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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ENGLAND FOR THE ENGLISH, by CHARLES KINGSLEY Poet's Biography
First Line: Our demagogues, as wise old aristophanes may show
Last Line: Hold fast by english fortitude -- you'll ne'er need irish rant.
Subject(s): England; English
First Line: Our demagogues, as wise old aristophanes may show
Last Line: Hold fast by english fortitude -- you'll ne'er need irish rant.
Subject(s): England; English
OUR demagogues, as wise old Aristophanes may show,
Are playing just the game they played two thousand years ago.
"They work," says he, "like seamen when they go to fish for eels;
They stir the mud, and foul the ponds, and so they fill their creels.
For fools, like eels, pop up their heads, whene'er they scent a riot;
And orators in shoals would starve, if once the
State grew quiet."
Moral
Let workmen plead the workmen's cause, and trust no flatterer's cant,
Hold fast by English fortitude -- you'll ne'er need Irish rant.
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STONE AND FLOWER by KENNETH REXROTH
THE HANGED MAN by KENNETH REXROTH
ENGLISH TRAIN COMPARTMENT by JOHN UPDIKE
A FAREWELL [TO C.E.G.] by CHARLES KINGSLEY
A ROUGH RHYME ON A ROUGH MATTER; THE ENGLISH GAME LAWS by CHARLES KINGSLEY