Admetus and Brexit

As the March 29 deadline for an agreement on Britain's exit from the European Union approaches, it becomes ever more incomprehensible that a people with such a great history can persist with such a destructive course without anyone else imposing it upon them. Not even the most fervent Brexit supporter can deny that in the best of circumstances, with the conclusion of a deal, the consequences will be very far from those promised by the exodus's propagandists.

In his "Alcestis," Euripides argues that sometimes when we seek thoughtlessly to maintain what we have we may destroy the very thing that we cling to. When the god Apollo gives King Admetus the opportunity to find someone to die in his place, the king first approaches his father and mother to sacrifice themselves; when they refuse, he turns to his wife, Alcestis. She agrees to in his place. But Admetus soon understands...