Once more unto the breach...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!

[haakon1]

It's Cato the Elder, and the quote is "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam." It means "Moreover, I advise that Carthage should be destroyed," and it was his version of "OD&D (1974) is the only true game." He ended all his speeches with that phrase.

I sit corrected, for I have been shamed by the famous Latin scholar ninjas of Sweden.


Salve atque vale

 

[Meloncov]

Here are two that I've wriiten for my game:

I cannot speak of paradise; the void awaits us now.
No eternal rest or ectasy exists beyond this world

But today we are alive.

The darkness reaches towords us,
But still we doth stand.

‘Til shadows break upon us
and all chance of courage is passed.

For this here is our land.

From the Aegniad

No longer can I say, your defiance can change the world.
No longer can I say; we stand here for a reason.
But as surely as I can say anything, I can say this.
This is where we will stand.

For if nothing we do means anything,
If we cannot make any difference,
Than ultimately, only what we do means anything.

Here we will make such a stand, gods and heroes
Will hear our thunder, and we shall be seen before
The gates of hell, and we shall say, “None shall pass.”

 

[StupidSmurf]

"NUTS?" some general of Army forces, i forget right now, surrounded at the Battle of the Bulge when asked to consider terms of surrender.

I'm a World War II buff. It was General Anthony MacAuliffe. The following is the German dispatch sent to the surrounded US Army in Bastogne.

"The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

The German Commander."

General MacAuliffe's response was "Nuts!"

Interestingly enough, the story continues. The dispatch was sent back to the Germans, who had no idea what "nuts!" was supposed to mean...was it a yes or a no? Here's part of the account of what happened:

At this time the Germans were acting in an arrogant and patronizing manner and Harper, who was starting to lose his temper, responded, "The reply is decidedly not affirmative." He then added that, "If you continue your foolish attack your losses will be tremendous."

Harper then put the German officers in a jeep and took them back to where the German enlisted men were detained. He then said to the German captain, "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'. And I'll tell you something else, if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city."

The German major and captain saluted very stiffly. The captain said, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then responded, "On your way Bud," he then said, "and good luck to you." Harper later told me he always regretted wishing them good luck.


For the full text, check out
http://www.thedropzone.org/europe/Bulge/kinnard.html

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

It's Cato the Elder, and the quote is "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam." It means "Moreover, I advise that Carthage should be destroyed," and it was his version of "OD&D (1974) is the only true game." He ended all his speeches with that phrase.

Darnit! I was going to mention that.

 

[diaglo]

Darnit! I was going to mention that.

i thought Bruce Lee was Cato.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

i thought Bruce Lee was Cato.

Nah - Bruce Lee was Cato the Awesome. Cato the Elder was, like, 1st Edition.

 

[Sugarmouse]

"I fear no enemy, for the Khala is our strength.
I fear not death, for our strength is eternal."

That has always summed it up nicely for me, and it is easily adapted.

 

[replicant2]

"The deeds of dead men are sung, and also the deeds of heroes who live, but never are sung the deeds of ordinary men."

-- Michael Crichton, Eaters of the Dead

"Those are brave men down there. Let's go kill them."

--Tyron Lannister in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

"Let us die in the doing of deeds for his sake; let fright itself run afraid from our shouts; let weapons measure the warrior's worth. Though life is lost, one thing will outlive us: memory sinks not beneath the mould. Till the Weird of the World stands unforgotten, high under heaven, the hero's name."

--Poul Anderson, Hrolf Kraki's Saga

"Any man, who would be a knight, and follow a king -- follow me!"

-- King Arthur, John Boorman's Excalibur

One recourse: Can't go back. Can't stay where we are. Results: Inevitable.
The idea formed.
"Let's fix bayonets," Chamberlain said.

--Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels

"We are nemesis, brothers ... We are the Almighty's right arm, God's holy agent, and no force between sea and sky may prevail against us."

-- Lysander of the Spartans, Steven Pressfield, Tides of War