson for ancient Greek literature and philosophy is well known.

Boris Johnson won scholarship to study at the Department of Humanities at Balliol College, Oxford, a four-year curriculum for the study of classical, ancient literature and classical philosophy.

Study ancient books regularly, as he says, and as soon as he settled in the prime minister’s residence he put her bust of Pericles in a prominent position.