Loyalty

W., who has a keen interest in military history, is telling us about the Greek phalanx. The soldiers locked their shields together, he says to form a great defensive wall. Their spears would poke out the front. Together, loyal, they were almost invincible, says W. Of course you wouldn’t understand any of this. You’re not loyal. You know nothing of loyalty. You would break the phalanx, says W. You’d be the first one to break it.

W. admires loyalty everywhere he finds it. Take the animal kingdom. Swans! says W. They mate for life! You are the opposite of a swan, he says. Friendship means nothing to you. You’d betray me for a woman, he says. In fact, that’s what you always do. You’re always about to betray me, he says.