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 is 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 is 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 555 · printed citation: Francis Quarles · subject: SOLDIERS
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.