Patriotism is the virtue which urges men to do all they can for the good of their native country. When a nation is governed by a wise and good king, patriotism and loyalty may be so closely combined that they are almost identical.
A patriotic Saxon in the reign of Alfred the Great would have found it no easy matter to distinguish between his feeling of love for his country and his loyalty to the king, who was the centre of the national life.
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But when a king appears to act in a way opposed to the best interests of the nation he governs, the distinction is easily made. No one doubts that Hampden, in opposing the demand for ship-money made by Charles I, was actuated by patriotic motives.
The virtue of patriotism is most conspicuously displayed in time of war, when it is brought into conflict with, and overcomes, the fear of death. All great nations can point with pride to illustrious patriots who willingly sacrificed their lives for their country.
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In the ancient world perhaps the Romans excelled all other nations in patriotism, at any rate in the earlier period of their history. It was chiefly by the intensity and prevalence of this virtue that they succeeded in extending their dominion over all the known world.
One of the finest illustrations of the strength of Roman patriotism is the story of Regales. This Roman general, having been captured by the Carthaginians, was sent by them to Rome with ambassadors to negotiate peace and an exchange of prisoners. It was expected that he would exert all his great influence in favour of peace, so that he might be released from captivity.
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But, as he was convinced that the interests of Rome required that the war should be continued, and that no exchange of prisoners should be made, he advised the Roman senate to refuse the offered terms, although by so doing he condemned himself to return as a captive to the city of the enemy and undergo all the cruel tortures that there awaited him.
In modern Europe the Swiss are deservedly celebrated for their patriotism. The story of William Tell is known all over the world. His contemporary, Arnold von Winkelried, deserves at least equal glory. It is related that at the battle of Sempach, the light-armed Swiss were unable to break through the serried line of Austrian spearmen.
Then Winkelried, having commended his wife and children to his country’s care, gathered as many Austrian spear points as he could into his breast, and, dying pierced with many wounds, opened a path for his countrymen into the centre of the hostile ranks.
An Indian Winkelried may be found in the annals of Rajputana. A Rajput army was besieging a fortress, and attempts were made in vain to induce an elephant to charge the gate, which was defended against such attacks by iron spikes.
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Seeing this, a brave soldier placed his body as a cushion before the gateway. The elephant then charged and burst open the hostile gate, at the same time, of course, crushing the devoted Rajput to death.
Although it is in war that patriotism is stimulated to the highest pitch of self-sacrifice, it must not be supposed that this virtue can only be displayed on the battlefield. Many men have signalized their love of country in the field of literature, as, for instance.
Burns and Scott in Scotland, Shakespeare and Milton in England, and Virgil in Italy. In fact there are few great writers who have not consecrated their genius to the glorification of their native land. Milton debated whether he should write his great epic in English.
He thought that if he used the Latin Language, he would be sure of world-wide renown, such as no English composition could be expected to obtain. But from patriotic motives he preferred to write in English, and by so doing, as it turned out, promoted his own fame as much as the honour of his native land.
Politics as well as literature may also afford a large sphere for patriotic labours. Indeed, patriotism is displayed in every branch of life. Not only great poets, statesmen, and warriors, but tillers of the soil and artisans may feel intense love of their country and do their best in their humble sphere to promote her honour and glory.
In their case any self-sacrifice that they make for their native land is even more meritorious than in the case of eminent men, because it is done without the hope of thereby obtaining for themselves personal fame.