Foe

“ From a foe that is breaking, a field that's half won?
Whoso loves not his kind, and who fears not the Lord,
Let him join that foe's service, accursed and abhorred
Let him do his base will, as the slave only can,--
Let him put on the bloodhound, and put off the Man! ”

“ Better die as warriors bold, Than be hunted, tracked and sold; Living days in misery rife, For the coward’s bounty—life! Warriors, rally to the field; Teach the lordly foe to yield; Spurn his counsels—spurn his laws; Strike alone for freedom’s cause ”

“ The old enemy, gentlemen, which your fathers hunted about these hills and dales, was visible to the eye, and could be reached with powder and ball; but the enemy whom you assault is, like the foe of human bliss which entered the garden of Eden, invisible, and therefore not to be described, and not to be destroyed by force of arms. ”

“ His wrath, his ire, his great desire to win,
Against his foe together all he bent,
And heaven and fortune furthered his intent.
XCVIII
But he, whose courage for no peril fails,
Well armed, and better hearted, scorns his power. ”

“ Very true the enemy, this potent foe that we have to contend with, we know but little about him, very little; but he is watching every avenue of the heart, rapping at every door and every window, and if there is a crevice between the clapboards, through the roof, or the brick or adobie wall, he throws a dart into the feelings of each and every individual. ”

“ And come in under yoke;
Strangers may reign, and you destroy,
What likes him by sword’s stroke.
8 A foreign foe whom neither thy force,
Nor manners do approve,
Woe is to thee, by guile and slight,
Will only win above. ”

“ Are there not men, sitting constantly at each other's tables, who, in the Golden Age, when people spoke and acted as they felt, would only have encountered at the sword's point?
If we hear that our mortal foe is ruined irretrievably, we betray no indecorous exultation, but smile complacently and say, "We are not surprised;" or, if we have the chance, give him a last push to send him over the precipice on whose brink he is staggering. ”

“ As freely as the firmament the world, So mercy must encircle friend and foe. ”

“ With my mouth I speak, and in my speech I please or beguile others: and with a little over-soft feeling, lust kindles in my flesh; and the fiend, my foe, whom I cannot see, stands ever against me with his bow bent." Therefore, if necessity make man to go into this world, where are so many stirrings to sin, with great fear shall he go, as into a battle to fight his foes. It needs [159] he be well armed against the arrows of his foe, that severely shoots at him; and the more may he dread him because he cannot see him: with foot-traps and snares is the way set full. ”

“ While yet we live, scarce one short hour perhaps, Between us two let there be peace; both joining, As joined in injuries, one enmity Against a foe by doom express assigned us, That cruel Serpent: On me exercise not Thy hatred for this misery befallen; ”

“ But if I take from thee and so bring back to life that foe, whom my comrades in discipline and battle have slain and trampled under foot, and carry him back to them, and so be the occasion of wars and lusts, then shall I verily be unto them an evil angel, which heaven forfend! ”

“ None but one,— None but yourself, who are your greatest foe. ”

“ Many at morning, as men have told me,
warriors gathered the gift-hall round,
folk-leaders faring from far and near,
840o’er wide-stretched ways, the wonder to view,
trace of the traitor. Not troublous [1] seemed
the enemy’s end to any man
who saw by the gait of the graceless foe
how the weary-hearted, away from thence,
845baffled in battle and banned, his steps
death-marked dragged to the devils’ mere. ”

“ Let not this weak, unknowing hand Presume Thy bolts to throw, And deal damnation round the land, On each I judge Thy foe. ”

“ Procne, the daughter of Pandion, King of Athens.
CHORUS Are wolves to be spared? Are they not our most mortal foes? So let us punish them.
EPOPS If they are your foes by nature, they are your friends in heart, and they come here to give you useful advice.
CHORUS Advice or a useful word from their lips, from them, the enemies of my forebears!
EPOPS The wise can often profit by the lessons of a foe, for caution is the mother of safety. 'Tis just such a thing as one will not learn from a friend and which an enemy compels you to know. ”

“ What man soever wrongs him is my foe.
I say he had full satisfaction,
Nay, that which we may call submission;
That the other sought peace first; and who denies this,
Lord, knight or gentleman: English, French or Scot,
I'll fight and prove it on him with my sword.
Fee. No, sweet Master Welltried, let's have no [115] fighting, till (as you have promised) you have rid me from this foolish fear, and taught me to endure to look upon a naked sword. ”

“ If, in your wrath, the worst of foes
You wish extremely ill; [pg 266]
Expose him to the thunder's stroke,
Or that of his own will.
What numbers, rushing down the steep
Of inclination strong,
Have perish'd in their ardent wish!
Wish ardent, ever wrong!
'Tis resignation's full reverse,
Most wrong, as it implies
Error most fatal in our choice,
Detachment from the skies.
By closing with the skies, we make
Omnipotence our own;
That done, how formidable ill's
Whole army is o'erthrown!
No longer impotent, and frail,
Ourselves above we rise:
We scarce believe ourselves below! ”

“ Let me subscribe myself Yours ever and truly,—your much obliged servant. We have nothing to fear from our foes; God keeps a standing army for that service; but we have no ally against our Friends, those ruthless Vandals. ”

“ But the valiant of heart may yet know he hath ever
In his sturdiest foeman a friend.
Nevermore the proud boast or the haughty defiance;—
Without end shall His kingdom increase;
'Tis the day of all nations in Holy Alliance,
'Tis the reign of truth, justice, and peace.
Nevermore shall a nation lift sword against nation,
[Pg 53] The dominion of Hatred is o'er;
'Tis the triumph of Love, 'tis the dawn of Christ's kingdom,
They shall not learn war any more.
RECALL
Put up thy sword, O Nation, grand and strong! ”

“ Those soldiers well deserve applause,
Who combat in their country's cause;
But you for hire your lives expose,
You're paid to combat others' foes:
You die to prop some tyrant's throne,
Some tyrant to your eyes unknown ”

“ To deathless fame he loudly pleads his right,—
Just is his title,—for he will not fight:
All soldiers valour, all divines have grace,
As maids of honour beauty,—by their place:
But, when indulging on the last campaign,
His lofty terms climb o'er the hills of slain; [pg 102]
He gives the foes he slew, at each vain word,
A sweet revenge, and half absolves his sword. ”

“ Thou who hast sworn to stay
Pleading with sinners face to face
Through all their devious way:
How shall we speak to Thee, O Lord,
Or how in silence lie?
Look on us, and we are abhorred,
Turn from us, and we die.
Thy guardian fire, Thy guiding cloud,
Still let them gild our wall,
Nor be our foes and Thine allowed
To see us faint and fall.
Too oft, within this camp of Thine,
Rebellions murmurs rise;
Sin cannot bear to see Thee shine
So awful to her eyes. ”

“ Why not drink this easy physic, antidote of misery?"
[264]
"Whoso trusts, for service rendered, or fair words, an enemy,
Wakes from folly like one falling in his slumber from a tree."
"Fellow be with kindly foemen, rather than with friends unkind ”

“ Then rose those deadlier sounds that tell
When foes meet hand to hand,—
The shout, the yell, the iron clang
Of meeting spear and brand. ”

“ Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear,—but left the shield." ”

“ We hear them repeating one to another the rousing call of their leader when bidding them prepare for attack from their foes: "Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." ”

“ O shame to men! Devil with devil damned Firm concord holds; men only disagree Of creatures rational, though under hope Of heavenly grace, and, God proclaiming peace, Yet live in hatred, enmity, and strife Among themselves, and levy cruel wars Wasting the earth, each other to destroy: As if (which might induce us to accord) Man had not hellish foes enow besides, That day and night for his destruction wait! ”

“ We lead them at our pleasure against our foes, and neither man nor beast is left undevoured, if our Majesty gives the requisite permission. And when all our foes are eaten, then we return with our hosts home again. ”

“ One may be sure that each enemy in turn will descend to the oblivion that has already received so many, and can imagine these beaten foes rising from their seats to welcome the newcomer with the sad greeting: 'Art thou also become weak as we? ”

“ You shall only have foes to be hated; but not foes to be despised: you must be proud of your foes. Thus have I already taught. ”

“ A noble mind disdains to hide his head, And let his foes triumph in his overthrow. ”

“ So foes pursue, and cold allies
Mistrust me, every one:
Let me be false in others' eyes,
If faithful in my own. ”

“ Wherefore, if thou hast any heart to be wreaked of the injuries thy enemies have done thee, speed thee now, and let my misery serve thy turn, and so use it, as my service may be a benefit to the Volsces: promising thee, that I will fight with better good-will for all you, than ever I did when I was against you, knowing that they fight more valiantly, who know the force of their enemy, than such as have never proved it. ”

“ She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march to their destiny by catch-words. The armies are full of pleasant and pious folk. But they have yielded to the only enemy that matters—the enemy within. ”

“ And whether you bow down before the tyrant, or gaze trembling into the beloved's countenance, or mark down your enemy with pitiless glance, think of the eye that will grow dim, of the failing breath, the parched lips and clenched hands, the final solitude, and the brow that grows moist in the last agony.... ”

“ If we die, let the enemy kill us, let our blood fill up their cup, that the day of vengance that is coming on them may be hastened." Then he began and said, "Lord, it is thy enemies' day, hour and power; they may not be idle, but hast thou no other work for them, but to send them after us? ”

“ Then let the enemy persecute my soul, and tread my life to the ground, and lay mine Honour in the dust.
Thou that seest not as man seeth, but lookest beyond all popular appearances, searching the heart, and trying the reins, and bringing to light the hidden things of darknesse, shew thy self.
Let not my afflictions be esteemed (as with wise and godly men they cannot be) any argument as my sin, in that matter: more then their Impunity among good men is any sure token of their Innocency. ”

“ Thou knowest my case and that which hath befallen me with this unjust king, and I, Thine oppressed servant, beseech Thee, of the fulness of Thy mercy, to deliver me from the hand of this unjust king and send down on him Thy vengeance; for Thou art not unmindful of the unright of every oppressor. ”

“ When the heat of the conflict is past, turn to your Lord, and present before Him the enemy who has been attacking you, and your own frailty in resisting him, and say:—"See, O Lord, the creature of Thy bounty, which Thou hast made with Thy Hands, and redeemed with Thy Blood. ”

“ We are here, and you, my friend, have been sent here, to proclaim the Good News and to fight the enemy that is destroying these people, soul and body; and the fight is long and fierce. We need to watch and we need to pray, and to hold close communion with our King. ”