Context

Wilfred Owen was writing after World War I, when people were feeling disillusioned—to say the least.

These Latin lines close his poem of the same name, but they aren't original. He's quoting a Roman philosopher and poet, and the translation goes something like this: "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country." 

Uh...given what's going on in the rest of the poem (check out the summary here—there's nothing sweet and proper about it), we're guessing Owen doesn't really agree with the sentiment. And if you look back to the beginning of the line, you'll see that Owen calls that classical quote an "old Lie."

Where you've heard it

This one's a pretty popular mantra for Modernism, the post-WWI movement that wasn't thrilled with what had gone down during the war.

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.

Sorry, dudes. Any time you quote something in Latin, it's gonna come off as pretentious. Even if you're quoting someone else quoting the Latin.