ABOVE THE BATTLE

ROMAIN ROLLAND

I

O young men that shed your blood with so generous a joy for the starving earth!

O heroism of the world!

O young men of all nations, brought by a common ideal into conflict which makes enemies of those who should be brothers, all of you, marching to your death, are dear to me!

O friends, may nothing mar your joy! Whatever fate has in store, you have risen to the pinnacle of earthly life.

Conquerors or conquered, living or dead, rejoice!
You are doing your duty; but have others done theirs?

II

A great nation assailed by war has not only its frontiers to protect: it must also protect its good sense.

It must protect itself from the deceptions, injustices and follies which the plague lets loose.

To each his part-to the armies the protection of the soil of their native land, to the thinkers the defence of its thought.

If they subordinate that thought to the passions of the people, they betray the spirit which is not the least part of a people's patrimony.

Even in time of war it remains a crime for (men) to compromise the integrity of their thought.

1 Reprinted by permission of Romain Rolland's publishers, The Open Court Publishing Co., from "Above the Battle."

It is shameful to see it serving the passion of a childish, monstrous policy of race.

Come, friends! Let us make a stand! Can we not resist this contagion?

Shall love of country flourish only through hatred of other countries?

No! Love of my country does not demand that I shall hate noble souls who also love theirs.

Rather does it demand that I shall honour them, and seek to unite with them for our common good.

O ye of little faith, ye know not your moral power!

If there be risk, shall we not take it for the honour of humanity?

Carry truth in your hands. Let it be our strongest weapon. Let us fight not against our enemies, but for them.

In saving the world, let us save them too.

Let us be on our guard against hatred.

Do not destroy the future. A good, open, clean wound will heal, but do not poison it.

If we prepare for war in peace, we should also prepare for peace in war.

It is a task which seems to me not unworthy of those who, through the life of the spirit, have wider relations with the universe

This little lay church which today, more than any other, preserves its faith in the unity of human thought and believes that all men are sons of the same Father.

III

For the finer spirits of (the world) there are two dwelling places: our earthly fatherland, and that other City of God.

Of the one we are the guests, of the other the builders.

To the one let us give our lives and our faithful hearts; but neither family, friend, nor fatherland has power over the spirit.

The spirit is the light.

It is our duty to lift it above tempests, and thrust aside the clouds which threaten to obscure it,

To build higher and stronger, dominating the injustice and hatred of nations, the walls of that city wherein the souls of the whole world may assemble.

LIFE OF MY LIFE1

SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE

I

Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.

I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.

II

This is my prayer to thee, my Lord-strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows. Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.

Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.

And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will in love.

III

When the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy.

1 Reprinted by permission of Sir Rabindranath Tagore's publishers, the Macmillan Company, from " Gitanjali."

When grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song.

When my beggarly heart sits crouched shut up in a corner, break open the door, my king, and come with the ceremony of a king.

When desire blinds the heart with delusion and dust, O thou holy one, come with thy light and thy thunder.

IV

Day after day, O Lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to face. With folded hands, O Lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee face to face.

Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart shall I stand before thee face to face.

In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil and with struggle, among hurrying crowds shall I stand before thee face to face.

And when my work shall be done in this world, O King of kings, alone and speechless shall I stand before thee face to face.

V

In one salutation to thee, my God, let all my senses spread out and touch this world at thy feet.

Like a rain cloud hung low with its burden of showers, let all my mind bend down at thy door, in one-salutation to thee.

Let all my songs gather together their diverse strains into a single current and flow to a sea of silence, in one salutation to thee.

Like a flock of home-sick cranes, flying night and day back to their mountain nests, let my life take its voyage to its eternal home, in one salutation to thee.