“Ennobling this dull pomp, the life of kings,
By contemplation of diviner things.”
Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools
"Mycerinus" (1849)
On Shakespeare (1630)
Source: The Complete Poetry
“Ennobling this dull pomp, the life of kings,
By contemplation of diviner things.”
Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools
"Mycerinus" (1849)
Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English writer
XXIII, An Ode, to Himself, lines 1-6
The Works of Ben Jonson, Second Folio (1640), Underwoods
“Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.”
Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868) English historian and churchman
Hymn Ride on, Ride on in Majesty (1827).
Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) Italian poet
Giace l'alta Cartago; appena i segni
Dell'alte sue ruine il lido serba.
Muojono le città, muojono i regni;
Copre i fasti e le pompe arena ed erba;
E l'uomo d'esser mortal par che si sdegni:
O nostra mente cupida e superba!
Canto XV, stanza 20 (tr. Fairfax)
Max Wickert's translation:
: Exalted Carthage lies full low. The signs
of her great ruin fade upon the strand.
So dies each city, so each realm declines,
its pomp and glory lost in scrub and sand,
and mortal man to see it sighs and pines.
(Ah, greed and pride! when will you understand?)
Gerusalemme Liberata (1581)
“Space echoes like an immense tomb, yet the stars still burn. Why does the sun take so long to die?”
Nick Land (1962) British philosopher
Source: The Thirst for Annihilation: Georges Bataille and Virulent Nihilism (1992), Chapter 5: "Dead God", p. 60 (original emphasis)
Context: God is nowhere to be found, yet there is still so much light! Light that dazzles and maddens; crisp, ruthless light. Space echoes like an immense tomb, yet the stars still burn. Why does the sun take so long to die? Or the moon retain such fidelity to the Earth? Where is the new darkness? The greatest of all unknowings? Is death itself shy of us?
“There are moments in our lives when we all are kings of some place, some time. Some tomb.”
Lorin Morgan-Richards (1975) American poet, cartoonist, and children's writer
Shared on social media on June 8, 2018.
Quotes as Marcil d'Hirson Garron
Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) Italian poet
Canto IV, stanza 39 (tr. Fairfax)
Gerusalemme Liberata (1581)