It is not ours to wonder why

Posted by Smokey Stover on October 19, 2005

In Reply to: It is not ours to wonder why posted by ESC on October 19, 2005

: : : What's the origin of the phrase "It is not ours to wonder why, it is only ours to do... and die" and who's quote is it?

: : Is this what you had in mind?

: : Forward, the Light Brigade!'
: : Was there a man dismay'd?
: : Not tho' the soldier knew
: : Some one had blunder'd:
: : Their's not to make reply,
: : Their's not to reason why,
: : Their's but to do and die:
: : Into the valley of Death
: : Rode the six hundred.

: : Second stanza of The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, about an awkward incident in the Crimean War. SS

: One tiny change:

: Theirs not to reason why,
: Theirs but to do and die:

Careless, careless, Smokey. I copied the text from a Googled source without checking it, an invitation to error. My bad. SS

• It is not ours to wonder why Victoria S Dennis 19/October/05
  • It is not ours to wonder why Smokey Stover 21/October/05