Ecce Homo

By Deane Barker • • tags: fatih, latin, idiom •
“Ecce Homo” by <a href="/huh/hieronymus-bosch/" data-no-index="">Hieronymus Bosch</a>, circa 1450

“Ecce Homo” by Hieronymus Bosch, circa 1450

This means “behold the man” in Latin. It was used by Pontius Pilate when presenting Jesus to the crowds just before his execution. This moment has become common in art, as a depiction of Jesus with a crown of thorns.

Colloquially, it’s become a phrase which represents sacrifice, humility, or the basic simplicity of an unadorned human being.

The phrase is used as the title of many depictions of the moment.

Why I Looked It Up

In Why We Drive:

Perhaps suicide is a bad example to invoke, so here is another. When Captain Sully landed that airplane on the Hudson River, relying only on his hardwon skill and first-hand knowledge of airplanes, I believe the reason the whole country was electrified is that this presented a counter-image to the ideal that has been marked out for us. It was an ecce homo moment, here is a human being.

Links from this – Hieronymus Bosch January 18, 2025
This was a Dutch painter from the 1400s and 1500s. He was famous for several triptych works which depicted scenes of heaven and hell.
Links from this – Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road March 2, 2025
This is a “meditation book.” It takes a subject – cars, in this case – and offers a series of essay about them. There’s not much rhyme, reason, or thematic flow to it. It’s just a collection of writings. I felt like it meandered quite a bit – I couldn’t figure out what the author was getting at....