A man must always assert what is right. But, when he has done so, he must not let loose malignant, stinging taunts. The man was the sole representative of the whole army, and at their mandatehe achieved a universal benefit for his friends.

PhiloctetesAh, my winged prey, and you tribes of bright-eyed creatures held by this place in its upland pastures, leap no morein flight from your lairs, for I do not grasp in my hands those shafts which were once my strength—but now, gone, are my undoing! Roam at will now; the place has no more terrors—for you!