Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4 v 9-12
I had thought all of that was original to Solomon, or whoever wrote Ecclesiastes-- that most existential of all bible books. I was surprised while reading Gilgamesh, to come upon these fragments in the context of the love of Gilgamesh and Enkidu:
A slippery path is not feared by two people who help each other.
A three-ply rope cannot be cut.
The Babylonian epic Gilgamesh predates Ecclesiastes. It is interesting to think of these germs of wisdom being passed around the ancient world, from one culture to the next-- more interesting than mistaking ancient cliches for the unique wisdom of God...
Ancient idiom or divine utterance, it doesn't matter. Phrases like this endure because we live the truth in them.
1 comment:
An amazing amount of the bible mimics ancient wisdom from dozens of other cultures. Which is another one of the things that pisses me off about our fetishization of the damn thing. But that's another post entirely.
Good find, though. It pairs nicely with "two men shall not lie together" or whatever that is. We can point to Ecc and say "yes they do!"
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