On the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising, an appropriate occasion for the last part of one of my favorite rabble-rousing speeches (one which also contributed to the Rising):
“Our foes are strong and wise and wary; but, strong and wise and wary as they are, they cannot undo the miracles of God who ripens in the hearts of young men the seeds sown by the young men of a former generation. And the seeds sown by the young men of ’65 and ’67 are coming to their miraculous ripening today. Rulers and Defenders of Realms had need to be wary if they would guard against such processes. Life springs from death; and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations. The Defenders of this Realm have worked well in secret and in the open. They think that they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think that they have provided against everything; but, the fools, the fools, the fools! They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.”
From the oration by Pádraig Pearse at the grave of O'Donovan Rossa on 1 August 1915.
It never fails to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
And, as if Vietnam wasn't enough, it's a good object lesson for the Rulers and Defenders of Iraq...
That's a great piece of literature.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that.