History BadassCreed / Literature

* Creator/SMStirling's {{Emberverse}}:

--> [[CombatPragmatist There is only one sin, defeat. There is only one grace, victory.]]

* The Oath taken by the residents of [[{{utopia}} Atlantis]] in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': "I swear--by my life and my love of it--that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

* BlackKnight Amadeus's modernized Legions of Terror in ''Literature/PracticalGuideToEvil'':

--> Vengeance is one of the most sacred duties of a warrior. It may be swift or slow, but it must be done with honor.

* In ''Literature/MalazanBookoftheFallen'', the Bridgeburners keep it simple:

* ''The Road of Kings'' a poem written by Creator/RobertEHoward that tells things from [[ConanTheBarbarian Conan's]] perspective after he becomes king of Aquilonia.

** The Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear: "I will not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

*** Vimes has noted that the Oath is a treacherous, slippery thing. It allows the alert, considerate Watchman almost complete freedom of action to do good things. Of particular note is the single reference to upholding the actual laws of the city, numerous references to protecting and serving the best interested of the people of the city, and the ''total absence of any promise of loyalty to the ruler''.

'''Anghammarad:''' Do not ask.

* MadeleineLEngle's ''ASwiftlyTiltingPlanet'' adapts a portion of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Breastplate "St. Patrick's Breastplate"]] for use as a BadassCreed:

** The millennia-old messenger golem Anghammarad remembers a BadAss version of the A-M Post Office motto from the dawn of time: "Neither Deluge Nor Ice Storm Nor The Black Silence Of The Netherhells Shall Stay These Messengers About Their Sacred Business. Do Not Ask Us About Sabre-Tooth Tigers, Tar Pits, Big Green Things With Teeth Or The Goddess Czol."

** His poem "The Overland Mail" shows that native postmen in India were BadAss. The poem specifically states he's doing all this ''at night ... in the jungle ... '''uphill''''':

* ''{{Dragonlance}}'' The oath of the Knights of Solamnia:

* In the Literature/VorkosiganSaga (''A Civil Campaign), Aral Vorkosigan gives this cogent life advice to his son Miles:

* From DavidWeber's ''Literature/HellsGate'' series. Translated, it means "I am your son/daughter, Halian. I remember." Anytime a Calirath says this, they're about to make a HeroicSacrifice, and they're not letting anyone talk them out of it.

* SMStirling's {{Emberverse}}:

--> I shield in the name of fashion. I accessorize for one and all. Pursuit of truth is my passion. This I vow by the great parasol.

* "RepublicCommandoSeries":

* ''TheWheelOfTime'':

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'':

* The Iron Code of ''Druss the Legend'':
--> [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Never violate a woman]], [[WouldntHurtAChild nor harm a child]].\\

* Also from Creator/DavidGemmell, The Nadir Chant:
--> Nadir We, \\
Youth Born, \\
Blood Letters, \\
Axe Wielders, \\

--> I swear before my God and these witnesses that I will stay true to the right and good, that my magic will be used to protect, not to enslave, that all my strength and wisdom must always shield the innocent. I swear to fight for liberty though it cost my life. The Society will be my blood and its knights my brothers, and that I will always heed the wisdom of the elders’ council. I willingly pledge my magic, my knowledge, my resources, and my life to uphold these things.

** Then there's the [[TheSilmarillion Oath of Fëanor]]:

** LaResistance in ''Discworld/NightWatch'': "Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably Priced Love! And a hard-boiled egg!"

** The Second Ideal of the Bondsmiths:
--->I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together.
** The Second Ideal of the Edgedancers:
--->I will remember those who have been forgotten.

-->The rain fears not the torch.

* The creed used by the agents in Ari Bach's Valhalla is simple yet very effective:

* ''JohnCarterOfMars'':

** Subverted in ''Discworld/TheLastHero'', with the creed (suggested by [[LovableCoward Rincewind]]) for the expedition to stop Cohen the Barbarian being ''Morituri Nolumus Mori'', translated from Latin to English it reads as "We who are about to die don't want to."
** The Nac Mac Feegle in ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'': "Nae king, nae queen, nae laird, nae master. WE [[TheWho WILLNA BE FOOLED AGAIN!]]" In fact, the Feegle have several Badass Creeds, and a habit of shouting them all out at once in a confused mess.

*** "[[DirtyHarry Fabricati diem, pvnc]]", an abbreviated form of the old motto "Fabricati Diem, Pvncti Agvnt Celeriter," [[note]]"Make the Day, the Moments Pass Quickly."[[/note]].

** The fearsome [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarfish]] warcry in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'': T'dr'duzk b'hazg t't! (Today is a good day for someone else to die!)

* From the "RepublicCommandoSeries": The Mandalorian Resol'nare, or Six Actions.
-->Ba'jur bal beskar'gam,
-->Ara'nov, aliit,
-->Mando'a bal Mand'alor
-->An vencuyan mhi.

-->Education and armor,
-->Self-defense, our tribe,
-->Our language and our leader,
-->All help us survive.

--> Why do you draw your sword?
--> In defense of my honor, my family or my homeland
--> How long do you fight?
--> Until my last breath joins the northern wind.
--> When do you stop watching?
--> (whispered) Never.
--> Speak it louder!
--> (shouted) ''Never!''

--> ''"My arm will be the sword, my breast itself a shield, to defend the seven towers, to hold back the darkness. I will stand when all others fall. For my sweet land Malkier."''

--> ''"To stand against the Shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides. To defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. To avenge what cannot be defended."''

--> Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall [[CelibateHero take no wife]], hold no lands, father no children. [[OfferedTheCrown I shall wear no crowns]] and [[GlorySeeker win no glory]]. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, [[YouShallNotPass the shield that guards the realms of men]]. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

*** The Boltons have the saying: "A naked man has few secrets, a flayed man none.", also not their official motto.

** [[TheGrimReaper Death]] in ''Discworld/ReaperMan'': [[AC: There is no hope but us. There is no mercy but us. There is no justice. There is just us.]]

** The City Watch motto: "[[DirtyHarry Fabricati diem, pvnc]]", an abbreviated form of the old motto "Fabricati Diem, Pvncti Agvnt Celeriter," [[note]]"Make the Day, the Moments Pass Quickly."[[/note]].

--->I, [recruit's name], do solemnly swear [[OhMyGods by [recruit's deity of choice]]] to [[LawfulGood uphold the Laws and Ordinances of the city of Ankh-Morpork]], [[Franchise/{{Robocop}} serve the public trust]], and [[WeHelpTheHelpless defend the subjects]] of [[RoyalBlood His/Her [delete whichever is inappropriate] Majesty [name of reigning monarch]]] [[IncorruptiblePurePureness without fear, favour, or thought of personal safety]]; to [[TheyFightCrime pursue evil-doers]] and [[InnocentBystanders protect the innocent]], [[HeroicSacrifice laying down my life if necessary in the cause of said duty]], so help me [aforesaid deity]. Gods Save the King/Queen [delete which is inappropriate].
**** Note that it's traditional to ''say it literally''. "I comma bracket recruit's name end-bracket comma..."
**** Vimes has noted that the Oath is a treacherous, slippery thing. It allows the alert, considerate Watchman almost complete freedom of action to do good things. Of particular note is the single reference to upholding the actual laws of the city, numerous references to protecting and serving the best interested of the people of the city, and the ''total absence of any promise of loyalty to the ruler''.

--->Vimes: "What are your duties?"
--->Dorfl: "To Serve The Public Trust, Protect The Innocent, And Seriously Prod Buttock, Sir."
**** A few lines later:
---->Nobby: "'S not going to be popular, a golem as a Watchman."
---->Dorfl: "What Better Work For One Who Loves Freedom Than The Job Of A Watchman. Law Is The Servant Of Freedom. Freedom Without Limits Is Just A Word.
**** And later, talking about his plan to free the golems: "We Are Bought And Sold. So We Will Buy Ourselves Free. By Our Labor. No One Else Will Do It For Us. We Will Do It By Ourselves.
**** This gets reformulated on the legend above the door of the Golem Trust in later books: "By our own hand, or none."

---> Inevitable question: The Goddess Czol?
---> Anghammarad: Do not ask.
*** Based on the inscription from Creator/{{Herodotus}} on the New York Post Office (which ''isn't'' an official motto): "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds".

*** ''"there will be a reckoning"'' if you hear this line, you can run, but it won't do you any good

* From the ''SecondApocalypse'', the battle-song of the Men of the Tusk.
--> A' warring we have come.
--> A' reaving we shall work.
--> And when the day is done,
--> In our eyes the gods shall lurk!

* The [[LordOfTheRings Rohirrim]] get a few, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy which makes sense]]:

--> Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean
--> Brood of Morgoth or bright Vala,
--> Elda or Maia or Aftercomer,
--> Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth,
--> Neither law, nor love, nor league of swords,
--> Dread nor danger, not Doom itself
--> Shall defend him from Fëanáro, and Fëanáro's kin,
--> Whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh,
--> Finding keepeth or afar casteth
--> A Silmaril. This swear we all...
--> Death we will deal him ere Day's ending,
--> Woe unto world's end! Our word hear thou,
--> Eru Allfather! To the everlasting
--> Darkness doom us if our deed faileth...
--> On the holy mountain hear in witness
--> and our vow remember,
--> Manwë and Varda!

** and don't forget Aragorn:
--> "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn. If by life or by death I can save you, I will."

* From DavidWeber's ''Literature/HellsGate'' series:

** Translated, it means "I am your son/daughter, Halian. I remember." Anytime a Calirath says this, they're about to make a HeroicSacrifice, and they're not letting anyone talk them out of it.
* The Clan [=MacKenzie=]'s battle chant from SMStirling's {{Emberverse}}:

--> WAR IS PEACE
--> FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
--> IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
* [[Literature/TheBible "I Am that I Am." ]]

---> It matters not how strait the gate,
---> How charged with punishments the scroll.
---> I am the master of my fate:
---> I am the captain of my soul.

---> At Tara in this fateful hour,
---> I place all Heaven with its power,
---> And the sun with its brightness,
---> And the snow with its whiteness,
---> And the fire with all the strength it hath,
---> And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
---> And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
---> And the sea with its deepness,
---> And the rocks with their steepness,
---> And the earth with its starkness,
---> All these I place
---> By God's almighty help and grace
---> ''Between myself and the powers of darkness!''

* From Mack Bolan (the Executioner) ''"Live Large"''
---> Also, from the first SuperBolan novel, Stony Man Doctrine: ''"The Mind and the Sword are one. If the mind is right, the sword is right"''

---> Est Sularus Oth Mithas
---> My Honor Is My Life

* The Night Angel Trilogy
--> Life is nothing in itself. It's a place marker that proves who's winning, and we are the winners. We are always the winners. There is nothing but the winning. Even winning means nothing. We win because it's an insult to lose. - Durzo Blint

-->I am Sa'kage, a lord of shadows.\\

* Tennyson, "Sir Gallahad":
--> ''My good blade carves the casques of men,''
--> ''My tough lance thrusteth sure,''
--> ''My strength is as the strength of ten,''
--> ''Because my heart is pure.''

-->Though much is taken, much abides; and though
-->We are not now that strength which in old days
-->Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
-->One equal temper of heroic hearts,
-->Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
-->To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

-->Theirs not to make reply
-->Theirs not to reason why
-->Theirs but to do and die

* ''Literature/TheSparrow'': "We are many. They are few."

* The dying words of many an heroic Bolo have been the Dinochrome Brigade's motto, "For the Honour of the Regiment!"

*** From the same story, the Bolos in particular are units DBC and DBQ, nicknamed 'Chains' and 'Quarter' respectively. What does the DB stand for, you ask?
--->'''Colonel Ishida:''' "Death By Chains."
--->'''Unit DBC:''' "''So judged.''"

* Creator/RudyardKipling's poem "The Overland Mail" shows that native postmen in India were BadAss. The poem specifically states he's doing all this ''at night ... in the jungle ... '''uphill''''':
-->Is the torrent in spate? He must ford it or swim.
-->Has the rain wrecked the road? He must climb by the cliff.
-->Does the tempest cry halt? What are tempests to him?
-->The service admits not a "but" or an "if."
-->While the breath's in his mouth, he must bear without fail,
-->In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail.

-->Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky;
-->And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
-->As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back --
-->For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

-->They do not preach that their God will rouse them a little before the nuts work loose.
-->They do not teach that His pity allows them to leave their work when they damn well chose.
-->As in the thronged and the lighted ways, so in the dark and the desert they stand,
-->wary and watchful all of their days, that their brethren's days may be long in the land.

* JohnCarterOfMars, Warlord of Barsoom, is fond of defying his opponents with: "I still live!" (Also counts as a SurvivalMantra)

* [[TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone's]] battlecry; "Blood and souls! Blood and souls for my Lord Arioch!"