“An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down.”

— George Eliot , book Romola

Volume III, Chapter IV
Romola (1863)

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George Eliot 300

English novelist, journalist and translator 1819–1880

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The first line is often misquoted as "I must go down to the seas again." and this is the wording used in the song setting by John Ireland. I disagree with this last point. The poet himself was recorded reading this and he definitely says "seas". The first line should read, 'I must down ...' not, 'I must go down ...' The original version of 1902 reads 'I must down to the seas again'. In later versions, the author inserted the word 'go'.

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“I just want to be able to stand up straight for a little while before I get cut down.”

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Source: Solipsist

“An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down.”

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George Eliot 300

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