The
Sword: Symbol of Nobility and Power
By Plinio
Corrêa de Oliveira
In our day, the sword has been
surpassed as a weapon of war by far more potent arms. The modern soldier gives
little thought to sharpening his sword for battle. Inadequate to defend its
bearer against more lethal weaponry, the sword has been virtually eliminated
from twentieth-century arsenals.
Yet, on occasions of great
solemnity, officers in the armed forces of all civilized nations still wear
their swords. Although no longer used in combat, the sword retains such
symbolic value that one cannot imagine an officer at a solemn event without it.
Consider, too, that in
those countries with academies of letters that use uniforms, the members wear
swords on special occasions. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but during
his initiation into the academy, a distinguished scholar is presented by his
peers not with a magnificent pen but with a majestic sword--the only suitable
accessory for his solemn apparel.
As in times past, some
diplomats still use swords on formal occasions.
Why does the sword retain
such power as a symbol despite its obsolescence as a weapon?
It does so because the
sword preserves its heroic legacy as a badge of chivalry and guardian of human
dignity.
For this reason, a sword
worthy of the name is not only exquisitely crafted but made with the best
materials. It may
be embellished with gold or silver and even precious gems, but the richest
adornment to any sword is bestowed by the bearer of ardent faith who enshrines
a sacred relic of a favorite saint in its pommel.
During the Middle Ages, the sword assumed legendary proportions that it
did not possess in antiquity. The people of the Middle
Ages regarded the sword with a certain profundity, esteeming it as a symbol of
man's God-given nobility.
When a king is crowned, he
always wears a sword. In any solemn ceremony that has not been stripped of all
elevation and pomp by the levelers of modern egalitarianism, a sword is used.
Which would give a son
deeper satisfaction: to say, "My father left me his Cadillac" or "My
father bequeathed me his sword?"
Inheriting a profitable business may enrich one's purse, but far richer
is the soul of the son who can say: "My father left me the sword with
which he defended Christian civilization. He died a hero in battle, leaving me
only the sword he wielded for Christ." Such a sword should be kept in a
chapel, for that is the home most befitting a relic.
______________
(Crusade, Mar-Apr 1998. Adopted from remarks addressed to TFP members and supporters by
Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on