Spoken before his death Quotes

Context

When someone says the word "hero," who do you think of? Batman? Spiderman? Harry Styles?

Guess it depends on your definition of the word.

But just because a dude's name isn't still on the tip of everyone's tongue 250 years after his death doesn't mean he isn't deserving of the title.

Nathan Hale was a soldier in the Continental Army back when the U.S. was trying to win independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War. He was getting his spy on—trying to root out some government secrets he could feed back to the American troops—when he was caught and sentenced to death by the enemy.

Right before he was executed, instead of saying something like, "You've got the wrong guy" or "I want my mommy," Hale stood tall and proud and said, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Well, those were supposedly his last words, anyway. Maybe he just said, "Okay, let's get this over with" and someone else embellished it a little.

Where you've heard it

This quote is pretty much the pinnacle of patriotism. 

Because it's one of the most inspiringly patriotic quotes in American history, it shows up a lot in articles or blogs about…America. Usually it's not worked seamlessly into the text, but rather set off and attributed to Hale as an epigraph. But, occasionally, you'll see it referenced by someone else, like the dean of this medical college .

It's also a really melodramatic thing you can say when you feel like you're making a huge sacrifice. Sorry—delaying an evening out with your friends to take out the trash does not, alas, qualify.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It isn't often that someone—in real life—gets to say something that rivals the last line uttered by a character in a Dickens novel. We love Mr. Hale and value his service to our country, but…preteeeeentious.