W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
There will always be men who from malice or for money will betray their kith and kin and there will always be men who, from love of adventure or a sense of duty, will risk a shameful death to secure information valuable to their country.
W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965, British Writer, Preface to Ashendon; or, The British Agent, 1928
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Joseph Addison had earlier written of such a situation. Recent research has strongly suggested that Hale may never have said these words. The American patriots wanted to have heroes and may not have been too worried about the documentation and historical research. See {621112}
Ataturk was a young major at the time commanding troops of a weak and corrupt Ottoman regime. However a combined English and French (the strongest military powers in Europe) invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula threatened to capture the Turkish capital, Constantinople. Ataturk alone rallied the Turkish defenders and fought the invaders to a standoff in long drawn out battle with huge casualties on both sides. Ataturk became a national hero. Although Ataturk thereafter was very reluctant to use military force or endanger troops, the thing he always thought worth the supreme sacrifice (including his own) was the independence and sovereignty of the nation. See {584502} for his continuing belief in this type of sacrifice.
Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Compare Nathan Hale's last words.
Recipient of the National Security Medal
Harrison, then a young Captain, was concerned about the French, British and Spanish agents "plotting" in the United States:
He had been mortally wounded in battle and asked the Duc de Bourbon to prop him up against a tree facing the enemy. Then enemy army was French also but abandoned the cause of the French King to fight with the more powerful Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. He was only going to die, but the enemy would remain traitors for ever. This was typical of the code of the Knights of which he is sometimes referred to as the Last of the Knights.
William Somerset Maugham CH was an English playwright, novelist, and short-story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.
