Ch 6
A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959), Fiat Homo
Context: It was said that God, in order to test mankind which had become swelled with pride as in the time of Noah, had commanded the wise men of that age, among them the Blessed Leibowitz, to devise great engines of war such as had never before been upon the Earth, weapons of such might that they contained the very fires of Hell, and that God had suffered these magi to place the weapons in the hands of princes, and to say to each prince: "Only because the enemies have such a thing have we devised this for thee, in order that they may know that thou hast it also, and fear to strike. See to it, m'Lord, that thou fearest them as much as they shall now fear thee, that none may unleash this dread thing which we have wrought." But the princes, putting the words of their wise men to naught, thought each to himself: If I but strike quickly enough, and in secret, I shall destroy these others in their sleep, and there will be none to fight back; the earth shall be mine.
Such was the folly of princes, and there followed the Flame Deluge.
“A prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice.”
Variant: Variant translation: A prince who is not wise himself cannot be wisely counseled.
Source: The Prince (1513), Ch. 23; translated by W. K. Marriot
http://www.friesian.com/econ.htm
Source: Anti-Machiavel, Ch. 3 : Mixed Principalities
“Flame unto flame shall flow and be
Within thy heart and mine as one.”
By Still Waters (1906)
Context: When the lips I breathed upon
Asked for such love as equals claim
I looked where all the stars were gone
Burned in the day's immortal flame.
"Come thou like yon great dawn to me
From darkness vanquished, battles done:
Flame unto flame shall flow and be
Within thy heart and mine as one.".
Deux grands princes qui se voudroient bien entr'aymer, ne se devroient jamais voir, mais envoyer bonnes gens et sages les uns vers les autres, et ceux là les entretiendroient ou amenderoient les fautes.
Bk. I, ch. 14.
Mémoires
On the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)
Franklin D. Roosevelt had this inscribed on the mantlepiece of the State Dining Room
1800s
Inaugural Address (1989)
“I will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand.”
