About Heroes

Our first heroes like Perseus and Heracles were not our own. They were fathered by gods and guided by goddesses. They could do anything and they could not be defeated.

Then there came heroes that belonged not to the gods but to us alone. We puffed them out of campfire smoke. They had either magic powers of a boy who became a king by pulling a sword from a stone, or superb skills of an outlaw who could thread a needle with an arrow. They showed us how we could be better than human.

What we have now instead of heroes are role models, men and women who have achieved a great deal in their lives, whose list of achievements is long and proud and all too real. But role models aren't heroes. They're people like you and me, people we could aspire to become, people not without weaknesses.

And that's the trouble. Having role models we can become is dangerous. It means we could achieve this goal one day. It means we could be done.

In our minds, being "done" is equivalent to death. You're finished. You're over. You've got nothing left to give. We don't want to be finished, so when we dream we aspire to be things we know we cannot possibly achieve: rock stars, superheroes, fictional characters whose every move is perfection.

We need our heroes back. We need to aspire to become something greater than human. We need to remember that though we are only human, we can be more.

The poet Robert Browning said that a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Heroes are what we reach for.

Notes on the Text

1. Perseus: 珀尔修斯，也译作帕尔修斯，是希腊神话中的英雄，同时也是著名星座英仙座的来源。珀尔修斯是主神宙斯（Zeus）和达那厄（Danaë）之子，他杀死了蛇发女妖美杜莎（Medusa），并从海怪手中救出了安德洛墨达（Andromeda）。

2. Heracles: 赫拉克勒斯，希腊神话中最伟大的英雄，又名海格力斯。赫拉克勒斯是主神宙斯与阿尔克墨涅（Alcmene）之子。他神勇无比、力大无穷，完成了12项被誉为“不可能完成”的任务。赫拉克勒斯英明一世，最终却遭小人迫害，难耐痛苦而自焚身亡，死后升入奥林匹斯圣山，成为大力神。

3.role model: 榜样，模范。所谓榜样，是指其行为或成功经历容易被公众，尤其是年轻人所模仿的人。“榜样”一词由社会学家罗伯特· K ·莫顿（Robert K. Merton）所创。他认为，任何个体都有这样一种倾向——将身居自己所希望成为的社会角色的人与自身做比较，最常见的例子就是粉丝对体育明星或艺人的追捧。

4.It means we could be done. 这意味着我们的人生完满了。   It means that we could finish what we want to do; it means that we could accomplish our goal.

5. Robert Browning: 罗伯特·勃朗宁（1812—1889），英国诗人、剧作家。勃朗宁是维多利亚时期的代表诗人之一，其主要作品有《戏剧抒情诗》（Dramatic Lyrics）、《剧中人物》（Dramatic Personae）、《指环与书》（The Ring and the Book）等。他以精细入微的心理探索独步诗坛，对20世纪英美诗歌产生了重要影响。