There must have been a moment in time when Service was terribly important, spread across several generations
There were several like that. Another poet who was famous is totally unknown today, Sir Henry John Newbolt (June 6, 1862 - April 19, 1938). His poem, Vitae Lampada,[lamp of life], was a required recitation by English and Canadian schoolboys in the early 20th Century. It was known for the famous line from Cricket, "Play up, play up, and play the game." The schoolboys became sick of it. The key was the middle refrain.
The sand of the desert is sodden red-
Red with the wreck of the square that broke
The gatling's jammed and the colonel dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed its banks,
And England's far and Honor a name,
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks-
"Play up! Play up! And play the game!"
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