|
|
[Read about the abhorrence and glorification of war in the context of the section on Chivalric viewpoints.]
War is associated with all kinds of positive values such as assertiveness, patriotism and heroism, as these quotes illustrate:
Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori
(It is sweet and meet [right] to die for one's country)
Horace
Having this day my horse, my hand, my lance
Guided so well that I obtain'd the prize,
Both by the judgment of the English eyes
And of some sent from that sweet enemy France;
Horsemen my skill in horsemanship advance,
Town folks my strength; a daintier judge applies
His praise to sleight which from good use doth rise;
Some lucky wits impute it but to chance;
Others, because of both sides I do take
My blood from them who did excel in this,
Think Nature me a man of arms did make.
How far they shot awry! The true cause is,
Stella look'd on, and from her heav'nly face
Sent forth the beams which made so fair my race.
Astrophel and Stella XLI by Sir Philip Sidney
This standard means that those who oppose war must try to do so whilst also retaining some of these virtues, otherwise they may be accused of passivity, treachery and cowardice. One way out of this paradox is to prove one is prepared to die to keep the peace. However, this leads to the question of who is the more heroic and morally superior - the one who dies fighting for his country in war, or the one who dies to prove his desire for peace?
This is the irony of war in which both fighters and peace-lovers are compelled to become martyrs to a cause, as characters in Robert Buchanan's, The shadow of the sword discover:
Then, remember, if ever that call should come to me, if ever the bloody hand should be laid upon my shoulder and the bloody finger point me forward--remember, then, what I swear now--I will resist to the last drop of my blood, to the last fibre of my flesh; though all the world should be against me, even what I loves best, I will be firm; though the Emperor himself should summon me, I will defy him. They may kill me, but they cannot make me kill...!
The shadow of the sword by Robert Buchanan
The person refusing to fight can meet fire with fire:-
What is this you tell me about a Conscription and an Emperor? I do not understand. I only know you are mad, and that my uncle there is maddest of all. You say that my name is drawn, and that I must go to be killed or to kill? I tell you only God can draw my name, and I will not stir one foot,--never, never. Hell seize your Emperor! Hell swallow up him and his Conscription! I commit him as I commit this badge you have given me--to the flame!
The shadow of the sword by Robert Buchanan
Mrs. Craik has no love for war, as she notes the discrepancy between its glory and awfulness:-
I do hate soldiers. I always did, from my youth up, till the war in the East startled everybody like a thunder-clap. What a time it was--this time two years ago! How the actual romance of each day, as set down in the newspapers, made my old romances read like mere balderdash: how the present, in its infinite piteousness, its tangible horror, and the awfulness of what they called its "glory," cast the tame past altogether into shade! Who read history then, or novels, or poetry? Who read anything but that fearful Times?"
A life for a life by Mrs. Craik. Chapter 1.
But some characters in Robert Buchanan's novel cannot see other than the glorious honour of combat, even in death:-
The great good Emperor who loves all his people like his children, who is not proud, who has shaken my uncle by the hand and called him "comrade," who would die for France, who has made her name glorious over all the world, who is adored by all save his wicked enemies--God punish them soon! He is next to God and the Virgin and God"s Son; he is a saint; he is sublime. I pray for him first every night before I sleep--for him first, and then for my uncle afterwards. If I were a man, I would fight for him. My uncle gave him his poor leg--I would give him my heart, my soul!
The shadow of the sword by Robert Buchanan. Chapter 4.
Uncle Ewen was lying quietly ... Suddenly his eyes fell upon the face of Father Rolland; now, for the first time, he recognised him, and a faint flush came into his dying face--- "A bas le Bourbon!" he cried, "VIVE L"EMPEREUR!" And with that war-cry upon his lips he drifted out to join the great bivouac of the armies of the dead.
The shadow of the sword by Robert Buchanan. Chapter 56.
[Read about the abhorrence and glorification of war in the context of the section on Chivalric viewpoints.]
Navigate this theme:- Introduction | Chivalric viewpoints | World War One | Post-war period | Further information
Page created 10 August 2004 and last updated
21 August 2004
For your literary enquiries and comments please see the Who to contact page.
Please read the general terms and conditions and about accessibility on this site, including the use of the UK government accesskeys system. Further details on ICRA labelling, visitor counts and EnrichUK may be obtained by following these external links:-
|
|