Social Commentaries
Rules for Monarchs
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Epigrams
Social Commentaries
IF men are never their thoughts to employ,
Take care to provide them a life full of joy;
But if to some profit and use thou wouldst bend them,
Take care to shear them, and then defend them.
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Rules for Monarchs.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/216/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Rules for Monarchs.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/216/.
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