“There stood a man with his sword drawn, and his face all over with blood.”
Part II, Ch. XI : Mr. Valiant-For-Truth <!-- Sect. 4 -->
The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), Part II
Context: There stood a man with his sword drawn, and his face all over with blood. Then said Mr. Great-Heart, Who art thou? The man made answer, saying, I am one whose name is Valiant-for-truth. I am a pilgrim, and am going to the Celestial City.
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John Bunyan 50
English Christian writer and preacher 1628–1688Related quotes

“The worm stood straight on God's blood-splattered threshold then
and beat his drum”
Odysseus' song, Book III, line 424
The Odyssey : A Modern Sequel (1938)
Context: The worm stood straight on God's blood-splattered threshold then
and beat his drum, beat it again, and raised his throat:
'You've matched all well on earth, wine, women, bread, and song,
but why, you Murderer, must you slay our children? Why?'
God foamed with rage and raised his sword to pierce that throat,
but his old copper sword, my lads, stuck at the bone.
Then from his belt the worm drew his black-hilted sword,
rushed up and slew that old decrepit god in heaven!
And now, my gallant lads — I don't know when or how —
that worm's god-slaying sword has fallen into my hands;
I swear that from its topmost iron tip the blood still drips!

“Arms observe no bounds; nor can the wrath of the sword, once drawn, be easily checked or stayed; war delights in blood.”
arma non servant modum; nec temperari facile nec reprimi potest stricti ensis ira; bella delectat cruor.
Hercules Furens (The Madness of Hercules), lines 403-405; (Lycus).
Tragedies

The Combat. By Etty
The Troubadour (1825)

“They stood where they stood by the power of the sword.”
Book IV, 4.98-[7]
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book IV

“All wars are civil ones; for it is still man spilling his own blood, tearing out his own bowels.”
Toutes les guerres sont civiles; car c'est toujours l'homme contre l'homme qui répand son propre sang, qui déchire ses propres entrailles.
Dialogues des morts, ch. 17, cited from De l'éducation des filles, Dialogues des morts et opuscules divers (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1857) p. 149; translation from Mr. Elphingston (trans.) Dialogues of the Dead, Together with Some Fable Composed for the Education of a Prince (Glasgow: Robert and Andrew Foulis, 1754) vol. 1, p. 87. (1700).