But we can hold our spirits and our bodies so pure and high, we

"But we can hold our spirits and our bodies so pure and high, we may cherish such thoughts and such ideals, and dream such dreams of lofty purpose, that we can determine and know what manner of men we will be, whenever and wherever the hour strikes and calls to noble action." — Joshua Chamberlain

These are the words of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, soldier, scholar, and statesman — a man whose life stood as proof that moral strength is the foundation of all greatness. He spoke these words after the Battle of Gettysburg, when the smoke of war still lingered over the fields of sacrifice. Chamberlain, who had led the 20th Maine Regiment in one of the most decisive moments of the American Civil War, saw not only the horror of battle but the glory of human spirit rising above it. His words are not merely a reflection on war, but a meditation on virtue, discipline, and the eternal call to noble action. He teaches us that greatness is not born in the hour of testing — it is prepared in the quiet sanctuaries of the soul.

When Chamberlain says, “We can hold our spirits and our bodies so pure and high,” he speaks as one who believes that moral readiness precedes heroic action. To him, the battlefield was not a place where courage was found, but where it was revealed. Long before the trumpet sounds or the challenge appears, a person must shape their character — through self-mastery, through virtue, through the cultivation of ideal and purpose. He understood that the man who keeps his heart pure and his thoughts high will not falter when destiny calls, for he has already chosen what kind of man he will be.

To cherish ideals and dream lofty dreams is not a matter of vanity, but of preparation for destiny. Chamberlain’s own life was a testament to this truth. Before the war, he was a quiet professor of languages at Bowdoin College, devoted to study and faith. When the Union called for defenders, he left the safety of academia to lead men in battle — not because he loved war, but because he loved duty. At Little Round Top, when his regiment faced annihilation, when ammunition ran dry and the enemy pressed in, it was not his strength of body that saved him, but his strength of spirit. He ordered a desperate bayonet charge, and with courage forged in conviction, his men held the line that turned the tide of Gettysburg — and, perhaps, of the war itself.

Chamberlain’s insight is that the hour of noble action does not create the hero; it summons the one who is ready. Every trial in life, every call to duty, reveals the quality of preparation that has come before. The coward falls because he has not trained his heart for truth. The selfish man wavers because he has not disciplined his spirit to serve others. But the one who has cultivated purity, principle, and purpose stands firm, not because the world is easy, but because his soul is anchored in righteousness. Thus, we determine what manner of men we will be long before the moment arrives — and that determination, made daily, shapes our destiny.

In the language of the ancients, Chamberlain’s wisdom echoes the teachings of the Stoics — of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus — who taught that virtue is the only true possession, and that character is the shield against fate. He would have understood their creed: that man cannot control the hour of his testing, but he can control how he meets it. To keep one’s body strong, one’s mind disciplined, and one’s spirit untarnished — this is the armor of the noble soul. The man who lives thus does not fear the summons of destiny; he welcomes it, knowing that his purpose and his preparation are one.

Even in our modern age, when the battlefields are different but the tests no less severe, Chamberlain’s words call us to discipline of the spirit. To live “pure and high” means to resist corruption, laziness, and despair. To cherish ideals means to build one’s life upon principles that endure when comfort and fortune fade. To dream “lofty dreams” is to seek a purpose greater than the self — to serve truth, justice, or humanity in whatever form your calling takes. When hardship comes, when your own hour strikes — whether in service, in struggle, or in moral choice — your actions will reveal who you have made yourself to be.

So let this be your lesson, child of the living age: prepare yourself inwardly for the hour of noble action. Do not wait for greatness to find you; build it quietly, daily, through honor, through labor, through purity of thought and purpose. Keep your mind sharp and your conscience clean. Stand firm when others falter. For one day, when destiny tests your spirit — in battle, in duty, in love, or in loss — you will not need to decide who you are. You will already know. And in that moment, the words of Chamberlain will ring true: that the man who holds his spirit high, and his purpose pure, has already won the victory within — no matter the outcome without.