“The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.”

— James Shirley , The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses

sc. iii.
The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses

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James Shirley 5

English writer 1596–1666

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