p. 24 | The Gift Horse

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Apr 13, 1905

The Gift Horse

ACCORDING to the story as told by Virgil, the Latin poet, the Greeks, who were besieging the city of Troy, appeared under rather suspicious circumstances to donate a huge wooden horse to the Trojans. While some protested, saying, “We fear the Greeks, even when bearing gifts,” others welcomed the apparently friendly attitude of their wily foes, and with much shouting the gift horse was drawn into the city, and then the gates were closed as securely as ever. The “real inwardness” of the donation was revealed when, under cover of darkness, the Greeks concealed within the roomy horse, sallied forth, and opened the gates to their companions in arms, who then sacked the city. The ancient Greeks and Trojans have long since passed away, and the mythical wooden horse does not openly play any important part in the affairs of men, and yet the memory of the story still lingers, and we sometimes wonder if human nature is not much the same now as in the days of Troy. Strange reflections; but these are strange times.