[lit-ideas] Hero-Worship, Revisited

What fascinated Carlyle (was he English or Scots? I think English) was 
 
hero-worship.
 
I wonder if it allows a Gricean (if not downright Grecian) analysis.
 
Achilles was a hero.
 
Requirements. You have to be a _mortal_. Achilles _hardly_ counts.
 
Ayax was a hero.
 
And that's my heroes finished!
 
We should propose an analysis of necessary and sufficient conditions for 'x  
is a hero'.
 
Cheers,
 
JL Speranza
 
 
In a message dated 2/28/2009 7:20:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
jwager@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
One of the men in my platoon in Vietnam might be  called a "hero." We 
were attacked one night by four Viet Cong sappers, who  ran into our fire 
support base throwing grenades and blowing up artillery  pieces. They 
blew up one of our 81 mm mortar positions, and started the  small 
ammunition storage attached on fire. Shells were exploding from the  heat 
of the fire, but they were in a sandbagged bunker and the debris was  
flying overhead, not really endangering anybody. Someone I'll call  
"Larry" ran and got a fire extinguisher, and stood atop the burning  
sandbag pit aiming the fire extinguisher down into the burning  ammunition.

In my most polite sergeant voice, I asked him to please get  down before 
he got himself killed. He did, and no one was injured that  night.
Was he a hero?



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