"... Thoughtful people throughout the ancient Mediterranean world gave great attention to [pathos] because they recognized that the emotions were inextricably linked to proper conduct. From both a theoretical and a practical standpoint, to speak of virtue without giving due attention to the emotions was as impossible as it was inconceivable ... In his Rhetoric, Aristotle affirms that “becoming angry is the opposite of becoming mild, and anger of mildness,” and he defines “making mild as the quieting and appeasing of anger” (Rhetoric 2.3.1–2). Centuries later, Ignatius of Antioch was still making that same inverse correlation between anger and mildness, advising the Christ-believers in Ephesus to “be mild in the face of their [adversaries’] angry outbursts” (Epistle to the Ephesians 10.2). From this perspective, the discussion of anger in Matthew 5:21-22 should be viewed as thematically picking up the beatitude of Matthew 5:5, (“Blessed are the meek”). As is well known, that beatitude is formed on the basis of Psalm 37:11 and its promise that “the meek will inherit the earth.” ..."