...says, when the body of his son is brought before him: "How beautiful is death when earned by virtue. Who would not be that youth? What pity is it that we can die but once to serve our country!"— George Dudley Seymour, Captain Nathan Hale, Major John Palsgrave Wyllys, A Digressive History, p. 39...

...Cato, while mourning the death of his son Marcus, say: How beautiful is death when earn'd by Virtue! Who would not be that youth? What Pity is it That we can but die once, to serve our country. This passage was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette on 7 February...

...all of heaven we have below. 54 The Campaign And those who paint 'em truest praise 'em most. 55 Goto What pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country! 56Gtto From hence, let fierce contending natlons know What dire effects from civil discord flow. 57...

...beautiful is death," Cato exclaims, "when earn'd by virtue! / Who would not be that youth [who died]? What pity is it / That we can die but once to serve our country." This sentiment greatly appealed to American patriots, and the play was often performed during the war....

...by English writers at the time. The frontispiece, after all, features a quote from Addison's Cato: "What pity is it, That we can die but once to serve our country." shifting alliances bespoke the imminent resumption of hostilities, causing Frederick pre-emptively...

...in America during the Revolutionary period. Washington had it performed at Valley Forge.34 The line "What pity is it / That we can die but once to serve our country! " may have been the source of the famous exclamation attributed to Patrick Henry. For Washington, the...

...for my country." Hale was paraphrasing a popular English essayist, Joseph Addison, who wrote, "What a pity is it that we can die but once to serve our country." Male's bravery made him a hero. In this engraving an artist imagines the scene, with British Major...

...of the people. What object more pleasing than this can be presented to the human mind? SAMUEL ADAMS What pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country. JOSEPH ADDISON Love of country is like love of woman — he loves her best who seeks to bestow on her...

...Addison's Cato, the great model for American Whigs: How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue! Who would not be that youth? What pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country. British officers were moved by Nathan Hale's "gentle dignity," even as they left his body dangling...

...resemble those spoken by Cato as this paragon of Roman republicanism greets the corpse of his son Marcus: "What pity is it/ that we can die but once to serve our country!" (1V.iv.81 -82 )?-S It is easy to conclude that Addison's play fascinated American readers and audiences....