“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods”

— Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, book Lays of Ancient Rome

Horatius, st. 26 & 27; this quote is often truncated to read:
Lays of Ancient Rome (1842)
Context: Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods, And for the tender mother
Who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses
His baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens
Who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus
That wrought the deed of shame?"

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Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay101

British historian and Whig politician 1800–1859

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