[I]n Athens, we found the first full realization of all the essential traits that would come to define the West: fierce individuality and relentless ambition; daring exploration and invention; a yearning for discovery, for adventure, risk and glory. An insatiable curiosity about the world and the principles by which it operates, a hunger to know the mysteries of nature and grasp the secrets of the cosmos. An impatience with the notion of impossibility, chafing at all boundaries and limits, straining to peer into the depths of the unknown.
Perhaps the word that best captures the tone of Rubio’s speech is “unapologetic.” He spoke frankly as the representative of the world’s preeminent economic and military power. He knew it. So did his audience. He did not bluster. But neither did he indulge in false modesty. He had two major themes, one positive, one negative. The positive theme revolved around a salubrious spur to power, for nation-states as well as for individuals. The Greeks, Rubio noted, called it θυμός—thumos, or spiritedness. Θυμός is the energy behind the virtues of honor, courage, and ambition: the agonistic spirit to strive to be the best. What rescues θυμός from savagery is reason, which guides it to appropriate ends and suitable means.
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