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Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
 
 
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Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 lyrical
Lyric poetry

Lyric poetry refers to a usually short poem that expresses personal feelings, which may or may not be set to music. Aristotle, in Poetics , contrasted lyric poetry with drama and epic poetry....
 poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
 Horace
Horace

This article is about the Roman poet Horace. For other uses, see Horace .Quintus Horatius Flaccus, , known in the English language world as Horace, was the leading Roman Empire Lyric poetry during the time of Augustus....
's Odes (iii 2.13). The line can be rendered in English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 as: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.", "It is noble and glorious to die for your mother country." or "It is beautiful and honorable to die for your mother country." In classical Latin
Classical Latin

Classical Latin is the form of the Latin used by the ancient Rome in what is usually regarded as "classical" Latin literature. Its use spanned the Golden Age of Latin literature—broadly the 1st century BC and the early 1st century AD—possibly extending to the Silver Age—broadly the 1st and 2nd centuries....
 it was pronounced, "dulcet decorest pro patria mori," due to poetic elision
Elision

Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for euphony effect....
 and prodelision
Prodelision

Prodelision is a form of elision in which the latter word loses its first vowels....
.

The line has been commonplace in modern times throughout Europe.






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Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 lyrical
Lyric poetry

Lyric poetry refers to a usually short poem that expresses personal feelings, which may or may not be set to music. Aristotle, in Poetics , contrasted lyric poetry with drama and epic poetry....
 poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
 Horace
Horace

This article is about the Roman poet Horace. For other uses, see Horace .Quintus Horatius Flaccus, , known in the English language world as Horace, was the leading Roman Empire Lyric poetry during the time of Augustus....
's Odes (iii 2.13). The line can be rendered in English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 as: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.", "It is noble and glorious to die for your mother country." or "It is beautiful and honorable to die for your mother country." In classical Latin
Classical Latin

Classical Latin is the form of the Latin used by the ancient Rome in what is usually regarded as "classical" Latin literature. Its use spanned the Golden Age of Latin literature—broadly the 1st century BC and the early 1st century AD—possibly extending to the Silver Age—broadly the 1st and 2nd centuries....
 it was pronounced, "dulcet decorest pro patria mori," due to poetic elision
Elision

Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for euphony effect....
 and prodelision
Prodelision

Prodelision is a form of elision in which the latter word loses its first vowels....
.

The line has been commonplace in modern times throughout Europe. It was quoted by Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat

Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat , Scottish Jacobitism, chief of Clan Fraser, was famous for his violent feuding and his changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the House of Stuart claim on the crown of Scotland....
 immediately before his beheading on Tower Hill, London in 1747. It was much quoted in reference to the British Empire
English nationalism

English nationalism refers to a nationalism outlook or political stance applied to England. In a general sense, it promotes England, as a focus for patriotic sentiment and national identity....
 in the 19th century, particularly during the Boer War
Second Boer War

The Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902, between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Fre...
.

"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, sed dulcius pro patria vivere, et dulcissimum pro patria bibere. Ergo, bibamus pro salute patriae" In English this is rendered as: "It is sweet to die for the homeland, but it is sweeter to live for the homeland, and the sweetest to drink for it. Therefore, let us drink to the health of the homeland." It was a frequent 19th century students' toast.

Uses in art and literature

  • Perhaps the most famous modern use of the phrase is as the title of a poem, "Dulce Et Decorum Est
    Dulce et Decorum Est

    "Dulce et Decorum Est" is a poem written by England soldier and poet Wilfred Owen in 1917, during the World War I, and published posthumously in 1920....
    ", by British
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
     poet Wilfred Owen
    Wilfred Owen

    Wilfred Edward Salter Owen Military Cross was an England poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the World War I. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of Trench warfare and Poison gas in World War I warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and sat in stark contrast to both the publ...
     during World War I
    World War I

    World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
    . Owen's poem describes a gas attack during World War I and is one of his many anti-war poems that were not published until after the war ended. In the final lines of the poem, the Horatian phrase is described as "the old Lie." It is believed that Owen intended to dedicate the poem ironically to Jessie Pope
    Jessie Pope

    Jessie Pope was an England poet, writer and journalism best known for her patriotism motivational poems published during World War I. Wilfred Owen directed his poem Dulce et Decorum Est at Pope, whose literary reputation has faded into relative obscurity as the works of war poets such as Owen and Siegfried Sassoon grew....
    , a popular writer who glorified the war and recruited "laddies" who "longed to charge and shoot" in simplistically patriotic poems like "The Call."
  • "Died some, pro patria, non 'dulce' non 'et decor'..." from part IV of Ezra Pound's 'Hugh Selwyn Mauberley', a damning inditment of WW1; "Daring as never before, wastage as never before."


  • "Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori" is the ending of an unreleased Regina Spektor
    Regina Spektor

    Regina Spektor is a Russia-born American singer-songwriter and piano. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village, Manhattan....
     song, which includes the phrase in the second verse.
  • The quote appears in "A Drinking Song", from The Divine Comedy
    The Divine Comedy (band)

    The Divine Comedy are a pop music from Northern Ireland fronted by Neil Hannon....
    's 1994 album Promenade
    Promenade (album)

    Promenade is The Divine Comedy 's third album. It was released in 1994 on Setanta Records to much critical acclaim but little commercial success....
    .
  • British rock group Kasabian inserted the line at the end of their video for "Empire
    Empire (song)

    "Empire" is a song by England rock band Kasabian and is the title track for their second album, Empire . It was released 24 July 2006 as the lead single from that album on CD single ....
    "; it follows a portrayal of their lead singer being shot, by a military officer, in front of a firing squad for obvious mutiny.
  • In a school essay German playwright Bertolt Brecht
    Bertolt Brecht

    was a Germany poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the Twentieth-century theatre, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and Theatre, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble?the post-war theatre company operated by Brec...
     referred to the phrase as "Zweckpropaganda" (cheap propaganda for a specific cause) and pointed out, that "It is sweeter and more fitting to live for one's country.".
  • The film Johnny Got His Gun
    Johnny Got His Gun (film)

    Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 anti-war film based on Johnny Got His Gun written and directed by Dalton Trumbo and starring Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards, and Donald Sutherland....
     ends with this saying, along with casualty statistics since World War I.
  • In his book And No Birds Sang, chronicling his service in Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
     with the Canadian army during the second World War
    World War II

    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
    , Farley Mowat
    Farley Mowat

    Farley McGill Mowat Order of Canada, Bachelor of Arts, D.Litt is a conservationist and one of Canada most widely-read authors.Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist....
     quotes Wilfred Owen
    Wilfred Owen

    Wilfred Edward Salter Owen Military Cross was an England poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the World War I. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of Trench warfare and Poison gas in World War I warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and sat in stark contrast to both the publ...
    's poem on the opening pages and addresses "the Old Lie" in the final section of the book.
  • 'Dulce Et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)' is a track on Days In Europa
    Days in Europa

    Days in Europa was The Skids's controversial 1979 second album. Initially released with an "Aryan race" album cover reminiscent of the 1936 Summer Olympics, complete with Germanic Blackletter-style lettering, this was quickly withdrawn and a new cover designed....
    , an album by Scottish band The Skids
    The Skids

    The Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and New Wave music band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson ....
    . The line 'dulce et decorum est' is used repeatedly in the chorus of the song. Many of the songs on Days In Europa
    Days in Europa

    Days in Europa was The Skids's controversial 1979 second album. Initially released with an "Aryan race" album cover reminiscent of the 1936 Summer Olympics, complete with Germanic Blackletter-style lettering, this was quickly withdrawn and a new cover designed....
     refer to events in and imagery from both World Wars.
  • The line is quoted in Space Relations, a 1973 science fiction
    Science fiction

    Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theatre, and other media....
     novel
    Novel

    File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
     by Donald Barr
    Donald Barr

    Donald J. Barr was an academic and social activist.Barr was born in Geneva, Ohio. In 1957, Barr earned a B.S. in social and earth sciences from Miami University of Ohio, and in 1959 an M.A....
    . Found on page 252 of the Fawcett Crest version, the quote is rendered Dulce et decorum est pro patria tacere (or "It is sweet and becoming to be silent for one's country").
  • The character Mephisto from the album The Black Halo
    The Black Halo

    The Black Halo is the seventh full-length album produced by heavy metal music band Kamelot. It was released on March 15, 2005, through Steamhammer Records....
     by American power metal
    Power metal

    Power metal is a style of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with thrash metal or speed metal, often within symphonic context....
     band Kamelot
    Kamelot

    Kamelot is an United States progressive metal band from Tampa, Florida. They incorporate many elements of symphonic metal and progressive metal into their music....
     quotes this line when he loses his divine bet and is cast into Hell
    Hell

    In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
    .
  • Tim O'Brien
    Tim O'Brien (author)

    Tim O'Brien is an United States novelist who mainly writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American soldiers who fought there....
     quotes the line in the book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home.
  • It is the motto used in the launch screens of the "ACE" modded version of Armed Assault
    Armed Assault

    ArmA: Armed Assault is a Tactical shooter First-person shooter and third-person shooter which was developed by a 40 member team at Bohemia Interactive Studio , an independent game developer based in the Czech Republic....
     PC video game.
  • The John Ringo character Mike Harmon quotes the line in the Novel "Ghost" (Ringo, John (2005). Ghost. Baen. ISBN 1-4165-0905-4.)
  • The last words attributed to the Israel
    Israel

    Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
    i national hero Yosef Trumpeldor are considered to be derived from Harace's.


Use as a motto and inscription

The phrase can be found at the front entrance to the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater
Arlington Memorial Amphitheater

The Arlington Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, near the center of the Cemetery, is the home of the Tomb of the Unknowns where Unknown American Servicemembers from World War I, World War II, and Korean War are interred....
 at the Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia is a United States National Cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, The Robert E....
.
The phrase is located on the second monument of the Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery in Point Lookout, MD.

"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" is also the motto of the following organizations:
  • The Portuguese Army University (Academia Militar) ( )
  • The Royal Grammar School
    Royal Grammar School, Newcastle

    Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally as The RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England....
    , Newcastle upon Tyne
    Newcastle upon Tyne

    Newcastle upon Tyne is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, the city developed from a Roman Empire settlement called Pons Aelius, though it owes its name to the Newcastle Castle built in 1080, by Robert Curthose, the eldest son of...
     (former motto)
  • The 103rd Ground Reconnaissance Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Army
  • The Star Tribune
    Star Tribune

    The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area....
     newspaper in Minneapolis, MN
    Minnesota

    Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
  • The 10/27 Royal South Australian Regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corp adopted "Pro Patria" derived from the above line meaning "For One's Country" as their unit motto.


"Pro Patria" is also the motto of the Sri Lanka Army as well as inscribed on the collar insignia of the Royal Canadian Regiment.