Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
LIV explained
Following the victory at Aba el Lissan, Lawrence and Nasir deal with the aftermath: plunder, wounded prisoners, and the dead.
What happens
Following the victory at Aba el Lissan, Lawrence and Nasir deal with the aftermath: plunder, wounded prisoners, and the dead. They move the army through the night, send surrender demands to Turkish posts, and advance on Akaba. After a tense standoff with the Turkish garrison, a surrender is negotiated at dawn, and the Arabs finally reach the sea on July 6, two months after leaving Wejh.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Endurance
Lawrence reflects on the physical and emotional toll of victory, the exhaustion of the men, and the pitiful state of the dead and wounded.
Honor and Deception
The negotiation with the Turkish garrison involves promises of good treatment and safe delivery to Egypt, blending honor with tactical deception.
Futility and Meaning
Lawrence muses on the pointlessness of the struggle and the desire for peace in death, contrasting with the chaotic aftermath of victory.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Describes the physical and emotional exhaustion after victory, arranges the dead, negotiates with Turkish officers, and leads the final push to Akaba.
- Sherif Nasir
Works to secure blankets for wounded prisoners, negotiates with the Turks, and restrains the Bedouin from premature attacks.
- Auda abu Tayi
Insists the army move after the battle due to superstition and fear of enemy reinforcements or rival clans.
- Farraj
Punished for leading a rash attack on the Turkish position; shows stubbornness and spirit.
- Daud
Also punished for the same rash attack; yields quickly to correction.
Key passages
“we were subject at the moment to the physical shame of success, a reaction of victory, when it became clear that nothing was worth doing, and that nothing worthy had been done.”
In the immediate aftermath of victory, we felt a strange shame and emptiness, realizing that nothing seemed meaningful or worthwhile.
Lawrence reflects on the anticlimax and moral fatigue following the battle.
“The dead men looked wonderfully beautiful. The night was shining gently down, softening them into new ivory.”
The corpses appeared strangely beautiful in the moonlight, their skin turned pale and smooth like ivory.
Lawrence's poetic and detached observation of the Turkish dead.
“I put them all in order, one by one, very wearied myself, and longing to be of these quiet ones, not of the restless, noisy, aching mob up the valley.”
I straightened each corpse, exhausted, and wished I could join them in their stillness rather than remain with the chaotic living.
Lawrence expresses a desire for peace and escape from the turmoil of war.