To die for one’s country is such a worthy fate that all compete for so beautiful a death.

The line idealizes patriotic self-sacrifice, presenting death in service of the state as not merely acceptable but aesthetically and morally “beautiful.” In Corneille’s dramatic universe—shaped by classical notions of honor and glory—public duty can outweigh private life, and the highest proof of virtue is willingness to pay with one’s life. The phrasing also hints at the competitive ethos of heroic culture: individuals “compete” for renown, and a noble death becomes a kind of prize. Read critically, the sentiment can be seen as a rhetorical elevation of warfare and martyrdom, revealing how literature can sanctify political violence by converting loss into glory.