quote · Legacy record
Thy life’s a warfare, thou a soldier art, Satan’s thy foeman, and a faithful heart Thy two-edged weapon, patience thy shield, Heaven is thy chieftain, and the world thy field. To be afraid to die, or wish for death, Are words and passions of despairing breath: Who doth the first, the day doth faintly yield; And who the second, basely flies the field.
Thy life’s a warfare, thou a soldier art, Satan’s thy foeman, and a faithful heart Thy two-edged weapon, patience thy shield, Heaven is thy chieftain, and the world thy field. To be afraid to die, or wish for death, Are words and passions of despairing breath: Who doth the first, the day doth faintly yield; And who the second, basely flies the field.
Approximate author period: c. 1618 AD · renaissance
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Francis Quarles
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1618 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint (1592–1644)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 355 · printed citation: Quarles · subject: LIFE
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.