The Non-Combatant
Among a race high-handed, strong of heart, Sea-rovers, conquerors, builders in the waste, He had his birth; a nature too complete, Eager and doubtful, no man's soldier sworn And no man's chosen captain; born to fail, A name without an echo: yet he too Within the cloister of his narrow days Fulfilled the ancestral rites, and kept alive The eternal fire; it may be, not in vain; For out of those who dropped a downward glance Upon the weakling huddled at his prayers, Perchance some looked beyond him, and then first Beheld the glory, and what shrine it filled, And to what Spirit sacred: or perchance Some heard him chanting, though but to himself, The old heroic names: and went their way: And hummed his music on the march to death.
AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.
About this line
"Among a race high-handed, strong of heart,..."
Henry John Newbolt, Sir's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "The Non-Combatant"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...