Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a verse by Odes , [ note 1 ] a work written in Latin by the Roman lyric poet Horácio . This line is usually translated as “it is sweet and appropriate to die for one’s own country “. TheLatin word patria , meaning the country of someone’s parents ( patres ), or ancestors , is the source of the French-speaking versionfor “country”, patrie , as well as the versionEnglish to ” patriot “, patriot – “one who loves his country”. It was used as the title for one poem of Wilfred Owen , ” Dulce et Decorum est ” in which the author describes the experiences of soldiers in the First World War .
Index
- 1Horace origin
- 2Other uses
- 3See also
- 4Notes
- 5References
- 6External links
Horace origin [ edit | edit source code ]
The poem from which the verse was extracted urges Roman citizens to develop martial skills such that the enemies of Rome , in particular the Parthian Empire , are too terrified to resist the Roman onslaught. The relevant passage says:
| Anguish amice pauperiem pati robustus acri militia puer condiscat et Parthos ferocis vexet eques metuendus hasta vitamque sub divo et trepidis agat in rebus. Illum ex moenibus hosticis matrona bellantis tyranni prospiciens et adulthood virgo suspiret, eheu, ne rudis agminum sponsus lacessat regius asperum tactu leonem, who crosses for a short time will fall. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori : mors et fugacem persequitur virum nec parcit inbellis iuventae poplitibus timidove tergo. [ 1 ] |
To suffer the difficulty with good spirits , In the most severe school of war created, Our youth must learn; let him ride and spear Make him one day the fear of the Parthians; Cold skies , heightened dangers, reinforce your life . It seems to me that I see from the ramped village Someone fighting the tyrant’s matronly wife , Some maiden , looking down in terror, – “Ah, my dear lord, untrained in the war! Don’t try the enraged spirit of that fallen lion that I see! in the distance He launches himself through atide of blood ! ” What joy for the homeland to die! The darts of death surprise even the flying feet, also did not spare the chivalry pusillanimous, The dorsal hiding or sirloin that trembles. [ 2 ] |
Other uses [ edit | edit source code ]
Wilfred Owen’s poem describes a gas attack during the First World War and was one of his many pacifist works that were not published before the conflagration ended. In the final lines of the poem, the phrase Horaciana is described as “the old lie “. [ 3 ] Due to the original copy of the poem it is believed that Owen intended to dedicate the text ironically to Jessie Pope , a popular writer who glorified war and recruited laddies ( boys ) who “longed to carry and shoot”in simplistic patriotic poems like The Call (” O Brado “). [ 4 ]
In a 1915 school essay , the German playwright Bertolt Brecht referred to the phrase as Zweckpropaganda (” inferior propaganda for a specific cause”) and pointed out that “it is sweeter and more appropriate to live for one’s own country”, being almost expelled by him act. [ 5 ]
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is the motto of the Portuguese Military Academy . [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
