""And whether ye swear a hive of monks, Or one fair wife to friend, This is the manner of Christian men, That their oath endures the end. "Love with the shield of the Broken Heart Ever his bow doth bend, With a single shaft for a single prize, And the ultimate bolt that parts and flies Comes with a thunder of split skies, And a sound of souls that rend. "So shall you earn a king's sword, Who cast your sword away." And the King took, with a random eye, A rude axe from a hind hard by And turned him to the fray. For the swords of the Earls of Daneland Flamed round the fallen lord. The first blood woke the trumpet-tune, As in monk's rhyme or wizard's rune, Beginneth the battle of Ethandune With the throwing of the sword."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The Ballad of the White Horse
94 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The Ballad of the White Horse →
Related Quotes
"Up across windy wastes and up Went Alfred over the shaws, Shaken of the joy of giants, The joy without a cause."
""And any little maid that walks In good thoughts apart, May break the guard of the Three Kings And see the dear and d…"
""The gates of heaven are lightly locked, We do not guard our gold, Men may uproot where worlds begin, Or read the nam…"
"But you and all the kind of Christ Are ignorant and brave, And you have wars you hardly win And souls you hardly save…"
"Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night — Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archai…"
"In cloud of clay so cast to heaven What shape shall man discern? These lords may light the mystery Of mastery or vict…"
"Yet Alfred is no fairy tale; His days as our days ran, He also looked forth for an hour On peopled plains and skies t…"
"Lady, by one light only We look from Alfred's eyes, We know he saw athwart the wreck The sign that hangs about your n…"
"Therefore I bring these rhymes to you Who brought the cross to me, Since on you flaming without flaw I saw the sign t…"
""The gates of heaven are lightly locked, We do not guard our gain, The heaviest hind may easily Come silently and sud…"