Posted on 11/11/2004 4:35:58 AM PST by Clive
Westmoreland:
O! that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work today.
King Henry:
"What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England;
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me,
For the best hope I have. O! do not wish one more:
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian':
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did this day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remebered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentleman in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
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Bump!
Thank you! Even though I 'knew it was coming', when Kenneth Branagh (sp?) did this, I thought it was the best I'd ever heard. Gives me chills to even think about it.
A fitting tribute on Veterans' Day.
Thank you for posting it.
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I have his audio of the Samuel Pepys diaries. By the end it seemed like Pepys himself was reading them to me. Very good actor.
Tis not due yet; I would be loath to pay him before his day. What need I be so forward with him that calls not on me? Well, 'tis no matter; honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? how then? Can honour set to a leg? no: or an arm? no: or take away the grief of a wound? no.
Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? no. What is honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what is that honour? air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? he that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? no. Doth he hear it? no. 'Tis insensible, then. Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? no. Why? detraction will not suffer it.
Therefore I'll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon: and so ends my catechism.
Thanks so much for this. My old Dad, gone these four years now, would recite this to me on "Armistice Day" every year when I was a child. Tears in my eyes and all that!
I agree.....capital job that was done by Branaugh....
I believe Billy Bob Thornton is on the record saying that "Shakespeare is crap" -- so, I guess King Henry's speech isn't as good as it appears to be. Right?
Let those liberals who want to immigrate to Canada or New Zealand go... I will always be proud to serve my country. And I am proud of the men and women serving to protect my freedom now.
God Bless all of our troops, and may honor be granted to those troops who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
Excellent post, and a sincere THANKS!
If you don't understand it I cannot explain it to you. You either get it or you don't. Shakespeare used a lot more words and made it a very moving moment. The Sioux, in typical fashion kept it short and sweet.
bookmark
Today let me remember
John and Mark, Joshua and George and James and Edward
who fought to free us from England,
Henry and another Edward
who fought them the second time around,
And any others whose names were lost.
Later, when blood between brothers grew cold,
then hot,
there was Gilbert, and Hugh, and William and Solomon,
Francis, John, Hiram,
The McCarley boys, the Byars cousins and others,
some who lived to tell the tale and didn't.
There was George who fought in Cuba,
And then when Europe called,
William answered the call, and spilled blood at St. Etienne,
saving others while wounded,
including the man who was the brother
of his wife to be, Earl,
later his son would serve once again
when the trumpet of war sounded,
and one of his cousins bled and died
on the beaches at Normandy.
Julian too, answered the call,
and saw Europe through,
and Korea and Vietnam.
To him add Dale and Jack and Warren,
Veterans all.
This is how our country was shaped,
by those who rose to answer the call.
Let us never forget their sacrifice.
One of my favorite movies with this in it is "Rennaisance Man".
A wonderful example of how the arts can contribute to our society.
Ping.............
};o)
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