Delphic Maxim 114: Do not boast in might

I’ve set myself the challenge of responding to each of the Delphic Maxims for 15 minutes a day.

114. Do not boast in might

From the outset, I want to explain that I think the act of ‘boasting in might’ means that a person is boasting, or being a graceless winner, from a position of strength. A person doing this would be talking about how powerful they are — it’s pretty tacky actually.

There are a number of reasons why boasting is a silly thing to do, but in my brief period of writing today, I want to focus on the strategic reason, and then on the interpersonal.

You’re probably familiar with the old saying ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’. The essence of this aphorism is that a strategic player doesn’t dominate conversations — they’re not all talk — but that they have the capability to effect change. It means that the strongest player in a game is often one of the quietest. Boasting about strength tends to give the game away: you’re revealing your hand, and it also enables other players to adjust their strategies accordingly.

At the same time as well, there’s a credibility gap when powerful agents boast about their might. Strength speaks for itself, it doesn’t require that a person proclaim it from the rooftops. The fact that a person or institution feels compelled to announce its strength suggests that it is coming from a position of weakness (even if that weakness isn’t immediately obvious — it can be sought out once the arrogant opponent begins to boast).

This maxim echoes the constant warning about hubris that we see again and again throughout Greek mythology. Overconfidence and cockiness are certain to lead to defeat, and an enemy that boasts about their strength is almost certain to be brought down (even the biblical tale of David and Goliath, predictable as that example may be, shows just how little ‘might’ can count in a strategic game).

And of course, the interpersonal domain is important to consider as well. Boasting is almost always a gross quality in a person. Just as it is a sign of weakness in a strategic context, boasting about strength is a sign of weakness of character in a personal context: if you’ve got it, you probably don’t need to tell people, it should be obvious.

It’s a bit of a character flaw we all possess — we don’t just boast in might, we boast about a lot of things. Social media has super-charged that behaviour: we ‘humble brag’ about our achievements, we present photos of ourselves in the best light, we check in at restaurants and landmarks and beautiful locations on our holidays (I am not being ironic here — I just spent three weeks doing exactly this).

This doesn’t mean every thing we say is a boast, or comes from a malicious place, or isn’t just an expression of excitement and joy — of course not. We’re perfectly entitled to keep a record of the things we do on a tool like social media, and our achievements can give ideas and inspiration to other people, or provoke conversation. It’s human to share stories about what we do!

This maxim reminds us to keep a lid on our hubris though, and to remember to keep arrogance in check. It makes us more gracious and humble people, and in the end people are more likely to remember a person of good character whose strength shines without having to tell people about it.