It’s still the enemy of all mankind.
Yes, it is.
I think Andreas Gryphius, a German baroque poet who lived through the devastating Thirty Years War (1618-48), got it right in one of his most famous poems why Satan loves war so much - just read the last three lines and you know that Gryphius knew what he was talking about…(This is a translation I found on Facebook)
TEARS OF THE FATHERLAND 1636
by Andreas Gryphius (1616-1664):
So, now we are destroyed; utterly; more than utterly!
The gang of shameless peoples, the maddening music of war,
The sword fat with blood, the thundering of the guns
Have consumed our sweat and toil, exhausted our reserves.
Towers are on fire, churches turned upside down;
The town hall is in ruins, the strong cut down, destroyed.
Young girls are raped; wherever we turn our gaze,
Fire, plague, and death pierce heart and spirit through.
Here, town and ramparts run with ever-fresh streams of blood.
It’s three times six years now, since our mighty river’s flow
Was blocked almost by corpses, just barely trickling through.
Yet, I pass over in silence something more terrible than death,
More desperate even than plague, fire and famine;
That so many were bereaved of their soul’s treasure too.
And I am sorry for having forgotten to add this hope of mine:
May Lt. Bateman rest in peace with our Lord, and may He comfort his family and friends 😇✝️
Amen.
Sometimes, WAR finds you...