Your recent article on the difficulty President Obama is having persuading other nations to support a U.S. attack on Syria is the current retelling of Homer's "Iliad," in which two proud men have a foolish quarrel and many must die as a result ("Obama feels a chill in Russia," Sept 6).

Sadly, as Benjamin Franklin wrote, experience is a dear teacher, but some will learn from no other.

Professional schools' curriculums must include the classics because that is where to learn to understand how people respond to stress.

James Lefter, Bel Air