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And [with] the guts of the last priest
Let’s shake the neck of the last king. Denis Diderot, Dithrambe sur fête de rois
A king who trusts no man is weak. Patricia Briggs, Dragon’s Blood
Imagine a king who fights his own battles. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Troy 2004 starring Brad Pitt & Eric Bana & Orlando Bloom & Rose Byrne & Peter O’Toole & Diane Kruger & Brian Cox & Sean Bean & Julie Christie & Saffron Burrows et al, director Wolfgang Petersen, Achilles to Agamemnon
History remembers kings not soldiers. ibid. Agamemnon to Achilles
Sweetheart, now they will cut off thy father’s head. Mark, child, what I say: they will cut off my head, and perhaps make thee a king. But mark what I say: you must not be a king, so long as your brothers Charles and James do live. Charles I, to son Henry Stuart
A subject and a sovereign are clean different things. Charles I
Princes are not bound to give account of their actions but to God alone. Charles I
One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise, she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion. Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Kill the king but spare the man. Thomas Paine
His fair large front and eye sublime declared
Absolute rule; and hyacinthine locks
Round from his parted forelock manly hung
Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad. John Milton, Paradise Lost IV:300
A crown
Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns.
Brings dangers, troubles, cares, and sleepless nights
To him who wears the regal diadem. John Milton, Paradise Regained II:458
And so sepúlchred in such pomp dost lie,
That kings for such a tomb would wish to die. John Milton
Every noble crown is, and on Earth will forever be, a crown of thorns. Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present III:VIII
God himself, with reverence be it spoken, is not an absolute but a limited monarch, limited by the rule which infinite wisdom prescribes to infinite power. Lord Bolingbroke, Patriot King
Confronting kings is a very risky business. Wallis & Edward 2005 starring Joely Richardson & Stephen Campbell Moore & David Westhead & Richard Johnson & Clifford Rose & Margaret Tyzack & Bill Champion & Monica Dolan & David Calder & Miriam Margolyes et al, director Dave Moore, Baldwin
Sweet wag, shall there be gallows standing in England when thou art king ... Do not thou when thou art king hang a thief. William Shakespeare, Henry IV II i 57-61
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. The Hollow Crown: Henry IV starring Jeremy Irons & Simon Russell Beale & Tom Hiddleston & Alun Armstrong & David Bamber & Julie Walters & Niamh Cusack & David Dawson & Michaelle Dockery et al, director Richard Eyre, King, BBC 2012
Cade: And when I am king, – asking I will be … there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.
Dick: The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers. William Shakespeare, II Henry IV IV ii
And fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns. William Shakespeare III Henry VI IV vii 63
Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm from an anointed king;
The breath of worldly men cannot depose
The deputy elected by the Lord.
For every man that Bolingbroke hath pressed
To lift shrewd steel against our golden crown,
God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel; then if angels fight,
Weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right. William Shakespeare, Richard II III ii 54
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings:
How some have been depos’d, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have depos’d,
Some poison’d by their wives, some sleeping kill’d;
All murder’d. ibid. III ii 155
Within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court, and there the antick sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp. ibid. III ii 160
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king! ibid. III ii 169
See, see, King Richard doth himself appear,
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east. ibid. III iii 62
Yet looks he like a king; behold, his eye,
As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth
Controlling majesty. ibid. III iii 68
What must the king do now? Must he submit?
The kings shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o’ God’s name, let it go.
I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown,
My figured goblets for a dish of wood,
My scepter for a palmer’s walking staff,
My subjects for a pair of carved saints,
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave. ibid. III iii 143
God save the king! Will no man say, amen? ibid. IV i 174
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here cousin,
On this side my hand and on that side thine.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes two buckets filling one another;
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen, and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount upon high. ibid. IV i 181
My crown I am, but still my griefs are mine.
You may my glories and my state dispose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those. ibid. IV i 181-183, Richard to Bolingbroke
I give this heavy weight from off my head,
And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,
The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;
With mine own tears I wash away my value,
With mine own hands I give away my crown,
With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,
With mine own breath release all duteous oaths. ibid. IV i 20
The king’s name is a tower of strength,
Which they upon the adverse party want. ibid. V iii 12
Alas, why would you heap this care on me? I am unfit for state and majesty. William Shakespeare, Richard III III vii 294-295
Noble respect takes it in might, not merit. William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream V i 92