Even wisdom has to yield to self-interest.

Pindar, the poet of victory and voice of the games, speaks with piercing honesty when he declares: “Even wisdom has to yield to self-interest.” In this saying he does not mock wisdom, nor diminish its nobility, but reveals the frailty of man. For even when the mind knows the better path, the heart, chained to survival and desire, may bow to self-interest. The saying is not flattery but warning: that truth is often sacrificed at the altar of gain, and virtue must wrestle against necessity.

The ancients themselves confessed this struggle. Odysseus, wise among the Greeks, often used cunning to preserve his life and his men. Though he carried wisdom, he bent it to self-interest, weaving lies and stratagems when survival demanded it. Pindar’s words echo such tales, where even heroes, blessed with noble insight, sometimes yield their greater knowledge to the pressing needs of hunger, safety, or ambition.

History gives us stark examples. Marcus Brutus, student of philosophy and lover of Rome, knew the wisdom of loyalty and order. Yet in fear that Caesar’s power would destroy the Republic, he yielded to self-interest disguised as civic duty, striking down his friend. His act, born of divided motives, proved Pindar’s words: wisdom may point to patience and restraint, but passion and advantage often command the final choice.

Yet Pindar’s saying is not only lament; it is also mirror. It shows us that men must strive ever harder to place wisdom above the call of self-interest, lest they be enslaved by their appetites. For when self-interest rules unchecked, kingdoms fall into corruption, families into ruin, and nations into endless war. But when wisdom reigns over self-interest, even at great cost, humanity touches the divine.

Let the generations remember: wisdom may bend under the weight of necessity, but it must not be wholly overthrown. To recognize this struggle is to walk with humility, knowing the weakness of the flesh. Yet the call of the soul is higher: to master self-interest, to rise beyond the grasping hand, and to let wisdom guide even when the heart trembles. For only then does man become more than beast, and his deeds echo into eternity.