“’Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation’s eye,
Or left unthought-of in obscurity,—
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not—
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won:
Whom neither shape or danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward, persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self-surpast:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name—
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven’s applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
That every man in arms should wish to be.”

That is the conclusion of William Wordsworth’s poem, “Character of the Happy Warrior.”  In many ways, that is what our Honor Code calls us to be: joyful in the face of difficulty; happy warriors in a noble cause.  But what, then, is the secret to possessing this character?  Did you catch it, near the end?  Wordsworth tells us that the happy warrior “draws His breath in confidence of Heaven’s applause”—our joy in difficulty depends, ultimately, on whose applause we seek: that of earth or heaven; man or God.  That much, at least, is up to you.