Credere, Obbedire, Combattere

William Timberman
A man in uniform raising his arm with yellow ribbons.

Yeah, yeah, I know. But like they say, sometimes it does rhyme.

4 thoughts on “Credere, Obbedire, Combattere”

  1. Pedinska August 29, 2019 / 7:43 am

    Hello WT. I hope you are doing as well as possible in these insane times. It heartens me to see you are still out here writing.

    • William Timberman August 29, 2019 / 7:53 am

      Yeah, thanks Pedinska. I’d hate to think that the Almighty is laughing at me specifically these days, but I nevertheless believe it’s wiser to make jokes than to prognosticate in the time I have left. Hope things are well with you also in these interesting times.

  2. bystander August 29, 2019 / 7:52 am

    Believe, Obey, Fight?

    I might say it echoes.

    And, what Pedinska said.

    • William Timberman August 29, 2019 / 8:11 am

      An abstract silhouette of Mussolini in a helmet, with his chin up, and this slogan in all caps above it, was stenciled on half-collapsed walls all over Italy in 1943. That’s how I remember it from old picture books, anyway. I suppose I could Google it to confirm the details.

      The Nazis had a similarly pitiable slogan painted on bombed-out buildings toward the end of the war: Unsere Mauern brechen, unsere Herzen nicht! (Our walls (may) break, our hearts (will) not!)

      I had a framed copy of the Mussolini stencil on my desk at work for several years, with the slogan altered to credere, obeddire, lavorare (believe, obey, work.) I also changed the nameplate on my desk to Winston Smith. Amazingly, given that I worked in a university library, no one ever noticed.

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