Ah! vainest of all things
Is the gratitude of kings.

Ah! vainest of all things
Is the gratitude of kings.

Yet looks he like a king. Behold, his eye,
As bright as is the eagle's lightens forth
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Yet looks he like a king. Behold, his eye,
As bright as is the eagle's lightens forth
Controlling majesty.

On the king's gate the moss grew gray;
The king came not. They call'd him dead;
And read more

On the king's gate the moss grew gray;
The king came not. They call'd him dead;
And made his eldest son, one day,
Slave in his father's stead.

And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?
intendest thou to kill me, as read more

And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?
intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedest the Egyptian? And
Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

Though good faith should be banished from the rest of the world,
it should be found in the mouths read more

Though good faith should be banished from the rest of the world,
it should be found in the mouths of kings.
[Fr., Si la bonne foi etait bannie du reste du monde, il faudrait
qu'on la trouvat dans la bouche des rois.]

There was a king of Thule,
Was faithful till the grave,
To whom his mistress dying,
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There was a king of Thule,
Was faithful till the grave,
To whom his mistress dying,
A golden goblet gave.
[Ger., Es war ein Konig in Tule
Gar treu bis an das Grab,
Dem sterbend seine Buhle
Einen gold'nen Becher gab.]

The gates of monarchs
Are arched so high that giants may jet through
And keep their impious read more

The gates of monarchs
Are arched so high that giants may jet through
And keep their impious turbans on without
Good morrow to the sun.

It is something to hold the scepter with a firm hand.
[Lat., Est aliquid valida sceptra tenere manu.]

It is something to hold the scepter with a firm hand.
[Lat., Est aliquid valida sceptra tenere manu.]

Der Kaiser of dis Faderland,
Und Gott on high all dings commands,
We two--ach! Don't you understand?
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Der Kaiser of dis Faderland,
Und Gott on high all dings commands,
We two--ach! Don't you understand?
Myself--und Gott.