Warrior

“ Soon from within a man of years, The warrior father, slow appears; Tall, rigid—firm of step and eye, That speaks of sage, or prophecy; A head, by nature bald, or shorn, A look of care, but not forlorn— A simple spear is in his hand; With brow upraised, and gesture bland, He stands beside the cavern way, With silent gaze, that seems to say, Come friend—come foe—ye still shall find A proud, resolved, unbroken mind, That oft hath tried the battle blade, Or set the deadly ambuscade; That neither shuns, nor seeks to die, That will not stoop, and will not fly. ”

“ The next day every warrior returns with a scalp, the trophy of his valor, and the youth, to whose wisdom in council they owe the victory, assembles all the people and announces that his mission is fulfilled. He is about to leave the earth. He has repeated to them his father’s instructions. They have learned all the arts of war, and know how to take the scalps of their enemies. He has taught them the song and the dance, and bids them forget not to die like warriors, in battle or at the stake. ”

“ With fixed eyes the fearless warrior hurled his pointed javelins in every direction as he rushed thundering on—sometimes making a thrust with his spear or sword, as he swept by with lightning-speed, or dragged with him for a few yards the affrighted foeman he had grasped while passing, and whose limbs those formidable weapons mangled at every turn until the dreaded Briton released his hold. ”

“ Not from brutality, but for the love of chivalry, of generous sacrifice, and the glory of championship, of tranquil strength, of modest war-battered courage, men sing of battle, and salute the 'Veray parfit, gentil knight', the Happy Warrior. ”

“ Yes, warrior! 'tis only high spirits like thine,
That teach man the generous path he may tread;
The steps of the mighty are nature's best shrine,
Where the hopes of the young and aspiring are fed.
Yes, warrior! when young hearts shall pant for the praise,
Such praise as the praise of the valiant will be,
He will think of the splendour that brighten'd thy days;—
He will think of that splendour, and imitate thee. ”

“ No doubt there is something inspiring in the spectacle of the young warrior standing there, chafing at the lists, eagerly pulling on his gauntlets, fitting on his helmet, and longing to be in the thick of the fight. ”

“ O'er which the gleaming armour pour'd the day,
When from the camp of the Philistine foes,
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Dreadful to view, a mighty warrior rose;
In the dire deeds of bleeding battle skill'd,
The monster stalks the terror of the field. ”

“ Morning, bright morning, thou art on the wave,
Where sweep the proud gallies, whose freight is the brave
The red flag is streaming—a meteor of war;
Woe to the eyes that watch for it afar!
Young warrior, the sabre is bright in thy hand,—
Why does thy dark eye yet linger on land?
The heart of the warrior should be, like his shield,
As firm in its temper, unknowing to yield. ”

“ Listen not to the voice of the crow. [AH] Hold as sacred the wife of a brother.
Strike, and fear not the shaft of the foe, for the soul of the brave is immortal.
Slay the warrior in battle, but spare the innocent babe and the mother.
Remember a promise,—beware,—let the word of a warrior be sacred
When a stranger arrives at the tee—be he friend of the band or a foeman,
Give him food; let your bounty be free; lay a robe for the guest by the lodge-fire;
Let him go to his kindred in peace, if the peace-pipe he smoke in the teepee ”

“ Today a warrior all sunbrown, When deeds of soldierly renown Are not the boast of London town, A veteran tomorrow, today a warrior, A veteran tomorrow! When at my Leonard's deeds sublime, A soldier's pulse beats double time, And grave hearts thrill as brave hearts will At tales of martial glory. I burn with flush of pride and joy, A pride unbittered by alloy, To find my boy, my darling boy, The theme of song and story, To find my darling boy The theme of song and story! ”

“ O warrior that never yet was conquered, and whose courage has never faltered in any battle, surely it were better for you to spare my life, and in return I will liberate the Fians from their enchanted bonds, which I only am able to do. ”

“ A warrior! The young blood surged hot and savage in his veins, conjured by that magic word. A warrior! To come and go as he wished, master of his own destiny, answerable to none; his achievements limited only by the measure of his own prowess. ”

“ Is there warrior who is brave? Let him rise, his land to save. Trust not time shall come again E’er to break the iron chain. Or if now ye waive the blow, Once again to strike the foe; Fate forbids it—now—’tis now! Honor calls to seal the vow. Let the legions clothed with red, Howl their pathway to the dead, Sink, or perish in the sea, But never trample on the free. Tribe that lags or lingers now Breaks the spirit-witnessed vow; Nor shall ever rise again, Lord or master of the plain. ”

“ Epic poets, in particular, represent the god of battles as a wild ungovernable warrior, who passes through the armies like a whirlwind, hurling to the ground the brave and cowardly alike; destroying chariots and helmets, and triumphing over the terrible desolation which he produces. ”

“ Train him a Shawnee brave, let him be in deer skin drest.
"When grown a warrior strong,
To feel his nation's wrong,
When he is fierce in battle, and wise in council fire,
Worthy my sword to wear,
Then with a father's care,
Let thy hand belt upon him the good sword of his sire. ”

“ The soldiers' imagination was inflamed by tales of heaven opened on the very battlefield, and the expiring warrior tended by two virgins wiping away the sweat and dust from off his face, and with the wanton graces of paradise drawing him upwards in their fond embrace. ”

“ As when, returning from the fields of death,
The warrior comes in all the pride of fame,
And seeks his dearest trophy in her smile!
Fear, for what heart but sickens at the thought
Of danger darkening round some cherish'd being! ”

“ Round their camp-fire assembled savages tell the events of the day's chase; and he among them who has done some feat of skill or agility is duly lauded. On a return from the war-path, the sagacity of the chief, and the strength or courage of this or that warrior, are the all-absorbing themes. ”

“ Just as he reached the brow the gates flew open, and the loveliest girl that ever met a sire’s embrace, rushed forth with her attendants—the sternness melted from the old warrior’s brow, as he clasped her to his bosom, before he entered the dark portal. Within that mountain fortalice long lay the Christian warrior, struggling midway between the gates of life and death ”

“ Of joys, like spring days, bright and fugitive.——
But not long in the myrtle bowers of bliss
The warrior may remain; he may not see
His laurels pine in shade, or the deep stain
Of rust upon his sword. ”

“ Now, in all fairness, I put the question to you—what warrior, after a brilliant achievement in one battle—after one glorious conquest over his foes, was content ever after to dwell in a quiet obscurity, and suffer his name to be at last almost forgotten by men, because of his very inaction? ”

“ But where, save on the battle-field, should the soldier hope to fall, and when can the dart of death be more welcome to the warrior's breast than when, falling in the arms of victory, he feels the immortal laurel wreath rest lightly on his brow? ”

“ When the warrior’s gear shall no longer be worn—
May your genius, so rich and so rare in its song,
The lives of our heroes forever prolong,
And your garlands of verse bloom bright o’er their grave,
Their honor to keep, and their memory to save. ”

“ A numerous host, in strength each armed hand
A legion; led in fight, yet leader seemed
Each warrior single as in chief, expert
When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway
Of battle, open when, and when to close
The ridges of grim war. ”

“ Princes, nobles, and knights crowded so swiftly and in such numbers to the spot where the combatants had met, that the eager populace could trace nothing but that one warrior was down and seemingly senseless, the which no one could assert. ”

“ The painful warrior famoused for fight,
After a thousand victories once foil'd,
Is from the book of honour razed quite,
And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd:
Then happy I, that love and am belov'd,
Where I may not remove nor be remov'd. ”

“ He heads his shafts with gold and shooting at his foes, Dispenses thus largesse and bounties far and wide,
Giving the wounded man wherewith to get him cure And grave-clothes unto him must in the tombs abide.
And the second:
A warrior, for the great excess of his magnificence, Both friends and foes enjoy the goods his liberal hands dispense. ”

“ The historian shows us the warrior in the hour of battle, on the field of review, or in the pomp of a military triumph; the statesman in the light of a senatorial victory, as he appears before the broad gaze of the world; the divine clad in his sacerdotal robe, at the high altar, or in the pulpit, at the moment of addressing listening crowds, and swaying the hearts of men by the fervor of his eloquence. ”

“ When a gallant gentleman with tight sleeves which proclaimed him a warrior, and a long beard of bright red thread which made him a very fierce warrior indeed, snapped his fingers and lifted up his legs, lifted them up vehemently, you knew that he was getting over a wall or mounting his horse. ”

“ No vision of the morrow's strife The warrior's dream alarms; No braying horn or screaming fife At dawn shall call to arms. Their shivered swords are red with rust; Their plumèd heads are bowed; Their haughty banner, trailed in dust, Is now their martial shroud; And plenteous funeral tears have washed The red stains from each brow; And the proud forms, by battle gashed, Are free from anguish now. The neighing troop, the flashing blade, The bugle's stirring blast, [Pg 15] The charge, the dreadful cannonade, The din and shout are passed. ”

“ The little warrior animates his soldiers and their officers with such ideas and passions as he has in himself or as he can get glimpses of from his elders or from books, creates rôles for them, and puts them through their paces and fortunes with such variety and succession as he can contrive. ”

“ It is not the first time in history that excited voices have been heard urging the warrior still panting from the fray to fling his tried weapons on the altar of peace, for they would be needed no more! ”

“ The warrior stamps the ground as if he could shake the universe. His language is often highly figurative, and he deals with the machinery of the clouds, the flight of carnivorous birds, and the influence of spiritual agencies, as if the region of space were at his command. He imagines his voice to be heard in the clouds ”

“ TO CAPTAIN H******D,
Of the 65th Regiment.
Say, Muse divine, can hostile scenes delight
The warrior's bosom in the fields of fight?
Lo! here the Christian and the hero join
With mutual grace to form the man divine. ”

“ It was the Warrior within
Who called "Awake! prepare for fight,
"Yet lose not memory in the din;
"Make of thy gentleness thy might.
"Make of thy silence words to shake
"The long-enthroned kings of earth;
"Make of thy will the force to break
"Their towers of wantonness and mirth." ”

“ My son is a warrior skilled in arrows and weapons and is always possessed of great courage.”—Oh, let the words of that lord of men be true! O chief of herd-owners, bring thou back the kine after vanquishing the Kurus, and consume thou their troops with the terrific energy of thy arrows. Do thou like a leader of elephants rushing at a herd, pierce the ranks of the foe with straight arrows of golden wings, discharged from thy bow. ”

“ But the young warrior whose brother gloried in torture, said he feared their treachery, and would not allow the chiefs of his people to fall into their hands. No, the warriors should go forth prepared for battle. He had trained them in expectation of this day, and they were ready for war and ready for victory. Then echoed the war-whoop through all the forest, and they marched in battle array to lie in wait for their enemies.
They encamped on the brow of a hill, arriving at the designated time, but the little band which was to meet them to hold a council for peace was nowhere to be seen. ”

“ The whole army joins in singing the praises of the courageous leader--
"'Hail to the sword, thanks to the bold warrior, strengthener of hearts, who deliverest thy bowmen and thy horsemen, son of Toum, subduing the land of the Hittites with thy victorious sword. Thou art King of victories; there is none like thee, a King fighting for his soldiers in the day of battle. ”

“ Now, it dawned on him in an intensely personal fashion, as it had begun already to dawn in theory, that the warrior and the artist may meet on common and compatible ground, where the fighting spirit is touched and knighted with the gentleness of chivalry. ”

“ A warrior will throw himself upon the ground, and while one friend sits on his head, and another holds his arms and prevents him from struggling, a third will scrape his chin with the shell or the broken bottle-glass till he rises, bleeding, but beardless. ”

“ Just when the fire was about to be kindled, and the spectators on the tiptoe of expectation, this young warrior, who sat composedly among the chiefs, having before prepared two fleet horses, with the necessary provisions, sprung from his seat, rushed through the crowd, loosed the victim, seized her in his arms, placed her on one of the horses, mounted the other himself, and made the utmost speed towards the nation and friends of the captive. ”

“ XVI. "'Full fifty warriors bold and true Fell as becomes the brave; And whom the arrow spared, the spear Reaped for the ravening grave. XVII. "'Friend of my youth! shall I remain When ye are gone before?' He drew the wood from out his side, And loosed the crimson gore. XVIII. "Falling, he raised his broken spear, Thrice wav'd it o'er his head, Thrice raised the warrior's cry 'revenge!'-- His soul was with the dead. XIX. "Now, one by one, the wounded braves Homeward were seen to wend, Each holding on his saddle bow A dead or dying friend. ”