Occupations

"Although too much of a soldier among sovereigns, no one could claim with better right to be a sovereign among soldiers."

"Yet what can they see in the longest kingly line in Europe, save that it runs back to a successful soldier?"

"A soldier is an anachronism of which we must get rid."

"When the military man approaches, the world locks up its spoons and packs off its womankind."

"Does Djilas, who is himself a writer, not know what human suffering and the human heart are? Can't he understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometers through blood and fire and death has fun with a wench or takes some trifle?"

"Sleep, soldiers! still in honored rest Your truth and valor wearing: The bravest are the tenderest,— The loving are the daring."

"Foremost captain of his time, Rich in saving common sense."

"For this is England's greatest son, He that gain'd a hundred fights, And never lost an English gun."

"Home they brought him slain with spears, They brought him home at even-fall."

"Dans ce pays-ci il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un admiral pour encourager les autres."

"Old soldiers never die; They fade away!"

"Under the tricolor, long khaki files of them Through the Étoile, down the Champs Elysées Marched, while grisettes blew their kisses to miles of them, And only the old brushed the tear stains away— Out where the crows spread their ominous pinions Shadowing France from Nancy to Fay, Singing they marched 'gainst the Kaiser's gray minions, Singing the song of boyhood at play."

"The more we work, the more we may, It makes no difference to our pay."

"Our youth has stormed the hosts of hell and won; Yet we who pay the price of their oblation Know that the greater war is just begun Which makes humanity the nations' Nation."

"Where are the boys of the old Brigade, Who fought with us side by side?"

"Oh, a strange hand writes for our dear son—O, stricken mother's soul! All swims before her eyes—flashes with black—she catches the main words only; Sentences broken—gun-shot wound in the breast, cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital; At present low, but will soon be better."

"Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the rampart we hurried."

"If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England."

"Soldiers! When it is announced that a respected and beloved leader has died for our freedom in the course of the battle, do not grieve, do not lose hope! Observe that anyone who dies for his country is a fortunate man, but death takes what it wants, indiscriminately, in peace-time as well as in war. It is better to die with freedom than without it. Our fathers who have maintained our country in freedom for us have offered us their life in sacrifice; so let them be an example to you! Soldier, trader, peasant, young and old, man and woman, be united! Defend your country by helping each other! According to ancient custom, the women will stand in defence of their country by giving encouragement to the soldier and by caring for the wounded. Although Italy is doing everything possible to disunite us, whether Christian or Muslim we will unitedly resist. shelter and our shield is God. May our attackers' new weapons not deflect you from your thoughts which are dedicated to your defence of Ethiopia's freedom. Your King who speaks to you today will at that time be in your midst, prepared to shed his blood for the liberty of Ethiopia."

"The patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth."

"Oh, it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, go away'; But it's 'Thank you, Mister Atkins', when the band begins to play— The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play, Oh, it's 'Thank you, Mister Atkins,' when the band begins to play."

"Honor to the Soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause—honor to him, only less than to him, who braves, for the common good, the storms of heaven and the storms of battle."

"This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier."

"I have every confidence in the ultimate success of our joint cause; but success in modern war requires something more than courage and a willingness to die: it requires careful preparation. This means the furnishing of sufficient troops and sufficient material to meet the known strength of a potential enemy. No general can make something out of nothing. My success or failure will depend primarily upon the resources which the respective governments place at my disposal. My faith in them is complete. In any event I shall do my best. I shall keep the soldier's faith."

"Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

"The soldier, above all other men, is required to perform the highest act of religious teaching—sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when He created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instincts can take the place of the divine annunciation and spiritual uplift which will alone sustain him."

"An atheist could not be as great a military leader as one who is not an atheist."

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

"Our God and Souldiers we alike adore, Ev'n at the Brink of danger; not before: After deliverance, both alike required; Our God's forgotten, and our Souldiers slighted."

"So, as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants."

"These endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace."

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God."

"Military service is likely to be a positive occupational experience for most individuals, instilling feelings of honor, accomplishment, contributing to society, and having a sense of mission. Many military personnel may feel like they are part of a greater cause for their country and that they are helping to protect their family. In fact, feelings of pride about serving in the military have been found to exhibit significant negative correlations with a variety of negative outcomes (e.g., depression) in individuals involved in peacekeeping missions (Orsillo et al., 1998). Veterans of World War II and the Korean War reported that combat experience taught them how to cope with adversity and be self-disciplined, and it also instilled feelings of greater independence and broader perspectives on life (Elder & Clipp, 1989). One review found that most veterans of war and peacekeeping reported more positive than negative effects of theater experience, and that those who viewed the combat as having an overall positive meaning (i.e., a good cause) also reported better psychological adjustment (Schok et al., 2008). There is also evidence that many Vietnam veterans reported high levels of life satisfaction and attainment (Vogt et al., 2004), including occupational attainment. Yet, this same study also found that these positive effects of military service were attenuated by exposure to combat, wartime atrocities, perceived threats, and malevolent environments."

"For many individuals who experience feelings of positive contribution while serving in the military, a return from combat or discharge from the military may result in experiencing feelings of loss of purpose or perceived burdensomeness. While on the front lines or in the military, the individual may have felt a greater purpose; but, once discharged, the individual may feel like he or she has nothing more to contribute, or that he or she is a drain on society because of disabling injuries or other adjustment difficulties (Brenner et al., 2008). One study found that excessive motivation to excel in the Army was an important risk factor for completed suicide among soldiers who experienced combat (Bodner, Ben-Artzi, & Kaplan, 2006), suggesting that perhaps these same individuals were experiencing greater feelings of failure or perceived burdensomeness at the time of their deaths. Perceptions of burdensomeness may be particularly increased if one abandons or is expelled from the military. One study of veteran Finnish peacekeepers found that those who did not complete their service commitment due to premature repatriation had increased suicide risk relative to those who completed their service (Ponteva et al., 2000). In another study, a psychological autopsy of soldiers who died by suicide found that involuntary repatriation was a significant risk factor for completed suicide (Thoresen et al., 2006). In a related note, military personnel who develop mental disorders have significantly higher than average rates of attrition from the military (Hoge et al., 2002). There is also some evidence that legal problems, misconduct, unauthorized absences, and substance use problems may mediate the relationship between psychological illness and early attrition from the military (Hoge et al., 2005)."

"One study found that military personnel are more likely to report “attitudinal barriers,” such as concerns about being seen as weak or that unit leadership would treat them differently, to seeking out mental health services, rather than “structural barriers,” such as the cost of health care (Hoge et al., 2004). Military personnel experiencing symptoms of PTSD may also experience increased feelings of being a burden on the military. One study of OIF veterans found that those with PTSD (approximately 16% of the sample) reported more sick call visits, more missed workdays, and more problems with physical health (Hoge et al., 2007). Furthermore, approximately one third of the homeless population consists of military veterans (Gamache, Rosenheck, & Tessler, 2003), a situation that may further increase perceived burdensomeness on family and/or society."

"Military experience may increase suicidal behavior, primarily due to the painful and provocative situations resulting from combat, which may increase acquired capability and enhance one’s ability to inflict lethal self-injury. Combat exposure may also result in feelings of thwarted belongingness and increased feelings of being a burden on others. When all three of these components are present, an individual’s suicide risk is likely to be high. Suicide in the military is a complex phenomenon, but using the IPTS framework may help improve the situation for some of our nation’s most valuable resources and the families of those who serve."

"Sonny: They're saps! Because they risk their lives for strangers."

"Jenny: You keep insisting you're not a soldier, but look at you, drawing up strategies like a proper general."

"When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties … they lead their country by a short route to chaos."

"Statesmanship […] must consider first the fortunes of the common people. No statesman has a right to risk these fortunes unless he be reasonably assured of success."

"It is strange so great a statesman should Be so sublime a poet."

"But a good patriot, and a true politician, always considers how he shall make the most of the existing materials of his country. A disposition, to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Everything else is vulgar in the conception, perilous in the execution."

"Learn to think imperially."

"La cordiale entente qui existe entre le gouvernement français et celui de la Grande-Bretagne."

"Si l'on n'a pas de meilleurs moyen de sèduction a lui offrir, l'entente cordiale nous paraît fort compromise."

"No statesman e'er will find it worth his pains To tax our labours and excise our brains."

"The people of the two nations [French and English] must be brought into mutual dependence by the supply of each other's wants. There is no other way of counteracting the antagonism of language and race. It is God's own method of producing an entente cordiale, and no other plan is worth a farthing."

"The truth is, gentlemen, a statesman is the creature of his age, the child of circumstances, the creation of his times. A statesman is essentially a practical character ; and when he is called upon to take office, he is not to inquire what his opinions might or might not have been upon this or that subject he is only to ascertain the needful, and the beneficial, and the most feasible manner in which affairs are to be carried on. I laugh, therefore, at the objections against a man, that, at a former period of his career, he advocated a policy different to his present one."

"I have the courage of my opinions, but I have not the temerity to give a political blank cheque to Lord Salisbury."

"Gli ambasciadori sono l'occhio e l'orecchio degli stati."