The Warrior Ethos

The feat that inspires witnesses to honor it is almost invariably one of selflessness.

But Cyrus knew, as the proverb declares, that “soft lands make soft people.” His answer became famous throughout the world: Better to live in a rugged land and rule than to cultivate rich plains and be a slave.

Fight for this alone: the man who stands at your shoulder. He is everything, and everything is contained within him. The soldier’s prayer today on the eve of battle remains not “Lord, spare me” but “Lord, let me not prove unworthy of my brothers.”

“No, my friend,” said Alexander, setting a hand on the man’s shoulder and making him sit again. “For you are Alexander, more even than I.”

the Warrior Ethos enlists three other equally innate and powerful human impulses: Shame. Honor. And love.

Warrior cultures employ honor, along with shame, to produce courage and resolve in the hearts of their young men. Honor is the psychological salary of any elite unit. Pride is the possession of honor.

CITATIONS FOR VALOR

Once a Spartan boy stole a fox and hid it under his cloak. Some grown warriors stopped to question him on an unrelated subject. Beneath the cloak, the fox began gnawing at the youth’s belly. The boy made no sound but allowed the beast to bleed him to death, rather than cry out or reveal his deed.

In 1912, the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton was seeking volunteers for an expedition to the South Pole. He placed the following ad in the London Times: Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful; honor and recognition in case of success. The next morning,