This poem was created under the impression of this wonderful post and Principle.
Thank you dear 
for the inspiration. It happens that some topic inspires so much and I need to express it urgently in a poetic form.
I also want to share an interesting legend on this topic.
Of course, such a number of words can never replace the unique laconism of the Principles. This post is only an attempt to express my admiration.
Arrogance!
Arouses a mixture of anger…
Remember you’re not elected,
These feelings are the signal of danger!
Legend
There was one commander in the world, named Oleon, and he was a very arrogant man.
He reasoned approximately this way: "There is no better commander in the world than I am. I can beat anyone, even if I have half the strength. In the case of an approximate equality of forces the battle is of no special interest to me - my advantage is so great. In the case when I have superiority, my assistant will lead the battle and I will read Plutarch at this time and give advice from time to time. One or two of my advices, I'm sure, is enough to triumph completely.
General Oleon quickly announced himself with loud victories and loud words on the occasion of these victories. Where the opposing forces were approximately equal, Oleon gained light victories; where he had superiority, the battle turned into a trifle; only where the superiority was with the enemy, a real battle boiled and then Oleon showed himself in all the brilliance of his talant.
At the same time he did not spare the praising words to his address and pejorative - against the enemy.
He pitied only those who unreservedly recognized his superiority.
Soon the name of Oleon became the most famous among all the names of the generals of the time. He was even called the new Alexander of Macedon. Oleon replied: "Yes, Alexander was great, but there was a time when he still had to turn back. I could insist on my own and go further. Alexander is great, but Oleon is the greatest."
Once the army of General Kato appeared on the path of Oleon and Oleon had superior forces, however, not very significantly.
Who was Kato?
To listen to Oleon, he was completely incompetent, he became a general by chance, simply because of the circumstances.
Maybe Oleon was right, but Kato was not worthless. He was a real soldier; perhaps he never played the very first roles, but he always did everything right and did with full force, responsibility and always with a visible good result. Kato did not shine, he just did his job well. He was deeply disliked by Oleon.
And when their troops met Kato said: "My hour has come. I never tried to jump above my head because it does not make sense. But now I will try and jump."
And now the army of Kato stood in front of the troops of Oleon. Oleon thought: the approximate equality of forces, but still in his favor.
"Ha," he said, "there's nothing to worry about. Kato is predictable to the impossibility. I'll only give advice to my assistants, and I'd rather read Plutarch. "
So he did. He gave useful advice and plunged into the historical space of great historical victories. The battle began, but it began very badly for Oleon. Almost in all directions his troops either could not move forward or directly retreated and almost fled.
When this was reported to Oleon, he grumbled: "Well, they will not let me read calmly," and took command on himself.
The picture changed instantly: Oleon intercepted the initiative, changed the situation and, thanks to a cunning maneuver in one direction, broke through the enemy's defense and put the enemy ahead of the prospect of an early defeat.
Oleon yawned and said: "Well, now everything is clear. I'm going to read the interrupted story. " The commanders were taken over by the assistants again and at that time Oleon read and waited for a report on the total capitulation of the enemy.
But Kato said not in vain that he was going to jump above his head. He could not afford to lose this battle. For him it would be a complete loss of life.
Therefore, in this desperate situation he ventured and did something that he had never done before. On the attack of the Oleonians he responded with his fierce attack ignoring the bare rear.
This maneuver would be doomed if the command was in the hands of Oleon, but he was at this time far reading the stories and his assistants could not figure out the situation and Kato's attack took them by surprise.
The initiative was in his hands again and this time he took possession of it firmly and already seriously threatened the troops of Oleon with complete defeat.
When this was reported to Oleon, he was enraged: "They can not do anything without me. Kato is as simple as a tree, you have an ax in your hands and you can not cut it down. I will show you how this is done, since you have not learned so far, although you are always near me."
Oleon took command on himself again.
However, now the magic of his presence did not work. Kato achieved a strategic initiative in all areas and due to this he was simply calm and now by all the rules. He was waiting for an imminent victory.
Oleon tried to change the situation with a few extravagant maneuvers, but they did not change anything in the overall picture of the fight.
Then Oleon realized that defeat was inevitable and this thought terrified him. He rushed into the thick of the battle and fought like an ordinary soldier, soon he was cut down by a sword.
Kato celebrated the victory in this amazing battle - it was the brightest victory in his life.
Oleon went down in history as one of the greatest generals of his time. Many called him even the greatest, but he never achieved the glory of Alexander the Great. This is the story of Oleon.
And the meaning of the legend is clear: the one who speaks about his own greatness forgets about the greatness of the deed which alone makes him great.
Hope you enjoyed!
photo: pixabay.com