A substitute shines brightly as a king
Until a king be by, and then his state
Empties read more

A substitute shines brightly as a king
Until a king be by, and then his state
Empties itself, as dot an inland brook
Into the main of waters.

The first king was a successful soldier;
He who serves well his country has no need of ancestors.
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The first king was a successful soldier;
He who serves well his country has no need of ancestors.
[Fr., Le premier qui fut roi, fut un soldat heureux;
Qui sert bien son pays, n'a pas besoin d'aleux.]

Hail to the crown by Freedom shaped--to gird
An English sovereign's brow! and to the throne
Whereon read more

Hail to the crown by Freedom shaped--to gird
An English sovereign's brow! and to the throne
Whereon he sits! whose deep foundations lie
In veneration and the people's love.

The Royall Crowne cures not the head-ach.
[The Royal Crown cures not the headache.]

The Royall Crowne cures not the head-ach.
[The Royal Crown cures not the headache.]

Ah, if I were not king, I should lose my temper.

Ah, if I were not king, I should lose my temper.

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.

The king reigns but does not govern.
[Ger., Der Konig herrscht aber regiert nicht.]

The king reigns but does not govern.
[Ger., Der Konig herrscht aber regiert nicht.]

'Ave you 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor
With a hairy old crown on 'er 'ead?
She read more

'Ave you 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor
With a hairy old crown on 'er 'ead?
She 'as ships on the foam--she 'as millions at 'ome,
An' she pays us poor beggars in red.

For God's sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings!
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For God's sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings!
How some have been deposed, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,
Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed--
All murdered; for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court; and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp;
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks;
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life
Were brass impregnable; and humored thus,
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!
Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood
With solemn reverence, Throw away respect,
Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty;
For you have but mistook me all this while.
I live with bread like you, feel want, taste grief,
Need friends. Subjected thus,