If, panic-struck, you flee
When foes are at the door,
And leave the land to them,
You ne'er will see it more.
One man, entrenched, can hold
A hundred foes at bay
(Strong foes at that), therefore
In your entrenchment stay.
Therefore provide your fort
With shaft and gun; adorn
It well with moat and wall,
And store abundant corn.
Stand ever firm within,
Resolved to do or die:
So, living, earn renown;
Or dead, the starry sky.
And there is a further consideration:
The union of the weak
A powerful bully stumps:
The hostile blizzard spares
The shrubs that grow in clumps.
And single trees, though huge
And posted for defense,
May be uprooted by
The stout wind's violence.
While groves of trees, where each
Receives and gives defense,
Unitedly defy
The wind's fierce violence.
