There is a word from the ancient Greeks that might explain why some, perhaps many, Singaporeans have turned from being very appreciative of the Government's valiant effort in containing the pandemic last year to feeling let down by its failure to prevent the entry of the B1617 variant from India. It is thumos.

Sometimes spelt as thymos, the term does not lend itself to easy translation. Scholars writing in English have translated it - poorly, some say - as "spirit" or "spiritedness" which together with "reason" and "emotion" form the three parts of a person's soul, according to Greek mythology.