This phrase comes from two different lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life." When put together, they create a phrase which encourages people to be heroic in the battlefield that is life:
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
The entire poem itself is about someone imploring a psalmist to value the
beauty and fullness of life. This narrator tells the psalmist not to think of
life as empty. He reminds the psalmist that, while the body turns to dust after
death, the soul lives on. People leave legacies after their deaths. In the
future, someone else might see that legacy and be encouraged.
On the battlefield that is life, the narrator encourages people to be
heroic. They should not walk through life mindlessly and meaninglessly.
Instead, they should intentionally fight for meaning and purpose in life. They
should live in the present, and embrace the reality of life.
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