Heaven will one day open
The king’s eyes, that so long have slept upon
This bold bad man. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII II ii 42
O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favors!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars and women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again. ibid. III ii 366
Arthur: Well I am king.
Dennis: Oh king eh, very nice. Are how did you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1974 starring Graham Chapman & John Cleese & Eric Idle & Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones & Michael Palin & Neil Innis & Connie Booth & Carol Cleveland et al, directors Gilliam & Jones
Well I didn’t vote for you. Well how did you become king then? ibid. dirt woman
Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. ibid. dirt man
Is it ever justifiable to overthrow the king? Simon Schama’s Shakespeare II: Hollow Crowns, BBC 2012
Ten poor men sleep in peace on one straw heap, as Saadi sings,
But the immensest empire is too narrow for two kings. William R Alger, Elbow Room, 1865
A man’s a man,
But when you see a king, you see the work
Of many thousand men. George Eliot, Spanish Gypsy, 1868
Whenever kingship approaches tyranny it is near its end, for by this it becomes ripe for division, change of dynasty, or total destruction, especially in a temperate climate ... where men are habitually, morally and naturally free. Nicole Oresme, De Monet
Princes are like to heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times; and which have much veneration, but no rest. Francis Bacon, Essay
The king reigns but does not govern. Otto von Bismarck
That the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution. William Blackstone
The king never dies. William Blackstone
The rule
Of the many is not well. One must be chief
In war and one the king. Homer, The Iliad II:253
Ah! vainest of all things
Is the gratitude of kings. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Belisarius
What is a king? a man condemn’d to bear
The public burthen of the nation’s care. Matthew Prior, Solomon 111:275
Kings are like stars – they rise and set, they have
The worship of the world, but no repose. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Hellas
Kingly conclaves stern and cold
Where blood with guilt is bought and sold. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, 1820
To know nor faith, nor love, nor law, to be.
Omnipotent but friendless, is to reign. ibid.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert … near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. Percy Shelley, Ozymandias
In that fierce light which beats upon a throne. Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King
Kings will be tyrants from policy when subjects are rebels from principle. Edmund Burke
The king neither administers nor governs, he reigns. Louis Adolphe Thiers, signed article Le National 4th February 1830
And therefore, at the kynges court, my brother,
Each man for hymself, ther is noon oother. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
When kings the sword of justice first lay down,
They are no kings, though they possess the crown.
Titles are shadows, crowns are empty things,
The good of subjects is the end of kings. Daniel Defoe, The True-Born Englishman, 1701
The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substanting things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade. James Shirley, The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses, 1659
All kings is mostly rapscallions. Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884
Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial ‘we’. Mark Twain
The whole world is in revolt. Soon there will be only five kings left – the King of England, the King of Spades, the King of Clubs, the King of Hearts and the King of Diamonds. King Farouk of Egypt
Kings fight for empires, madmen for applause. John Dryden
Vain the ambition of kings
Who seek by trophies and dead things,
To leave a living name behind,
And weave but nets to catch the wind. John Webster, The Devil’s Law-Case, 1623
Even on the highest throne we are seated still on our arses. Michael de Montaigne
Conquering kings their titles take
From the foes they captive make. John Chandler, 1806-76
What are kings when regiment is gone but perfect shadows in a sunshine day. Christopher Marlowe, Edward II V:I
Is not passing brave to be a king,
And ride in triumph through Persepolis? Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great, 1590
The King himself should be under no man, but under God and the Law. Judge Edward Coke
Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
However strong your armies may be, you will always need the favour of the inhabitants to the possession of a province. ibid. chIII
And here we must observe that men must either be flattered or crushed; for they will revenge themselves for slight wrongs, whilst for grave ones they cannot. The injury therefore that you do to a man should be such that you need not fear his revenge. ibid.
And so it is with State affairs. For the distempers of a State being discovered while yet inchoate, which can only be done by a sagacious ruler, may easily be dealt with; but when, from not being observed, they are suffered to grow until they are obvious to every one, there is no longer any remedy. ibid.
All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer. ibid.
A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent. ibid. chVI
For, besides what has been said, it should be borne in mind that the temper of the multitude is fickle, and that while it is easy to persuade them of a thing, it is hard to fix them in that persuasion. Wherefore, matters should be so ordered that when men no longer believe of their own accord, they may be compelled to believe by force. ibid.