"The musicians had played on the deck as the ship went down. They had forfeited their lives for the sake of others. They had played the tunes of hymns to induce a spirit of peace and calm. They were heroic."

Steve Turner Music See all quotes by Steve Turner →

React to this quote

More by Steve Turner

“The final dive of the ship, as the bow lay submerged and the stern rose out of the water, was truly horrendous for all who witnessed it.”

“In the whole history of the sea, there is little to equal the wonderful behavior of these humble players.”

“The story of their gallantry came to epitomize a spirit of courage, duty and self-sacrifice.”

““They were brave and splendid, all the men. They died like brave men.”

“They kept it up until the very end. Only the engulfing ocean had power to drown them into silence.”

“In the last moments of the great ship’s doom, when all was plainly lost, when braver and hardier men might almost have been excused for doing practically anything to save themselves, they stood responsive to their conductor’s baton and played a recessional tune.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Only in the theatre was it possible to see the performers and to be warmed by their personal charm, to respond to their efforts and to feel their response to the applause and appreciative laughter of …"

— Robertson Davies

Literature1913–1995

#humor

"Glorious transformation! glorious translation! I seem already to behold the wondrous scene. The sea and the land have given up their dead! the quickened myriads have been judged according to their wor…"

— Henry Melvill

Religion1798–1871

#family

"The inexperienced in wisdom and virtue, ever occupied with feasting and such, are carried downward, and there, as is fitting, they wander their whole life long, neither ever looking upward to the trut…"

— Plato

Philosophy

#life

"Truth disdains the aid of the law for its defence–it will stand upon its own merit. … It is error, and error alone, that needs human support; and whenever men fly to the law or sword to protect their …"

— John Leland (Baptist)

Politics1754–1841

#truth