death the leveller

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial 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.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

James Shirley, 1659 (excerpt from the Contention of Ajax and Ulysses)


It is appropriate to follow Shelly's Ozymandias with Shirley's classic. In many ways it presents a more fully formed thesis and ends with a moral point but in other ways it does not spark the imagination as does Ozymandias. It is a little darker and unlike Shelly's sonnet I won't find this in my son's nursery book.

Still when I see contemporary politicians, royalty or rappers puff the windbag of their pomp and ego, I always think of Shirley's words, 'and in the dust be equal made'.

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James Shirley
ozymandias