Hubris

An Anniversary Anthem

Sanford Rose banner

. . . young men die because old men lie.”—By Sanford Rose

Dolors & Sense

By Sanford Rose

Soldiers Grave
Soldiers’ grave.

Sanford Rose

KISSIMMEE Florida—(Weekly Hubris)—6/30/2014—William Norman Ewer wrote little poetry. The British journalist (1885-1976) was chiefly known for his doggerel, the most famous example of which is “How odd of God to choose the Jews.” (A Jewish wag retorted: “Not odd of God. Goyim annoy ‘im.”)

But during the Great War of 1914-1918, Ewer was moved to compose these lines, the most poignant I’ve ever read about any war. In all conflicts, young men die because old men lie. And that’s no doggerel.

Five Souls

   First Soul

I was a peasant of the Polish plain;

I left my plough because the message ran:—

Russia, in danger, needed every man

To save her from the Teuton; and was slain.

I gave my life for freedom—This I know 

For those who bade me fight had told me so.

   Second Soul

I was a Tyrolese, a mountaineer;

I gladly left my mountain home to fight

Against the brutal treacherous Muscovite;

And died in Poland on a Cossack spear.

I gave my life for freedom—This I know 

For those who bade me fight had told me so.

   Third Soul

I worked in Lyons at my weaver’s loom,

When suddenly the Prussian despot hurled

His felon blow at France and at the world;

Then I went forth to Belgium and my doom.

I gave my life for freedom—This I know 

For those who bade me fight had told me so.

   Fourth Soul

I owned a vineyard by the wooded Main,

Until the Fatherland, begirt by foes

Lusting her downfall, called me, and I rose

Swift to the call—and died in far Lorraine.

I gave my life for freedom—This I know 

For those who bade me fight had told me so.

   Fifth Soul

I worked in a great shipyard by the Clyde;

There came a sudden word of wars declared,

Of Belgium, peaceful, helpless, unprepared,

Asking our aid: I joined the ranks, and died.

I gave my life for freedom—This I know 

For those who bade me fight had told me so.

Sanford Rose, of New Jersey and Florida, served as Associate Editor of Fortune Magazine from 1968 till 1972; Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972; Senior Editor of Fortune between 1972 and 1979; and Associate Editor, Financial Editor and Senior Columnist of American Banker newspaper between 1979 and 1991. From 1991 till 2001, Rose worked as a consultant in the banking industry and a professional ghost writer in the field of finance. He has also taught as an adjunct professor of banking at Columbia University and an adjunct instructor of economics at New York University. He states that he left gainful employment in 2001 to concentrate on gain-less investing. (A lifelong photo-phobe, Rose also claims that the head shot accompanying his Weekly Hubris columns is not his own, but belongs, instead, to a skilled woodworker residing in South Carolina.)

2 Comments