And stirring wars
Appeal to the spirit which appeals in turn
To the blade it draws." - Meaning and context.">
On the Slain Collegians, st. 1

Youth is the time when hearts are large,
And stirring wars
Appeal to the spirit which appeals in turn
To the blade it draws.

— Herman Melville

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Youth is the time when hearts are large,
And stirring wars
Appeal to the spirit which appeals in turn
To the blade it draws." in the context of "On the Slain Collegians, st. 1" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Herman Melville" (Quotes, Battle Pieces: And Aspects of the War (1860): Full text at Project Gutenberg ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Herman Melville

About Herman Melville

Herman Melville (1 August 1819 – 28 September 1891) was an American novelist, essayist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period.