James Shirley

  •    [These verses are said to have “chilled the heart” of Oliver Cromwell.]

    THE GLORIES of our blood and state
      Are shadows, not substantial things;
    There is no armor against fate;
      Death lays his icy hand on kings:
          Sceptre and crown
          ...

  • Victorious men of earth, no more
      Proclaim how wide your empires are:
    Though you bind in every shore,
      And your triumphs reach as far
            As night or day,
      Yet you proud monarchs must obey,
    And mingle with forgotten ashes, when
    Death...