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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
COUNSEL FOR KINGS, by PIERRE DE RONSARD Poet's Biography First Line: Be, like a noble prince, in love with fame! Last Line: God's justice, higher than thou, should punish thee. . . . Subject(s): Courts & Courtiers; Fame; Love; Punishment; Virtue; Reputation | |||
BE, like a noble prince, in love with fame! Live glorious days, and win a deathless name Achieving deeds that history shall tell, Like those of Charles the Great, and Charles Martel! Let not the nobles wrong the Third Estate; Let not the populace displease the great. Manage thy revenues with canny sense; The Prince who cannot govern his expense, And rule his wife, his children, his estate, Will surely fail to govern well the state. . . . But be more miserly of friends than gold; Kings without friends were wretched from of old. . . . Never appear in pompous vesturing; Virtue alone can fitly clothe a king. Let all thy body shine with virtues bright, And not thy raiment with rich pearls bedight. . . . And, Sire, since no man born may punish kings For any wrong, with strict examinings Chastise thyself, in fear lest finally God's justice, higher than thou, should punish thee. . . . | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THEM AND US by LUCILLE CLIFTON A MAN TO A WOMAN by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS DEATH AND FAME by ALLEN GINSBERG EARTH'S IMMORTALITIES: FAME by ROBERT BROWNING STANZAS WRITTEN ON THE ROAD BETWEEN FLORENCE AND PISA by GEORGE GORDON BYRON PROVIDE, PROVIDE by ROBERT FROST RETURN OF SPRING by PIERRE DE RONSARD |
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