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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
British writers on peace and war
Lewis Morris: Selections on war and peace
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Lewis Morris
From Helen
The glittering panoply, the bold young hearts,
Athirst for fame of war, and with the night
The broken spear, the shattered helm, the plume
Dyed red with blood, the ghastly dying face,
And nerveless limbs laid lifeless.
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From Herakles
For ever from the toilsome days I gave
To the suffering race of men. And yet, indeed,
Methinks they suffer still…
Treacheries come, and wars,
And slay them still. Vaulting ambition leaps
And falls in bloodshed still.
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From Gwen
The powers of Pain and Wrong,
Immeasurably strong,
Assail our souls, and chill with common doubt
Clear brain and heart devout:
War, Pestilence, and Famine, as of old,
The lust of the flesh, the baser lust of gold,
Vex us and harm us still…
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From The Ode of Love
Great empires fall;
The onward march of Man seems spent;
The nations rot in dull content;
The blight of war, a bitter flood,
From continent to continent,
Surges in waves of blood;
The light of knowledge sinks, the fire of thought burns low…
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