“Ten poor men sleep in peace on one straw heap, as Saadi sings,
But the immensest empire is too narrow for two kings.”

— William R. Alger

"Elbow Room", p. 188.
Poetry of the Orient, 1865 edition

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William R. Alger 17

American clergyman and poet 1822–1905

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Source: Howl's Moving Castle

“Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing, sooner than of war.”

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A misquotation http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2009-August/092648.html of:

Πάντων μὲν κόρος ἐστὶ καὶ ὕπνου καὶ φιλότητος
μολπῆς τε γλυκερῆς καὶ ἀμύμονος ὀρχηθμοῖο,
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Men get
Their fill of all things, of sleep and love, sweet song
And flawless dancing, and most men like these things
Much better than war. Only Trojans are always
Thirsty for blood!

Iliad, XIII, 636–639 (tr. Ennis Rees)

The misquotation implies that an overweening love of war was the norm, whereas the real quote decries the Trojans as inhumane for keeping the war going.
Misattributed

“A million million worlds that move in peace;
A million mighty laws that never cease;
And one small ant-heap, hidden by small weeds,
Rich with eggs, slaves and store of millet-seeds.
They sleep beneath the sod
And trust in God.”

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“Thus the Empire of the Greeks, which at first brake into four kingdoms, became now reduced into two notable ones, henceforward called by Daniel the kings of the South and North.”

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Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (1733)
Context: Thus the Empire of the Greeks, which at first brake into four kingdoms, became now reduced into two notable ones, henceforward called by Daniel the kings of the South and North. For Ptolemy now reigned over Egypt, Lybia, Ethiopia, Arabia, Phœnicia, Cœlosyria, and Cyprus; and Seleucus, having united three of the four kingdoms, had a dominion scarce inferior to that of the Persian Empire, conquered by Alexander the great. All which is thus represented by Daniel: And the king of the South [Ptolemy] shall be strong, and one of his Princes [Seleucus, one of Alexander's Princes] shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

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“I sing the form of war, the bloodless plain,
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How two bold kings in different armour veil'd,
One black, one white, for conquest fought the field.”
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Compare:
Of armies on the chequer'd field array'd,
And guiltless war in pleasing form display'd;
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“Come sleep, O sleep, the certain knot of peace,
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Sonnet 39, line 1.
Astrophel and Stella (1591)

“Ten poor men sleep in peace on one straw heap, as Saadi sings,But the immensest empire is too narrow for two kings.”

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William R. Alger 17

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“Ten poor men sleep in peace on one straw heap, as Saadi sings,
But the immensest empire is too narrow for two kings.”