"And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods"
The source is attributed to Horatius, a Roman soldier who, with two others, held the Etruscan army at bay on a narrow trail while others hewed down the only bridge over the Tiber to Rome. The whole tale was recounted by Lord Macaulay in the "Lays Of Ancient Rome," where I got this quote from.
