Excerpt from Pro Patria: A Book of Patriotic Verse It was that conviction that primarily led to the compilation of this anthology. At the same time it was felt that the present time was suitable for the issue of such a collection. We are passing through a crisis in the history of civilisation, and it is fitting that the children of to-day who will be the reapers of the harvest which we, with much labour, have prepared for them, should realise something of the nature of the task and the part that every patriotic Briton must play. Here they will read of those elements in our national character which have built up a world-embracing Empire that scorns to sell its honour for petty bribes: they will see that the greatness of their land has been evolved out of the self-sacrifice, the devotion to duty and the respect for truth of her people, and they will be inspired to tread nobly, whatever the cost, in the footsteps of the heroes of yesterday. Nor need we fear the cultivation of a mere Jingoism, or, on the other hand, a vainglorious self-eleva tion and lust for blood. It is not the melancholy side of war, its devastating horrors and its inhumanity that are usually the poet's theme. The passing tribute of a sigh changes to fervid exultation over the greatness of the nature of man - a greatness that manifests itself in a thousand varied ways when danger to hearth, to children and to country is near. Such poems must be morally harmless. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.