<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">The Name of France</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">Give</span> us a name to fill the mind</p><p class="line">With the shining thoughts that lead mankind,</p><p class="line">The glory of learning, the joy of art, --</p><p class="line">A name that tells of a splendid part</p><p class="line">In the long, long toil and the strenuous fight</p><p class="line">Of the human race to win its way</p><p class="line">From the feudal darkness into the day</p><p class="line">Of Freedom, Brotherhood, Equal Right, --</p><p class="line">A name like a star, a name of light.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:%">I give you <em>France!</em></p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Give us a name to stir the blood</p><p class="line">With a warmer glow and a swifter flood, --</p><p class="line">A name like the sound of a trumpet, clear,</p><p class="line">And silver-sweet, and iron-strong,</p><p class="line">That calls three million men to their feet,</p><p class="line">Ready to march, and steady to meet</p><p class="line">The foes who threaten that name with wrong, --</p><p class="line">A name that rings like a battle-song.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:%">I give you <em>France!</em></p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Give us a name to move the heart</p><p class="line">With the strength that noble griefs impart,</p><p class="line">A name that speaks of the blood outpoured</p><p class="line">To save mankind from the sway of the sword, --</p><p class="line">A name that calls on the world to share</p><p class="line">In the burden of sacrificial strife</p><p class="line">Where the cause at stake is the world's free lire</p><p class="line">And the rule of the people everywhere, --</p><p class="line">A name like a vow, a name like a prayer.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:%">I give you <em>France!</em></p></div><p class="byline">Henry van Dyke</p></body></html> · Great War