The Feast of St. Crispian (Vanity)

The Life of Henry V, Act Four, Scene III ^ | March 19, 2003 | William Shakespeare

[section9]

WESTMORELAND
O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING HENRY V
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 the day is named,
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 that 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 remember'd;
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 gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[section9]

Of all the passages from Shakespeare's collected works, I have always believed the battle oration from Henry V to be the most inspiring.

On the eve of conflict, then, I ask you all to read these words and take them to heart, and remember that without honor, glory is but a lie.

Think of our men and women, and those of our Australian and British comrades-in-arms. They are our best. They go forward to consign a great evil to the memory of man. May God bless them, and keep them.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Sending it to my kids bump.

[sangoo]

"Thats great! Thats our kind of stuff"

[Az Joe]

Great speech. If you saw the movie, it is a stirring moment.
Kenneth Braugnah (?) as King Harry

[breakem]

directed and starred in at the age of 25, ala Lawrence Olivier

[onedoug]

"...But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim...."

Inspirational. Thanks.

[tet68]

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.

Those last lines are what angers me most about Bill Clinton,Coward.

God Bless our nation.
History is written before our eyes tonight.

[StarfireIV]

That passage still sends shivers up and down my spine.

[PatrickHenry]

We were just discussing this a couple of days ago.

[Norman Conquest]

IF there were any gentlemen in France...
And IF they had any manhood worth holding ...

Gentlemen in France now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[MattAMiller]

I believe this was read to the troops before they departed for D-Day.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Semper Fi, Chris!

[PJ-Comix]

If you saw the movie, it is a stirring moment. Kenneth Braugnah (?) as King Harry

He gave the BEST delivery of that speech.

[Liberal Classic]

Incidentially, a defeat of the French. Semper Fi!

[gridlock]

Once more into the breach...

It never hurts to remind the French of Agincort on a day like today...

[longshadow]

We were just discussing this a couple of days ago.

Indeed we were.

Brannagh's performance of this scene is about as good as acting ever gets.

This scene alone is worth the cost of renting the video.

[Little Bill]

One of the best pieces of language ever written.

[JohnGalt]

Angloshpere bump.

[antonz]

Thanks for the fine words.

[Maeve]

My grandfather used to recite this speech to us. Your posting it brings back many, many happy memories. Thank you very much.