Serbia in Light and Darkness: With Preface by the Archbishop of Canterbury, (1916)Velimirović, Nikolaj
History
Serbia in Light and Darkness: With Preface by the Archbishop of Canterbury, (1916)
Velimirović, Nikolaj
Proverbs, Serbian; Serbia; Serbian poetry -- Translations into English
If England is doing anything right she doubtless is doing right in
mobilising all the nations, yea, all the human beings upon this planet,
cultured or uncultured, civilised or uncivilised, of every colour of
skin, of every size, to protest in this or another way against a
military and inhuman civilisation which is worse than the most primitive
barbarism of man. All the races of the world who are fighting to-day
with England against Germany may not understand either each other's
language or customs, religion or traditions, but they all understand one
thing very well, _i.e._ that they must fight together against a nation
which despises all other nations and tries to conquer them, to govern
them, to suppress their language, their customs, their traditions and
their belief in their own worth and mission in this world.
ONLY SOME ANECDOTES.
A Serbian detachment from the VIIth regiment had been ordered one night
to cross the river Sava to make explorations about the positions and
vigilance of the enemy. The soldiers prepared themselves to fulfil their
task with silence and depression. The commander of the detachment
remarked that and said:
"Yes, our task is very dangerous, my friends; we may die to-night,
but remember that English lords on the battlefield to-night are in
danger of death too for the same cause as we."
On hearing that the soldiers became cheerful.
* * * * *
An officer said to his private: "If I should be killed in the battle,
don't leave my body here, but carry it to Kraguievaz, where my wife is,
and bury it there."
It happened indeed that the officer was killed. The private asked
permission to transfer the body as he was told. The permission was not
given. In the night he took the dead body on his back, and after a
journey of three nights brought it to Kraguievaz and buried it.
Therefore he was judged by the military court and sentenced to a very
heavy punishment. But he showed himself very satisfied, saying:
"I did what I was ordered and what I promised to do. Now you can
sentence me even to death; at least I will not be ashamed in the
other world meeting my commander."
* * * * *
In the offensive against the Austrians in December 1914 a Serbian
company found in a trench three Magyar soldiers. They laid down their
arms.
"Would you kill them, Andrea?" asked the officer of one of his men to
prove him.
The man replied with astonishment:
"Marko of Prilep never killed a disarmed man"
* * * * *
A peasant one day dug the ground behind his home. It was after the
Austrian army had been beaten and repulsed, and the Serbian refugees
returned home. The peasant was asked:
"What are you digging for?"
"Our tricolours. I put it three weeks ago under the ground. I was afraid
the Austrians would spit on it, and it means the same as to spit in
one's face."
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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