We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Henry V. Act iv. Sc. 3.

And raw in fields the rude militia swarms,

Mouths without hands; maintain'd at vast expense,

In peace a charge, in war a weak defence;

Stout once a month they march, a blustering band,

And ever but in times of need at hand.

John Dryden (1631-1701): Cymon and Iphigenia. Line 400.