Who Said ‘Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori’?

Let’s begin this week with a straightforward poetry question. Which poet gave us the quotation, ‘ dulce et decorum est pro patria mori ’? The war poet Wilfred Owen has made these words resonate with new meaning in the last century, but we owe the line to a much older, very different poet. Meaning ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ is a Latin phrase that translates to ‘it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country’. The word patria is the root of our term patriotic , literally meaning ‘fatherland’, derived from the Latin word pater , meaning ‘father’. The word ‘decorum’ is sometimes translated as ‘honourable’ or ‘noble’, suggesting behaviour that is appropriate for a given situation. In modern English, something described as decorous is fitting or proper for the occasion. Interestingly, the verb decorate , though often associated with home improvements, also carries a more specialized meaning – to decorate someone with medals for honourable conduct. This usage underscores the connection t…