In his well-known essay, Self-Reliance, the famous writer Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Foolish consistency is the goblin of little minds, worshiped by little statesmen, philosophers and theologians. A great soul simply has nothing to do with coherence." Simply put, the thought Emerson is conveying is that too much consistency is not necessarily a good thing. Being too consistent with something means no real effort is made. Things are done as they always have been, with no one trusting their beliefs or opinions. In fact, the overall theme of Emerson's essay is that a person should stick to what their conscience tells them and not fear what others will think. After consistency there will inevitably be negative consequences. Consistency is usually seen as a good thing, but in the real world it has been the bane of many, such as political leaders. In Sophocles' play Antigone, it seems to be about the downfall of two main characters, Creon and Antigone. Emerson's thought that coherence is senseless refers to both Creon and Antigone, as they both set their minds on something and never changed it, which in turn caused terrible misfortunes to themselves and others. First, Creon and Antigone were both consistent in sticking to their beliefs throughout. the whole play. For example, Creon maintained a firm stance towards Antigone's brother Polyneices, who was not buried because Creon felt betrayed by him. Creon states, "No, [Polynices] must be left unburied, his corpse carrion so that the birds and dogs may be torn apart, and the obscenity so that the citizens may see it!" (68). Creon was so adamant in punishing this young man that he was willing to defy the Greek tradition of burying bodies, which allowed for a proper passage to the afterlife. In a... medium of paper...you couldn't overcome their stubbornness. Ultimately, coherence proved to be the destruction of both Creon and Antigone. It almost seemed like Creon and Antigone were always at opposite ends of the spectrum. While Creon held to Greek law, Antigone held to Greek morality, and in turn, Creon was left without a family, and Antigone abandoned what little family she had left. If they had somehow found common ground, things would have been incredibly better for everyone. It was all because they were unwilling to change their beliefs. People in the real, modern world should all take a leaf out of Emerson's book. If people remain ignorant of the beliefs and traditions of others and always stick to their own, the world will never truly know peace and will spiral down a path of destruction, as was made a perfect example in Antigone..