They are numerous classic texts in which the patriotism of citizens is exalted, both in Greece, where they felt very superior to the rest of the world, which they call \u00abbarbaric\u00bb because they do not speak Greek but babble, as in Rome, where they also knew themselves as the dominators of the world.<\/b><\/p>\n
\n\tThey are numerous maxims, sentences, phrases that condense in a few words that patriotism <\/em>or that exalt the heroic services of exemplary citizens.<\/p>\n \n\tI will quote and comment on some of these maxims exalting patriotism.<\/p>\n \n\tCicero<\/em>, in the first of his famous Catilinariae<\/em>, speeches against Catiline<\/em>, who had tried to give a coup and to cause a revolution (a plot), pronounces the sentence in which the homeland <\/em>is presented as a mother, topical and everlasting commonplace playing with the deepest feelings of men who are always children of one mother.<\/p>\n \n\tThe homeland is the common parent of all of us<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPatria est communis ómnium parens<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tBut it should better read the whole paragraph that contextualizes the sentence, with which Cicero <\/em>invites Catiline <\/em>to abandon the city, which would be an admission of guilt on their part of the attempt to subvert the republican order and threatening his own mother.<\/p>\n \n\tCicero:<\/em> Catiline Orations,1,7,17:<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tIf your parents feared and hated you, and if you could by no means pacify them, you would, I think, depart somewhere out of their sight. Now, your country, which is the common parent of all of us, hates and fears you, and has no other opinion of you, than that you are meditating parricide in her case; and will you neither feel awe of her authority, nor deference for her judgment, nor fear of her power?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tAnd she, O Catiline, thus pleads with you, and after a manner silently speaks to you:<\/strong><\/em>… (Translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1856.)<\/p>\n \n\tsi te parentes timerent atque odissent tui neque eos ratione ulla placare posses, ut opinor, ab eorum oculis aliquo concederes. nunc te patria, quae communis est parens omnium nostrum, odit ac metuit et iam diu nihil te iudicat nisi de parricidio suo cogitare: huius tu neque auctoritatem verebere nec iudicium sequere nec vim pertimesces? [18] quae tecum, Catilina, sic agit et quodam modo tacita loquitur:…<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tIt continues the text of Cicero <\/em>in what the homeland personified as a concerned mother, talks to his cruel son Catiline<\/em>. I invite you to read this famous speech that begins with the words a thousand times quoted and with tem many students perceived at first the force of oratory:<\/p>\n \n\tWhen, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tQuo usque tándem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tIn another work Cicero <\/em>himself presents the love of the fatherland <\/em>as the conjunction of all loves that a good citizen has:<\/p>\n \n\tParents are dear; dear are children, relatives, friends; but one native land embraces all our loves<\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n \n\tCari sunt parentes, cari liberi, pripinqui, familiares; sed omnes ómnium caritates patria una complexa est<\/strong><\/em>. Cicerón, De officiis, 1,17,57( On Duties or On Obligations )<\/p>\n \n\tSo the fatherland <\/em>should be above everything, even the children, as Seneca <\/em>says in his tragedy The Trojan Women, 332<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\tA king must precede the homeland to their children<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tPraeferre Patriam liberis regem decet:<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tYou should also read the text of Cicero, now of some length, because it sufficiently illustrates us the concept of "homeland<\/em>" of a nationalist <\/em>Roman:<\/p>\n \n\tDe officiis, 1,17 (53-58)<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThen, too, there are a great many degrees of closeness or remoteness in human society. To proceed beyond the universal bond of our common humanity, there is the closer one of belonging to the same people, tribe, and tongue, by which men are very closely bound together; it is a still closer relation to be citizens of the same city-state; for fellow-citizens have much in common—forum, temples, colonnades, streets, statutes laws. Courts, rights of suffrage, to say nothing of social and friendly circles and diverse business relations with many.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tBut a sill closer social union exists between kindred. Starting with that infinite bond of union of the human race in general, the conception is now confined to a small and narrow circle.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tFor since the reproductive instinct is by Nature's gift the common possession of all living creatures, the first bond of union is that between husband and wife; the next, that between parents and children; then we find one home, with everything in common. And this is the foundation of civil government, the nursery, as it were, of the state. Then follow the bonds between brothers and sisters, and next those of first and then of second cousins; and when they can no longer be sheltered under one roof, they go out into other homes, as into colonies. Then follow between these, in turn, marriages and connections by marriage, and from these again a new stock of relations; and from this propagation and after-growth states have their beginnings. The bonds of common blood hold men fast through good-will and affection; for it means much to share in common the same family traditions, the same forms of domestic worship, and the same ancestral tombs.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tBut of all the bonds of fellowship, there is none1 more noble, none more powerful than when good men of congenial character are joined in intimate friendship; for really, if we discover in another that moral goodness on which I dwell so much, it attracts us and makes us friends to the one in whose character it seems to dwell.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tAnd while every virtue attracts us and makes us love those who seem to possess it, still justice and generosity do so most of all. Nothing, moreover, is more conducive to love and intimacy than compatibility of character in good men; for when two people have the same ideals and the same tastes, it is a natural consequence that each loves the other as himself; and the result is, as Pythagoras requires of ideal friendship, that several are united in one. \n\tBut when with a rational spirit you have surveyed1 the whole field, there is no social relation among them all more close, none more dear than that which links each one of us with our country. Parents [p. 61] are dear; dear are children, relatives, friends; but one native land embraces all our loves; and who that is true would hesitate to give his life for her, if by his death he could render her a service? So much the more execrable are those monsters who have torn their fatherland to pieces with every form of outrage and who are2 and have been3 engaged in compassing her utter destruction.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tNow, if a contrast and comparison were to be made to find out where most of our moral obligation is due, country would come first, and parents; for their services have laid us under the heaviest obligation; next come children and the whole family, who look to us alone for support and can have no other protection; finally, our kinsmen, with whom we live on good terms and with whom, for the most part, our lot is one.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tAll needful material assistance is, therefore, due first of all to those whom I have named; but intimate relationship of life and living, counsel, conversation, encouragement, comfort, and sometimes even reproof flourish best in friendships. And that friendship is sweetest which is cemented by congeniality of character. (<\/strong><\/em>An English Translation by Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913).<\/p>\n \n\t[53] 17. Gradus autem plures sunt societatis hominum. Ut enim ab illa infinita discedatur, propior est eiusdem gentis, nationis, linguae, qua maxime homines coniunguntur; interius etiam est eiusdem esse civitatis; multa enim sunt civibus inter se communia, forum, fana, porticus, viae, leges, iura: iudicia, suffragia, consuetudines praeterea et familiaritates multisque cum multis res rationesque contractae. \n\tAll the above text is synthesized by Cicero <\/em>himself in two words that express two feelings that usually turn all nationalisms in his De natura deorum 3.40, (94<\/em>):<\/p>\n \n\tFor God and country<\/em><\/strong>" or literally "for our altars and our hearths<\/em><\/strong>” or more idiomatically "for hearth and home;"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tPro aris et focis<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe whole paragraph says:<\/p>\n \n\tSo saying, Cotta ended. But Lucihus said :<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t" You have indeed made a slashing attack upon the most reverently and wisely constructed Stoic doctrine of the divine providence. But as evening is now approaching, you will assign us a day on which to make our answer to your views. For I have to fight against you on behalf of our altars and hearths, of the temples and shrines of the gods, and of the city-walls, which you as pontiffs declare to be sacred and are more careful to hedge the city round with religious ceremonies than even with fortifications ; and my conscience forbids me to abandon their cause so long as I yet can breathe."<\/strong><\/em> (Translated by H. Rackman. Loeb Classical Library)<\/p>\n \n\tQuae cum dixisset, Cotta finem. Lucilius autem “Vehementius” inquit “Cotta tu quidem invectus es in eam Stoicorum rationem quae de providentia deorum ab illis sanctissume et prudentissume constituta est. sed quoniam advesperascit, dabis nobis diem aliquem ut contra ista dicamus. est enim mihi tecum pro aris et focis certamen et pro deorum templis atque delubris proque urbis muris, quos vos pontifices sanctos esse dicitis diligentiusque urbem religione quam ipsis moenibus cingitis; quae deseri a me, dum quidem spirare potero, nefas iudico.”<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThe previous texts of Cicero <\/em>are not the result of innovative thinking, but they are the result of observation and application of basic common sense. This is certainly one of the reasons why the ancient are so near or next to us. Either they have shaped in part our thinking and our identity or the things were and are as they present threm very consistent with the common sense or common feel of men.<\/p>\n \n\tIn the read text it appears that this sense of identity is what leads to say "I love my country not because it is big but because it is mine<\/strong><\/em>," which explains many of the social and political men behavior, in that it is not reason that is imposed but the sense of identity with the group.<\/p>\n \n\tSeneca expressed brilliantly this idea. In a context in which he speaks of the value of virtue itself, regardless of the action that consists, he says in Epistles, 66.26<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\tUlysses was in as great haste to reach the rocky barren shore of Ithaca, as Agamemnn was to reach the lofty walls of Mycenae. For, no one loves his country because it is more spacious than another, but because it is his own.<\/em><\/strong> (Translation by Thomas Morell D.D.).<\/p>\n \n\t Vlixes ad Ithacae suae saxa sic properat, quemadmodum Agamemnon ad Mycenarum nobiles muros. Nemo enim patriam quia magna est amat, sed quia sua.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tIn the long previous quote Cicero <\/em>extolled even death for the benefit of the motherland<\/em>. But undoubtedly the most quoted and known sentence is that one of the Odes <\/em>of Horace, 3,2,13<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\t"It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country."<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tDulce et decorum est pro patria mori<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tBecause this Oda<\/em>, which sings and extols the virtue, value or condition of the real man<\/em>, vir<\/em>, (that's what the word virtue, virtus,<\/em> means) is not overly long, even at the risk of tiring to some readers less interested, I reproduce it fully in Latin and in translation by John Conington<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tTo suffer hardness with good cheer, \n\tAngustam amice pauperiem pati \n\tCicero <\/em>himself again, in one of the Philippicae<\/em>, speeches he gave against the triumvirate Antony<\/em> and he called "Philippics<\/em>" in a clear attempt to comparison with Demosthenes <\/em>delivered speeches against Philip of Macedon<\/em>, father of Alexander<\/em>, who seized Greece<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\t(Note: these speeches cost very expensive Cicero, but that is a matter for another time).<\/p>\n \n\tWell, in his invectives, Philippics, 14,11, 31 Cicero<\/em> says:<\/p>\n \n\tOh happy death, which, due to nature, has been paid in the cause of one's country!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tO forunata mors, quae natura debita, pro patria est potissimum reddita!<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThe debt to nature, which gives us life, is naturally death, debt until today nobody has defaulted. \n\tCicero, Philippics, 14,11 (31) et seq<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd I wish more suggestions could occur to me in the way of doing honor to those men. The two ideas which principally do occur to me, I will at all events not pass over; the one of which has reference to the everlasting glory of those bravest of men; the other may tend to mitigate the sorrow and mourning of their relations.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tI therefore give my vote, O conscript fathers, that the most honorable monument possible be erected to the soldiers of the Martial legion, and to those soldiers also who died fighting by their side. Great and incredible are the services done by this legion to the republic. This was the first legion to tear itself from the piratical band of Antonius; this was the legion which encamped at Alba; this was the legion that went over to Caesar; and it was in imitation of the conduct of this legion that the fourth legion has earned almost equal glory for its virtue. The fourth is victorious without having lost a man; some of the Martial legion fell in the very moment of victory. Oh happy death, which, due to nature, has been paid in the cause of one's country! But I consider you men born for your country; you whose very name is derived from Mars, so that the same god who begot this city for the advantage of the nations, appears to have begotten you for the advantage of this city. Death in flight is infamous; in victory glorious. In truth, Mars himself seems to select all the bravest men from the battle array. Those impious men whom you slew, shall even in the shades below pay the penalty of their parricidal treason. But you, who have poured forth your latest breath in victory, have earned an abode and place among the pious. A brief life has been allotted to us by nature; but the memory of a well-spent life is imperishable. And if that memory were no longer than this life, who would be so senseless as to strive to attain even the highest praise and glory by the most enormous labors and dangers?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tYou then have fared most admirably, being the bravest of soldiers while you lived, and now the most holy of warriors, because it will be impossible for your virtue to be buried, either through the forgetfulness of the men of the present age, or the silence of posterity, since the senate and Roman people will have raised to you an imperishable monument, I may almost say with their own hands. Many armies at various times have been great and illustrious in the Punic, and Gallic, and Italian wars; but to none of them have honors been paid of the description which are now conferred on you. And I wish that we could pay you even greater honors, since we have received from you the greatest possible services. You it was who turned aside the furious. Antonius from this city; you it was who repelled him when endeavoring to return. There shall therefore be a vast monument erected with the most sumptuous work and an inscription engraved upon it as the everlasting witness of your godlike virtue And never shall the most grateful language of all who either see or hear of your monument cease to be heard And in this manner you, in exchange for your mortal condition of life, have attained immortality<\/strong><\/em>. (Translated by C. D. Yonge, 1903)<\/p>\n \n\t11 (31) Quorum de honore utinam mihi plura in mentem venirent! Duo certe non praeteribo, quae maxime occurrunt, quorum alterum pertinet ad virorum fortissimorum gloriam sempiternam, alterum ad leniendum maerorem et luctum proximorum. \n\tUndoubtedly one of the best known texts of patriotism until to give the life for the homeland is the famous epitaph of the Spartans <\/em>at Thermopylae<\/em>, who held the powerful Persian <\/em>army while they lived . The film “300”,<\/strong> directed in 2007 by Zack Snyder<\/em>, adaptation of the comic of the same name by Frank Miller<\/em> and Lynn Varley<\/em>, has undoubtedly contributed to raising awareness the feat of Leonidas <\/em>and his fellows among a varied public.<\/p>\n \n\tCicero <\/em>cites the famous epitaph in his Tusculans, 1,42,101:<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t" At Sparta, stranger, tell that here we lie \n\tDic, hospes, Spartae, nos te hic vidisse iacentes\/ \n\tCicero praises those who face death with fortitude. In this context he recalls the action of Leonidas and the Spartans<\/em>, with two terse sentences, which today are repeated, one at the epitaph, another one that of the struggle in the shadow of Persian darts:<\/p>\n \n\tTusculan, 1,42,101<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\tBut why name commanders and those in high station, when Cato^ writes that whole legions have often gone with alacrity to places whence they had no expectation of returning ? "With like greatness of soul the Lacedaemonians fell at Thermopylae, on whom Simonides wrote :<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t" At Sparta, stranger, tell that here we lie \n\tWhat does their leader Leonidas say ? " Go on,Lacedaemonians, with a brave soul. To-day, perchance, we shall sup in the underworld."<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThis was a brave race, while the laws of Lycurgus were in full force. One of them, when a Persian enemy in a boastful strain said, " Our darts and arrows will be so thick that you cannot see the sun," replied, " We shall fight all the better in the shade."<\/strong><\/em> (Translated by Andrew P. Peabody)<\/p>\n \tsed quid duces et principes nominem, cum legiones scribat Cato saepe alacris in eum locum profectas, unde redituras se non arbitrarentur? pari animo Lacedaemonii in Thermopylis occiderunt, in quos Simonides: \n\tThat, according to Cicero<\/em>, Cato <\/em>says, reminds me of those documentaries about the last two world wars in which we see marching to the war battalions of unhappy young with a smile that we not know if unconscious or forced. So I imagine the Roman <\/em>legions; after all the war it has not changed much beyond the destructive capacity of weapons.<\/p>\n \n\tBut already in antiquity, as we do today, very people asked what is the homeland ?<\/em>. The word obviously derives from Latin "pater, -tris" father<\/em>; therefore it means "fatherland"<\/em> and according to the Academy designates the native or adopted country to which the human being by legal, historical and emotional ties feels bound. The fatherland is thus the place or country where man was born and by extension the land which adopts you.<\/p>\n \n\tWell, many old men had to leave the area where they were born for several reasons. The Mediterranean <\/em>was a space or open sea in which ships and citizens of many cities move. Some settled in distant places; for example traders, soldiers who "served the country<\/em>" away from his people, adventurers or forced citizens by the need to look for where and how best life, convicted or forced into exile citizens … It is the same reality that has not stopped exist to this day, in which the movement and displacement of people is constant.<\/p>\n \n\tWell, these people questioned the concept of homeland<\/em>, which in its original sense condemned them to be "stateless<\/em>". At the same time, in the context of world open to all kinds of travelers, some thinkers became aware of the radical equality of all men. Two famous examples are Diogenes the Cynic<\/em> and Socrates<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tDiogenes Laertius<\/em> tells us in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book VI, 38<\/em>, on the other Diogenes,<\/em> of Sinope, the Cynic<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\tAll the curses of tragedy, he used to say, had lighted upon him. At all events he was<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tA homeless exile, to his country dead. A wanderer who begs his daily bread<\/strong><\/em> \n\tThe word used is \u1f04πολις, a-polis,<\/em> as homeless<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tDiogenes certainly feel himself uprooted from the circumstances which give particular identity to the men, no city, no home, away from home …; so it's no wonder the answer given to the frequently asked question: where are you from?<\/p>\n \n\tAnd so, in Book VI, 63:<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tAsked where he came from, he said, "I am a citizen of the world”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u1f10ρωτηθε\u1f76ς π\u1f79θεν ε\u1f34η, "κοσμοπολ\u1f77της," \u1f14φη \n\tIf this answer is authentic, the famous term "cosmopolitan<\/em>" was originated with Diogenes<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a quote from Cicero <\/em>that I offer below, also the Socrates<\/em>, when asked which country was he from, he replied that he was "inhabitant of the world<\/em>", "mundanum incolam<\/em>".<\/p>\n \n\tBut perhaps the best known and quoted phrase is that of Terence <\/em>in his comedy Heautontimorumenos: Actus I, Escaena I, v. 77<\/em>:<\/p>\n \n\tI am a man, and nothing that concerns a man do I deem a matter of indifference to me<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tHomo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tAnother strong bond of fellowship is effected by mutual interchange of kind services; and as long as these kindnesses are mutual and acceptable, those between whom they are interchanged are united by the ties of an enduring intimacy.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tArtior vero colligatio est societatis propinquorum; ab illa enim immensa societate humani generis in exiguum angustumque concluditur.
\n\t[54] Nam cum sit hoc natura commune animantium, ut habeant libidinem procreandi, prima societas in ipso coniugio est, proxima in liberis, deinde una domus, communia omnia; id autem est principium urbis et quasi seminarium rei publicae. Sequuntur fratrum coniunctiones, post consobrinorum sobrinorumque, qui cum una domo iam capi non possint, in alias domos tamquam in colonias exeunt. Sequuntur conubia et affinitates, ex quibus etiam plures propinqui; quae propagatio et suboles origo est rerum publicarum. Sanguinis autem coniunctio et benivolentia devincit homines et caritate;
\n\t[55] magnum est enim eadem habere monumenta maiorum, eisdem uti sacris, sepulcra habere communia.
\n\tSed omnium societatum nulla praestantior est, nulla firmior, quam cum viri boni moribus similes sunt familiaritate coniuncti; illud enim honestum quod saepe dicimus, etiam si in alio cernimus, tamen nos movet atque illi, in quo id inesse videtur, amicos facit.
\n\t[56] Et quamquam omnis virtus nos ad se allicit facitque, ut eos diligamus, in quibus ipsa inesse videatur, tamen iustitia et liberalitas id maxime efficit. Nihil autem est amabilius nec copulatius quam morum similitudo bonorum; in quibus enim eadem studia sunt, eaedem voluntates, in iis fit ut aeque quisque altero delectetur ac se ipso, efficiturque id, quod Pythagoras vult in amicitia, ut unus fiat ex pluribus.
\n\tMagna etiam illa communitas est, quae conficitur ex beneficiis ultro et citro datis acceptis, quae et mutua et grata dum sunt, inter quos ea sunt, firma devinciuntur societate.
\n\t[57] Sed cum omnia ratione animoque lustraris, omnium societatum nulla est gravior, nulla carior quam ea, quae cum re publica est uni cuique nostrum. Cari sunt parentes, cari liberi, propinqui, familiars, sed omnes omnium caritates patria una complexa est, pro qua quis bonus dubitet mortem oppetere, si ei sit profuturus? Quo est detestabilior istorum immanitas, qui lacerarunt omni scelere patriam et in ea funditus delenda occupati et sunt et fuerunt.
\n\t[58] Sed si contentio quaedam et comparatio fiat, quibus plurimum tribuendum sit officii, principes sint patria et parentes, quorum beneficiis maximis obligati sumus,proximi liberi totaque domus, quae spectat in nos solos neque aliud ullum potest habere perfugium, deinceps bene convenientes propinqui, quibuscum communis etiam fortuna plerumque est.
\n\tQuam ob rem necessaria praesidia vitae debentur iis maxime, quos ante dixi, vita autem victusque communis, consilia, sermones, cohortationes, consolationes, interdum etiam obiurgationes in amicitiis vigent maxime, estque ea iucundissima amicitia, quam similitudo morum coniugavit.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tIn sternest school of warfare bred,
\n\tOur youth should learn; let steed and spear
\n\tMake him one day the Parthian's dread;
\n\tCold skies, keen perils, brace his life.
\n\tMethinks I see from rampired town
\n\tSome battling tyrant's matron wife,
\n\tSome maiden, look in terror down,—
\n\t“Ah, my dear lord, untrain'd in war!
\n\tO tempt not the infuriate mood
\n\tOf that fell lion I see! from far
\n\tHe plunges through a tide of blood!“
\n\tWhat joy, for fatherland to die!
\n\tDeath's darts e'en flying feet o'ertake,
\n\tNor spare a recreant chivalry,
\n\tA back that cowers, or loins that quake.
\n\tTrue Virtue never knows defeat:
\n\tHer robes she keeps unsullied still,
\n\tNor takes, nor quits, her curule seat
\n\tTo please a people's veering will.
\n\tTrue Virtue opens heaven to worth:
\n\tShe makes the way she does not find:
\n\tThe vulgar crowd, the humid earth,
\n\tHer soaring pinion leaves behind.
\n\tSeal'd lips have blessings sure to come:
\n\tWho drags Eleusis' rite today,
\n\tThat man shall never share my home,
\n\tOr join my voyage: roofs give way
\n\tAnd boats are wreck'd: true men and thieves
\n\tNeglected Justice oft confounds:
\n\tThough Vengeance halt, she seldom leaves
\n\tThe wretch whose flying steps she hounds.<\/strong><\/em>
\n\t(Translation by John Conington, 1882)<\/p>\n
\n\trobustus acri militia puer
\n\tcondiscat et Parthos ferocis
\n\tvexet eques metuendus hasta
\n\tvitamque sub divo et trepidis agat
\n\tin rebus. illum ex moenibus hosticis
\n\tmatrona bellantis tyranni
\n\tprospiciens et adulta virgo
\n\tsuspiret “eheu, ne rudis agminum
\n\tsponsus lacessat regius asperum
\n\ttactu leonem, quem cruenta
\n\tper medias rapit ira caedes.”
\n\tdulce et decorum est pro patria mori:
\n\tmors et fugacem persequitur virum
\n\tnec parcit inbellis iuventae
\n\tpoplitibus timidoque tergo.
\n\tVirtus, repulsae nescia sordidae,
\n\tintaminatis fulget honoribus
\n\tnec sumit aut ponit securis
\n\tarbitrio popularis aurae.
\n\tVirtus, recludens inmeritis mori
\n\tcaelum, negata temptat iter via
\n\tcoetusque volgaris et udam
\n\tspernit humum fugiente penna.
\n\test et fideli tuta silentio
\n\tmerces: vetabo, qui Cereris sacrum
\n\tvolgarit arcanae, sub isdem
\n\tsit trabibus fragilemque mecum
\n\tsolvat phaselon; saepe Diespiter
\n\tneglectus incesto addidit integrum,
\n\traro antecedentem scelestum
\n\tdeseruit pede Poena claudo.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tI also offer a comprehensive text, which helps us to understand perhaps the warrior and patriotic mystique of this speech been in the Senate <\/em>on April 21 of the year 43 BC, in which Cicero<\/em> opposes lifting the "state of emergency" and claims honors for general and legionaries fighting against Marcus Antonius<\/em>, enemy of the Republic; the rhetoric of these occasions is still today very similar, as the attentive reader will appreciate:<\/p>\n
\n\t12. placet igitur mihi, patres conscripti, legionis Martiae militibus et eis qui una pugnantes occiderint monumentum fieri quam amplissimum. Magna atque incredibilia sunt in rem publicam huius merita legionis. haec se prima latrocinio abrupit Antoni; haec tenuit Albam; haec se ad Caesarem contulit; hanc imitata quarta legio parem virtutis gloriam consecuta est. quarta victrix desiderat neminem: ex Martia non nulli in ipsa victoria conciderunt. O fortunata mors quae naturae debita pro patria est potissimum reddita! [32] vos vero patriae natos iudico; quorum etiam nomen a Marte est, ut idem deus urbem hanc gentibus, vos huic urbi genuisse videatur. in fuga foeda mors est; in victoria gloriosa. etenim Mars ipse ex acie fortissimum quemque pignerari solet. illi igitur impii quos occidistis etiam ad inferos poenas parricidi luent; vos vero qui extremum spiritum in victoria effudistis piorum estis sedem et locum consecuti. brevis a natura vita nobis data est; at memoria bene redditae vitae sempiterna. quae si non esset longior quam haec vita, quis esset tam amens qui maximis laboribus et periculis ad summam laudem gloriamque contenderet? actum igitur praeclare vobiscum, [33] fortissimi, dum vixistis, nunc vero etiam sanctissimi milites, quod vestra virtus neque oblivione eorum qui nunc sunt nec reticentia posterorum sepulta esse poterit, cum vobis immortale monumentum suis paene manibus senatus populusque Romanus exstruxerit. multi saepe exercitus Punicis, Gallicis, Italicis bellis clari et magni fuerunt, nec tamen ullis tale genus honoris tributum est. atque utinam maiora possemus, quando quidem a vobis maxima accepimus! vos ab urbe furentem Antonium avertistis; vos redire molientem reppulistis. erit igitur exstructa moles opere magnifico incisaeque litterae, divinae virtutis testes sempiternae, numquamque de vobis eorum qui aut videbunt vestrum monumentum aut audient gratissimus sermo conticescet. ita pro mortali condicione vitae immortalitatem estis consecuti.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tin loyal service to our fatherland."<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tdum sanctis patriae legibus obequimur.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tIn loyal service to our fatherland."<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n\tDic, hospes, Spartae nos te hic vidisse iacentis,
\n\tDum sanctis patriae legibus obsequimur.
\n\tquid ille dux Leonidas dicit? “pergite animo forti, Lacedaemonii, hodie apud inferos fortasse cenabimus.” fuit haec gens fortis, dum Lycurgi leges vigebant. e quibus unus, cum Perses hostis in conloquio dixisset glorians: “solem prae iaculorum multitudine et sagittarum non videbitis”, “in umbra igitur” inquit “pugnabimus.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\t(translated by Robert Drew Hicks)<\/p>\n
\n\t(erotezeís pózen eie, “kosmopolítes” éfe)<\/p>\n