e always
considered in Serbia as sacred duties in the conscience of the people.
Our morale is not something that was learned in the schools--do not
forget we had no schools for centuries--but rather an inherited treasure
which every man was obliged to keep in great brilliancy. It is not a
morale supported by learning, sophisms and quotations, it is an
elementary power which is not a possession, but which has possession of
everybody. Our Prime Minister uttered the other day these words: "Better
to die in beauty than to live in shame!" Fifteen hundred years ago
similar words were uttered on this island of yours by a knight of
Beowulf's escort: "Death is better than a life of shame." Every child in
Serbia thinks the same as our Prime Minister about the value of life and
death.

"Better to die than" to live so and so, or than to do this or
that--hundreds of the Serbian proverbs begin with those words. In
proverbs is expressed our moral wisdom, in proverbs and poetry. Yet our
proverbs are poetry as well. The morale is regarded not so much as a
teaching, rather as poetry, like history. History and morality are
things which shall be sung, history and morality are such dignified
topics that they must be expressed in a dignified, solemn language.
Poetry is the very essence of things. It is the most earnest thing in
the world. That is our opinion.

The Serbs read the Bible very little, although they had the Bible in
their own language and used it in divine service before you used it in
the church of your own. The Bible was listened to in the church, but
poetry at home. As Shakespeare can be called your second Bible, so, and
still more, our national poetry for us has been indeed a second Bible.
Our poetry has been our history, our moral, our beauty, our hopes, our
education, our encouragement--our Bible. By our poetry, as by the Bible,
the morale is not only taught but inspired. What is this morale, taught
by Serbian poetry and proverbs, when uttered in a dry form?

"Dear God, we thank thee for all," that is the usual beginning of every
poem.

Love? Love is better than justice.

Justice? Justice is better than injustice.

Injustice? It must be punished.

Suffering? It must be relieved.

Patience? That is the great virtue of the sufferers.

Honour? Better to die than to give up honour.

Dishonour? It means as much as death.

Mercifulness? It shines like the sun over the world.

A beggar? He puts your heart to the te