History & Politics
The Wisest Sovereigns Err Like Private Men
From Songs from the Waverley Novels (Poetical Works, Oxford 1904)
History & Politics
THE wisest sovereigns err like private men,
And royal hand has sometimes laid the sword
Of chivalry upon a worthless shoulder,
Which better had been branded by the hangman.
What then ? Kings do their best, -- and they and we
Must answer for the intent, and not the event.
✦ ✦ ✦
Codex Note
From Kenilworth (1821)
Cite this poem
MLA
Scott, Walter. “The Wisest Sovereigns Err Like Private Men.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/scott/218/.
Chicago
Scott, Walter. “The Wisest Sovereigns Err Like Private Men.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/scott/218/.
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