Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” is a line of the Roman poet Horace, from Odes 3.2. The First World War poet Wilfred Owen later used it as the title of one of his poems, which is why searches for the phrase often return Owen first. The Latin is Horace’s.

Morī, “to die”, is the subject of est, and dulce and decōrum are predicate adjectives. The sentence does not stop at the famous words: it goes on to say that death pursues the man who flees as well. The box below shows the whole sentence.

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Horace · Odes 3.2

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Dulcesweetdecōrumhonorable
Carmina, the Odes of Horace: cover

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