Reason of state, or amorous passion, which camp do you support in this story?

[Julie4]

I was reading a book called Horace, written in the 17th century, which speaks of patriotism and love at the same time.

To try to summarize, the action takes place at the origin of Rome, Rome and Alba, the enemy sisters, are at war to decide which one is superior and mistress of the other. As they prepare for the final battle that will bring death and despair to both sides, the king of Alba proposes to resolve the issue while limiting the damage: a clash of champions. But the tragedy of the announced carnage metamorphoses into a family tragedy, because the chosen champions - the three Horace for Rome and the three Curiace for Alba - are bound by bonds of love and marriage : Horace is married to Sabine, sister of Curiace, and Curiace is engaged to Camille, sister of Horace. the confrontation is without pity, undecided, with rebound. At the end Horace, husband of Sabine, remains alone in life and Rome is victorious. Dominated by the sorrow and the desire of revenge, Camille rejects Rome which deprives her of her happiness. Horace does not accept this betrayal and kills her. The last act tells the trial of this man who brings glory to his city but is also criminal. Does his first act prevail over the second? Tulle, the king of Rome, decides that yes, because the reason of the State can prevail in front of the injustice of a crime of blood.

The tragic conflict: The tragic conflict opposes "the impetuosity [of the passions] to the laws of the duty and to the tenderness of the blood": in Horace, the patriotic passion silences in the Roman hero not only the love for his Albanian wife Sabine and the friendship for his brothers-in-law but also the fraternal bonds since he kills his sister Camille, guilty to have wished the loss of Rome; in Curiace, love bows, with regret, in front of the patriotic duty. In this tragic conflict, provoked by an exceptional situation, the hero is divided between a passion and his duty, and it is the duty which prevails.

[Sixgunsound]

Most Roman art and drama places duty to the state over everything else. It is a system of indoctrination that the citizens are mere tools of the state and have no value beyond what the state can accomplish by using them.

[Julie4]

La c is rather the duty to the Fatherland. And it is a play that takes place in the time of Rome, but the was written in the 17th century by Pierre Corneille, this play will be very appreciated by Richelieu, lol.

[msc545]

"Patriotic duty" is code for "you have to do this horrible task so we don't have to do it ourselves".

I will take amorous passion for 500.

[Sixgunsound]

Throughout human history war is essentially rich old men sending young poor men out to die to protect the old men’s property which they have no share in from the young poor men the other side sends out to take it in the name of their rich old men, who won’t part with a share of anything their poor young men bleed and die to conquer for them. What do the people who actually fight wars get out of it besides death, dismemberment, and trauma? Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori.