This is Michelle’s tattoo:
My tattoo is from Donna Tartt’s book The Secret History, and is a quote/paraphrase from Book 11 of The Iliad: “Be strong saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.” I’ve been having some rough times in my life, so this is a reminder to be strong, and that I’ve gone through tough times before, and I can get through these ones and come out better for it in the end.
That's pretty cool. The script is gorgeous and the quote is just…I love it. Kudos. :)
I love this!!
I saw this tattoo & fell in love
The skin is a blank canvas & always has been, but that’s no reason to fill it full of trivia.
How is this trivia? Trivia is something that is unimportant or inconsequential. This quote is obviously important to the wearer, so therefore it is not trivia.
Dig. Love the original source as well as the reference from "The Secret History."
This isn't even paraphrased from the Iliad, she made it up for the purposes of the book it looks like.
Very Nice!
Drew, why so judgemental? Even it isn't your cup of tea, just let it be.
I don’t know if anyone will see this but I spent a long time searching for the origin of this quote, so I thought I’d put it here so that if anyone else is looking I can save them the time. Donna Tartt is in fact quoting a line from Homer, but it is from the Odyssey, not the Iliad. It is from book 20, when Odysseus has returned home and is pondering what to do about the suitors in his home. He says to himself (line 18):
τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη: καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο ποτ᾽ ἔτλης. Literally: “Take courage, my heart: you have been through worse than this.”
So basically, the quote is from Odyssey 20:18, slightly altered, and with a totally different description. But it’s real Homer.
The person with the tattoo here. I know it’s been years since this comment was posted, but I figured I’d leave this here anyway. A blog post that explains where in the Illiad the quote comes from.:http://celzmccelz.tumblr.com/post/69050055373/be-strong-saith-my-heart-i-am-a-soldier-i-have
In addition, I have had people recognize it as being from the Illiad, so I think I’m good.
Thanks for replying! Always great to hear from the person wearing the art. And it is a beautiful tattoo.
As I pointed out, the quote is actually from the Odyssey. There happens to be a slightly-similar passage in the Iliad, but it’s clear that Tartt’s line is a translation of the line from the Odyssey, almost word-for-word. Now you can tell people where it’s from!
That quote is actually for Homer’s Odyssey Book 20 line 18, not The Iliad, Tartt quotes it wrong in The Secret History. Still a poignant quote though.