Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes (III.2.13). The line can be translated as: "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country."
As a consequence of Wilfred Owen incorporating the phrase into his similarly titled poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est", it is now often referred to as "the Old Lie"; see below.
The poem from which the line comes exhorts Roman citizens to develop martial prowess such that the enemies of Rome, in particular the Parthians, will be too terrified to resist them. In John Conington's translation, the relevant passage reads:
A humorous elaboration of the original line was used as a toast in the 19th century: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, sed dulcius pro patria vivere, et dulcissimum pro patria bibere. Ergo, bibamus pro salute patriae." A reasonable English translation would be: "It is sweet and fitting to die for the homeland, but sweeter still to live for the homeland, and sweetest yet to drink for the homeland. So, let us drink to the health of the homeland."
Uses in art and literature
Perhaps the most famous modern use of the phrase is as the title of a poem, "Dulce et Decorum est", by British poet Wilfred Owen during World War I. Owen's poem describes a gas attack during World War I and is one of his many anti-war poems that were not published until after the war ended. In the final lines of the poem, the Horatian phrase is described as "the old lie". It is believed, and illustrated by the original copy of the poem, that Owen intended to dedicate the poem ironically to Jessie Pope, a popular writer who glorified the war and recruited "laddies" who "longed to charge and shoot" in simplistically patriotic poems like "The Call".
"Died some, pro patria, non 'dulce' non 'et decor'..." from part IV of Ezra Pound's "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley", a damning indictment of World War I; "Daring as never before, wastage as never before."
In a 1915 school essay, German playwright Bertolt Brecht referred to the phrase as Zweckpropaganda (cheap propaganda for a specific cause) and pointed out that "It is sweeter and more fitting to live for one's country," an essay for which he was nearly expelled.
The title of Damon Knight's 1955 short story "Dulcie and Decorum" is an ironic play on the first three words of the phrase; the story is about computers that induce humans to kill themselves.
The film Johnny Got His Gun ends with this saying, along with casualty statistics since World War I.
In the film All Quiet on the Western Front a teacher quotes this early on while talking to his class.
In his book And No Birds Sang, chronicling his service in Italy with the Canadian army during World War II, Farley Mowat quotes Wilfred Owen's poem on the opening pages and addresses "the Old Lie" in the final section of the book.
Tim O'Brien quotes the line in the book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home.
In Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, the Tarleton brothers are buried under a tombstone which bears the phrase.
The last words attributed to the Israeli national hero Yosef Trumpeldor - "It is good to die for our country" (טוב למות בעד ארצנו) - are considered to be derived from Horace's, and were a frequently used Zionist slogan in the early 20th century.
In Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life after the outbreak of World War I, adolescent Eugene, encouraged by his teacher, Margaret Leonard, devours stories of wartime courage (R. Brooke's "If I Should die..." and R. Hanky's A Student in Arms), and fueled by these stories, composes his own, to the ever-present literary-referenced commentary by Wolfe.
Karl Marlantes' novel Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War features a mock-mass between Mellas and others, in which the line is satirically quoted.
The British rock band Kasabian posts the quote at the end of the music video for their song, Empire.
The British rock band The Damned released a single named In Dulce Decorum in 1987.
American band Kamelot quotes the line in the song Memento Mori, from their seventh album, The Black Halo.
British folk-metal band Skyclad uses the quote in the song Jeopardy, in their album, The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea.
The British dark cabaret act The Tiger Lillies include a song called "Dulce et Decorum Est" in the album "A Dream Turns Sour" from 2014. This is a reading of the Wilfred Owen poem with music written by Martyn Jacques.
Use as a motto and inscription
Brazil
The phrase can be found at the Monument to the Expeditionary (Monumento ao Expedicionário) in Alegrete city, state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Canada
It appears on a bronze plaque bearing the names of Canadian soldiers lost from the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada during World War I and World War II at Central Memorial High School's front entrance
Cuba
The phrase was prominently inscribed in a large bronze tablet commemorating Cuban patriot Calixto García Iniguez, Major-General of the Spanish–American War. The tablet was erected by the Masons where he died at the Raleigh Hotel in Washington, D.C. Today, this tablet resides at the private residence of one of Gen. García's direct descendants.
Dominican Republic
The phrase is inscribed in bronze letters above the arch of the Puerta del Conde in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
India
Found on the inscription on the French Monument in Shillong, India for the soldiers of the 26th Khasi Labour Corps who sacrificed their lives for King and Country during World War I (1917–1918).
New Zealand
It is found on the memorial archway at the entrance of Otago Boys' High School, in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Pakistan
The 'dulce et....' is written on a plaque on the left wall of main entrance of the Patiala Block, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. It is to commemorate the sacrifice given by the students and graduates of the institution who gave their lives in First World War fighting for the British Empire.
Sweden
It can be found inscribed on the outer wall of an old war fort within the Friseboda nature reserve in Sweden.
United Kingdom
In 1913, Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori was inscribed on the wall of the chapel of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
'Dulce et' is inscribed on the Parish Roll of Honour for Devoran in Cornwall, hanging in the Village Hall.
United States
The phrase can be found at the front entrance to the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater at the Arlington National Cemetery.
The phrase is carved in the monument commemorating the Battle of Wyoming (Pennsylvania) known as the Wyoming Massacre, 3 July 1778, erected 3 July 1878.
The phrase is located on the second monument of the Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery in Point Lookout, MD, and at the Confederate Cemetery in the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" is the motto of the following organizations:
The Portuguese Military Academy (Academia Militar)
The Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne (former motto)
The 103rd Ground Reconnaissance Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Army
The 10/27 Royal South Australian Regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps adopted "Pro Patria" derived from the above line meaning "For One's Country" as their unit motto.
The shorter phrase "Pro Patria" ("for the homeland") may or may be not related to the Horace quote:
The phrase "Pro Patria" is the motto of the Higgins or O'Huigan clan.
"Pro Patria" is also the motto of the Sri Lanka Army as well as being inscribed on the collar insignia of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
Pro Patria is the name of a neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela.
