James Shirley
English writer (1596–1666)
(Redirected from Shirley, James)
James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 29, 1666) was an English poet and dramatist.
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Quotes edit
- Devouring Famine, Plague, and War,
Each able to undo mankind,
Death's servile emissaries are;
Nor to these alone confined,
He hath at will
More quaint and subtle ways to kill;
A smile or kiss, as he will use the art,
Shall have the cunning skill to break a heart.- Poem The Last Conqueror.
- Death calls ye to the crowd of common men.
- Cupid and Death.
The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses edit
- The honour is overpaid,
When he that did the act is commentator.- sc. i.
- 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.- sc. iii.
- Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.- sc. iii. Compare: "The sweet remembrance of the just Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust", Tate and Brady, Psalm cxxii.
