Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes
Why you should be careful with gifts
After a nine-year war on the beaches of Troy between the Danaans (mainland Greeks) and the Trojans, the greek seer Calchas convinced the leaders of the Greek army to win the war by means of subterfuge. The plan was to build a huge wooden horse and sail away from Troy as if in defeat. Meanwhile, the horse contained a team of handpicked greek warriors hidden in its wooden belly. The Trojan priest, Laocoön, suspecting that some menace was hidden in the horse, warned the Trojans not to accept the gift, crying, Equō nē crēdite, Teucīr! Quidquid id est, timeō danaōs et dōna ferentis. (“Do not trust the horse, Trojans! whatever it is, I fear the Danaans, even when bearing gifts.”)
Immediately after Laocoön proclaimed his warning, he threw a spear at the horse, piercing its side; the groan from the greek warriors hidden inside would surely have alerted the Trojans to the trick if the gods had not already ordained Troy’s destruction. Soon after Laocoön cast his spear, enormous twin serpents slithered out of the sea and attacked his sons. When he tried to help them, he too was viciously slain. The Trojans, blinded by their desire to claim the horse as a war trophy, interpreted Laocoön’s death as a sign of the gods’ validation.
The Trojans unanimously agreed to place the horse atop wheels and roll it through their impenetrable walls as the prize of their victory; festivities soon followed. As previously planned, the Greeks hidden inside the horse snuck out and opened the city gates to their entire army which had sailed back to Troy under the cover of darkness. The Greeks sacked the city and Troy was destroyed.
The art of deception has been practiced throughout history. The legendary military general and philosopher, Sun Tzu, once said “all warfare is deception.” The use of gifts to achieve this purpose (of deception) has been and is still widely utilized.
Interestingly, the trojan horse in computer systems disguises itself as legitimate software. Once executed on the victim’s computer, it causes havoc while benefiting the cyber-attacker. Of course, the trojan horse would originally look like a gift — an innocuous gift so to speak, given to relieve the gullible user of the burden of paying for the original software. In the quest to play smart and save money, the user ends up losing more money and/or information to the modern-day Danaan ( the cyber-attacker).
A maneuver in chess also got its name from the subterfuge applied in the battle at Troy. Called ‘the greek gift sacrifice’, a bishop’s sacrifice for a pawn is made to look absurd for the casual player and spectator. However, immediately the sacrifice is accepted, the checkmate usually follows. Other times, what follows is the loss of the queen (a very valuable piece in chess) for the side that accepted the bishop-sacrifice.
The world often encourages people to be benevolent. Why then, should people be afraid of receiving gifts? After all, if people give, others must be willing to receive. Gifts are as controversial as they are amazing. They have led as much to the upliftment of others as they have led to the downfalls of people, even nations. Averell Harriman, the US ambassador to Russia in 1945 was presented with a gift from the Russians. A beautifully wooden carve of the Great Seal of the US was irresistible to the ambassador who fixed it just behind his seat at the embassy. Unknown to him, the next seven years would see Russia eavesdrop on everything he discussed in his office. Wherever the enemy cannot reach, gifts are often dependable.
I think the way we view gifts can be better; instead of looking at the valuables, maybe we should look at the person — the giver. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson that said:
“…rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself”.
Gifts should be seen as a portion of the giver; they should reflect the values, already known virtues, and established friendly disposition of the person giving it. When we look towards the person, the purpose of gifts becomes clearer.
When should we be wary of gifts?
In reality, when we are gifted with what we are in dire need of, we often focus on the gift and embrace it without considering its intentions. The reality of the trojan horse in our possession may then appear too late for any damage control. This brings the question about when we should be careful.
Consider the timing
Maybe if the Trojans had considered the timing of the gift, they would have realized that it was just a trap. Both sides were still in the middle of a war, there was no trace of any dead Greek by the shore and yet there was a gift. The Trojan’s vanity prevailed over reason and they became victims of the enemy’s trap. Whenever we receive a gift, we should consider its timing. Are we in the middle of a negotiation with the giver? Is he trying to buy leverage? Are we currently competing with the giver in some way? If there is no clear winner yet, why is he giving me the gift now? Why can’t he wait till I win? The time a gift is given will most often tell us a lot about the gift.
Don’t overlook the size
The Trojan horse was magnificent and bigger than anything the people of Troy had seen before. Sadly, they were flattered and then deceived by the enormity. The size of a gift should ideally be commensurate to what the gift is celebrating. Whenever the gift breathes flattery, we should be wary. One of the easiest ways to destroy people is to first flatter them. Praise is good, but flattery is hideous. If we receive a gift that is bigger than we expect with our right hand, carefulness should be on our left.
Know the person giving the gift
I don’t think I need to even talk about this. We can be forgiven if we receive gifts from friends with negligence, even if it leads to our ruin. However, receiving gifts from known enemies with negligence is dangerous. Be sure of the person giving you the present. Is he a friend? Has he been your enemy? If you have doubts, be careful.
As we go through life, we will continue to realize that gifts are indispensable. They are invaluable resources that are necessary to win sides, ameliorate lives, celebrate victories and even bring down enemies. Gifts are useful tools but can be dangerous too.
When we receive, we must not forget to be careful.
Thanks for reading.