Homer, The Iliad, Book IX, line 625. Bryant's translation.

But strong of limb And swift of foot misfortune is, and, far Outstripping all, comes first to every land, And there wreaks evil on mankind, which prayers Do afterwards redress.

— Homer on Misfortune

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "But strong of limb And swift of foot misfortune is, and, far Outstripping all, comes first to every land, And there wreaks evil on mankind, which prayers Do afterwards redress." in the context of "Homer, The Iliad, Book IX, line 625. Bryant's translation." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Misfortune" (Quotes, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 518-19.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Homer

About Homer

Homer (Ancient Greek: Ὅμηρος) is best known as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He was believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the first and greatest of the epic poets. Author of the first known literature of Europe, he is central to the Western canon.