"Let us now praise famous men"--
Men of little showing--
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continues,
Greater then their knowing!
Western wind and open surge
Took us from our mothers--
Flung us on a naked shore
(Twelve bleak houses by the shore.
Seven summers by the shore! )
'Mid two hundred brothers.
There we met with famous men
Set in office o'er us;
And they beat on us with rods--
Faithfully with many rods--
Daily beat us on with rods,
For the love they bore us!
Out of Egypt unto Troy--
Over Himalaya--
Far and sure our bands have gone--
Hy-Brazil or Babylon,
Islands of the Southern Run,
And Cities of Cathaia!
And we all praise famous men--
Ancients of the College;
For they taught us common sense--
Tried to teach us common sense--
Truth and God's Own Common Sense,
Which is more than knowledge!
Each degree of Latitude
Strung about Creation
Seeth one or more of us
(Of one muster each of us),
Diligent in that he does,
Keen in his vocation.
This we learned from famous men,
Knowing not its uses,
When they showed, in daily work--
Man must finish off his work--
Right or wrong, his daily work--
And without excuses.
Servant of the Staff and chain,
Mine and fuse and grapnel--
Some, before the face of Kings,
Stand before the face of Kings;
Bearing gifts to divers Kings--
Gifts of case and shrapnel.
This we learned from famous men
Teaching in our borders,
Who declared it was best,
Safest, easiest, and best--
Expeditious, wise, and best--
To obey your orders.
Some beneath the further stars
Bear the greater burden:
Set to serve the lands they rule,
(Save he serve no man may rule ),
Serve and love the lands they rule;
Seeking praise nor guerdon.
This we learned from famous men,
Knowing not we learned it.
Only, as the years went by--
Lonely, as the years went by--
Far from help as years went by,
Plainer we discerned it.
Wherefore praise we famous men
From whose bays we borrow--
They that put aside To-day--
All the joys of their To-day--
And with toil of their To-day
Bought for us To-morrow!
Bless and praise we famous men--
Men of little showing--
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continueth,
Great beyond their knowing!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sources of Poem
Who is the speaker in "Let us now praise famous men..."?
I. First Answer
"A poem of scorn towards British Imperialism and of private praise for those worthies accepting their empire's call to arms against the unworthies of liberty who inadvertantly surplanted one kind of oppression (national) for another kind of oppression (international). Especially as this poem relates to Kipling's loss of his son in World War I accompanied by his disillusionment with war and his later work in the criticism and construction of international peace communication against Isolationism, Bolshevism (Communism), and the promotion of classic liberal (political) ideals of reconstruction and reconciliation between nations." - r.e. slater
II. Second Answer
It comes from Ecclesiasticus - a.k.a. Sirach - a book included in the Biblical Apocrypha by some denomations of Christianity. The speaker is Ben Sira, the nominal author (or maybe compiler).
III. Third (Best) Answer:
The anthem originates in the Apocrypha, Sirach [or Ecclesiasticus] 44:1. The author is given in the text as "Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem." This is not, of course, Jesus of Nazareth. The names Jesus and Joshua can be used interchangeably, depending on dialect; another source gives "Simon, son of Joshua, son of Eleazar ben Sira" (1).
Here is the anthem as it begins in the Apocrypha. Portions were transferred from the Apocrypha into the English Book of Common Prayer.
Sirach 44:
1: Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us.
2: The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through his great power from the beginning.
3: Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and declaring prophecies:
4: Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent are their instructions:
5: Such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing:
6: Rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations:
7: All these were honoured in their generations, and were the glory of their times.
8: There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported.
9: And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them.
10: But these were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.
11: With their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance, and their children are within the covenant.
12: Their seed standeth fast, and their children for their sakes.
13: Their seed shall remain for ever, and their glory shall not be blotted out.
14: Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.
15: The people will tell of their wisdom, and the congregation will shew forth their praise. (2)
Kipling prefaced "Stalky & Co." with his own version, which is a school song. As such it would be sung by the student body:
"Let us now praise famous men"--
Men of little showing--
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Greater than their knowing.
Western wind and open surge
Tore us from our mothers;
Flung us on a naked shore
(Twelve bleak houses by the shore!
Seven summers by the shore!)
'Mid two hundred brothers.
There we met with famous men
Set in office o'er us.
And they beat on us with rods--
Faithfully with many rods--
Daily beat us on with rods--
For the love they bore us!
Out of Egypt unto Troy--
Over Himalaya--
Far and sure our bands have gone--
Hy-Brasil or Babylon,
Islands of the Southern Run,
And cities of Cathaia!
And we all praise famous men--
Ancients of the College;
For they taught us common sense---
Tried to teach us common sense--
Truth and God's Own Common Sense
Which is more than knowledge!
Each degree of Latitude
Strung about Creation
Seeth one (or more) of us,
(Of one muster all of us--
Of one master all of us--)
Keen in his vocation.
This we learned from famous men
Knowing not its uses
When they showed in daily work
Man must finish off his work--
Right or wrong, his daily work--
And without excuses.
Servants of the staff and chain,
Mine and fuse and grapnel--
Some before the face of Kings,
Stand before the face of Kings;
Bearing gifts to divers Kings--
Gifts of Case and Shrapnel.
This we learned from famous men
Teaching in our borders.
Who declare'd it was best,
Safest, easiest and best--
Expeditious, wise and best--
To obey your orders.
Some beneath the further stars
Bear the greater burden.
Set to serve the lands they rule,
(Save he serve no man may rule)
Serve and love the lands they rule;
Seeking praise nor guerdon.
This we learned from famous men
Knowing not we learned it.
Only, as the years went by--
Lonely, as the years went by--
Far from help as years went by
Plainer we discerned it.
Wherefore praise we famous men
Prom whose bays we borrow--
They that put aside Today--
All the joys of their Today--
And with toil of their Today
Bought for us Tomorrow!
Bless and praise we famous men
Men of little showing!
For their work continueth
And their work continueth
Broad and deep continueth
Great beyond their knowing! (3)
Source(s):
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Biography of Rudyard Kipling
30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936
Poetry Foundation Excerpt
"Kipling wrote many other works during the periods that he produced his children's classics. He was actively involved in the Boer War in South Africa as a war correspondent, and in 1917 he was assigned the post of 'Honorary Literary Advisor' to the Imperial War Graves Commission—the same year that his son John, who had been missing in action for two years, was confirmed dead. In his last years, explains O'Toole, he became even more withdrawn and bitter, losing much of his audience because of his unpopular political views—such as compulsory military service—and a "cruelty and desire for vengeance [in his writings] that his detractors detested." Modern critical opinions, O'Toole continues, "are contradictory because Kipling was a man of contradictions. He had enormous sympathy for the lower classes ... yet distrusted all forms of democratic government." He declined awards offered him by his own government, yet accepted others from foreign nations. He finally succumbed to a painful illness early in 1936. "He remains an intriguing personality and writer," O'Toole explains, and "for all his limitations," declares Blackburn, "he was a gifted and courageous and honest man.""
Wikipedia Excerpts
Devon
By September 1896, the Kiplings were in
Torquay,
Devon, on the southwestern coast of England, in a hillside home overlooking the
English Channel. Although Kipling did not much care for his new house, whose design, he claimed, left its occupants feeling dispirited and gloomy, he managed to remain productive and socially active.
[17]
Kipling was now a famous man, and in the previous two or three years, had increasingly been making political pronouncements in his writings. The Kiplings had welcomed their first son,
John, in August 1897. Kipling had begun work on two poems, "
Recessional" (1897) and "
The White Man's Burden" (1899) which were to create controversy when published. Regarded by some as anthems for enlightened and duty-bound empire-building (that captured the mood of the
Victorian age), the poems equally were regarded by others as propaganda for brazenfaced
imperialism and its attendant racial attitudes; still others saw irony in the poems and warnings of the perils of empire.
[17]
Take up the White Man's burden—
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
—The White Man's Burden
[42]
There was also foreboding in the poems, a sense that all could yet come to naught.[43]
Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet.
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
A prolific writer during his time in Torquay, he also wrote Stalky & Co., a collection of
school stories (born of his experience at the
United Services College in
Westward Ho!) whose juvenile protagonists displayed a know-it-all, cynical outlook on patriotism and authority. According to his family, Kipling enjoyed reading aloud stories from Stalky & Co. to them, and often went into spasms of laughter over his own jokes.
[17]
Visits to South Africa
In early 1898 the Kiplings travelled to South Africa for their winter holiday, thus beginning an annual tradition which (excepting the following year) was to last until 1908. They always stayed in "The Woolsack", a house on Cecil Rhodes' estate at Groote Schuur (and now a student residence for the University of Cape Town); it was within walking distance of Rhodes' mansion.[45]
With his new reputation as Poet of the Empire, Kipling was warmly received by some of the most influential politicians of the Cape Colony, including Rhodes, Sir Alfred Milner, and Leander Starr Jameson. Kipling cultivated their friendship and came to admire the men and their politics. The period 1898–1910 was crucial in the history of South Africa and included the Second Boer War (1899–1902), the ensuing peace treaty, and the 1910 formation of the Union of South Africa. Back in England, Kipling wrote poetry in support of the British cause in the Boer War and on his next visit to South Africa in early 1900, he became a correspondent for The Friend newspaper in Bloemfontein, which had been commandeered by Lord Roberts for British troops.[46]
Although his journalistic stint was to last only two weeks, it was Kipling's first work on a newspaper staff since he left The Pioneer in
Allahabad more than ten years earlier.
[17] At The Friendhe made lifelong friendships with
Perceval Landon,
H. A. Gwynne and others.
[47] He also wrote articles published more widely expressing his views on the conflict.
[48] Kipling penned an inscription for the
Honoured Dead Memorial (Siege memorial) in Kimberley.
During this period Kipling travelled throughout South Africa and told stories of these places through his poetry, such as the well known poem "Lichtenberg" which relates the story of a combatant and his journey towards death in a foreign land. Trooper Aberline’s sacrifice was to have an impact on the Boers and his legacy went far beyond his rusting cross in the Lichtenburg cemetery which lies close to that of Edith Mathews.
[49]
---
Kipling actively encouraged his young son to go to war. Kipling's son
John died in the First World War, at the
Battle of Loos in September 1915, at age 18. John had initially wanted to join the Royal Navy, but having had his application turned down after a failed medical examination due to poor eyesight, he opted to apply for military service as an Army officer. But again, his eyesight was an issue during the medical examination. In fact, he tried twice to enlist, but was rejected. His father had been lifelong friends with
Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief of the British Army, and colonel of the Irish Guards, and at Rudyard's request, John was accepted into the
Irish Guards.
[65]
He was sent to Loos two days into the battle in a reinforcement contingent. He was last seen stumbling through the mud blindly, screaming in agony after an exploding shell had ripped his face apart. A body identified as his was not found until 1992, although that identification has been challenged.
[69][70]
After his son's death, Kipling wrote, "If any question why we died/ Tell them, because our fathers lied." It is speculated that these words may reveal his feelings of guilt at his role in getting John a commission in the Irish Guards.
[71] Others such as English professor Tracy Bilsing contend that the line is referring to Kipling's disgust that British leaders failed to learn the lessons of the Boer War, and were not prepared for the struggle with Germany in 1914 with the "lie" of the "fathers" being that the British Army was prepared for any war before 1914 when it was not.
[72]
During the war, he wrote a booklet
The Fringes of the Fleet[75] containing essays and poems on various nautical subjects of the war. Some of the poems were set to music by English composer
Edward Elgar.
Kipling became friends with a French soldier whose life had been saved in the First World War when his copy of Kim, which he had in his left breast pocket, stopped a bullet. The soldier presented Kipling with the book (with bullet still embedded) and his Croix de Guerre as a token of gratitude. They continued to correspond, and when the soldier, Maurice Hammoneau, had a son, Kipling insisted on returning the book and medal.
[76]
On 1 August 1918, a poem—"The Old Volunteer"—appeared under his name in
The Times. The next day he wrote to the newspaper to disclaim authorship, and a correction appeared. Although The Times employed a private detective to investigate (and the detective appears to have suspected Kipling himself of being the author), the identity of the hoaxer was never established.
[77]
