"Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none"

[Wilson Gray]

The stele from Thermopylae reads:

O stranger passing by,
Tell the Laecedemonians [= Spartans]
That here we lie,
Obedient to their orders. (Translation by the  poster)

FWIW, that seems rather neutral as to victory or defeat. But the
author of the Alamo quote probably figured, correctly, that the
overwhelming majority of hearers / readers wouldn't have the least
idea what he was talking about, exactly as would be the case today, in
spite of, if not because of, that movie.

-Wilson

On 8/4/07, Bapopik at aol.com <Bapopik at aol.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      "Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> =20
> This once-very-famous quotation is not in the Yale Book of Quotations. =20
> Perhaps Fred can use it, as this has been said to have been "ghost-written"=20=
> for  a=20
> Texas general (who couldn't pronounce Thermopylae).
> ...
> I don't have ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the American Periodical Series=20=
> =20
> Online, HarpWeek, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, and the full edition of =20
> Newsbank's America's Historical Newspapers, so perhaps someone can find bett=
> er =20
> cites?
> ...
> ...
> ...=20
> _http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/thermopylae_had_her_messeng=
> er
> _of_defeat_but_the_alamo_had_none/_=20
> (http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/thermopylae_had_her_messeng=
> er_of_defeat_but_the_alamo_had_none/)=20
> ...
> =20
> Entry from August 04, 2007=20
> =E2=80=9CThermopylae had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had  none=
> =E2=80=9D
> =20
> "Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none.=E2=80=9D T=
> he =20
> comparison of the events of the Alamo (1836) to the Battle of Thermopylae (4=
> 80 =20
> B.C.) occurred as early as 1836. This particular quotation is said to have b=
> een =20
> given in a speech by General Edward Burleson in 1841 or 1842, ghost-written=20=
> by=20
>  Thomas Jefferson Green. It was soon afterward included with three other =20
> quotations on the first Alamo monument. A debate about the origin of the phr=
> ase =20
> occurred in Texas newspapers in 1887 (below).=20
>
> In an 1896 article (also  below), it was said that =E2=80=9Calmost every sch=
> ool boy=E2=80=9D=20
> knew this quotation. =20
>
> The quotation implies that no one survived the Alamo battle to tell the =20
> Texans=E2=80=99 story, but at least three people (non-combatants) did surviv=
> e. =20
>
>
> _Bartleby.com_ (http://www.bartleby.com/73/32.html) =20
> Respectfully  Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations.  1989.=20
> AUTHOR: Thomas Jefferson  Green (1801=E2=80=9363)=20
> QUOTATION: Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat=E2=80=94the Alamo  had no=
> ne.=20
> ATTRIBUTION: Attributed to THOMAS JEFFERSON GREEN.=20
>
> Green  is said to have included the sentence in a speech he helped Edward=20
> Burleson  prepare. While Burleson has often been credited with originating t=
> he=20
> sentence as  well as using it, he lacked the classical education necessary t=
> o=20
> have made the  allusion. The sentence became popular after it was engraved o=
> n=20
> the first  monument to the Alamo, which is located in Austin, Texas. The=20
> 10-foot-high  statue, made of stones from the Alamo, was destroyed by fire w=
> hen the=20
> Capitol at  Austin burned. Another monument subsequently erected on the Capi=
> tol=20
> grounds also  included the sentence.=E2=80=94J. Frank Dobie, =E2=80=9CThe Al=
> amo=E2=80=99s=20
> Immortalization of Words,=E2=80=9D  Southwest Review, summer 1942, pp. 406=
> =E2=80=9310.=20
> SUBJECTS: Alamo =20
> (...)
>
>
>
>
>
> ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL a=
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
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