We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
Rudyard KiplingRead
Gentleman-rankers out on the spree, damned from here to Eternity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggles and the disillusionment faced by soldiers and those living on society's fringes.
Rudyard Kipling's quote highlights the plight of 'gentleman-rankers', which refers to soldiers of noble birth who find themselves at odds with their social status. The phrase 'damned from here to Eternity' encapsulates their sense of hopelessness and the burdens they bear, suggesting a life of suffering and discontent that extends beyond death into eternity.
Themes
SoldiersStruggleDisillusionmentEternityHopelessness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the sacrifices made by soldiers during war.
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I keep six honest serving men.
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
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Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
Rudyard KiplingRead
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