kings Quotes

“Cacambo asked one of the great officers in what way he should pay his obeisance to his Majesty; whether they should throw themselves upon their knees or on their stomachs; whether they should put their hands upon their heads or behind their backs; whether they should lick the dust off the floor; in a word, what was the ceremony? ‘The custom,” said the great officer, ‘is to embrace the King, and to kiss him on each cheek.’”

Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing: The last whose realm was fair and free Between the Mountains and the Sea. His sword was long, his lance was keen, His shining helm afar was seen; The countless stars of heaven’s field Were mirrored in his silver shield. But long ago he rode away, And where he dwelleth none can say; For into darkness fell his star In Mordor where the shadows are.

“Whoso pulleth Out This Sword of This Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of All England.”

“Thou art the man, Thou the accursed polluter of this land.”

“It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Terabithia and turned him into a king. He had thought that was it. Wasn’t king the best you could be? Now it occurred to him that perhaps Terabithia was like a castle where you came to be knighted. After you stayed for a while and grew strong you had to move on.”

“I think the king is but a man, as I am: the violet smells to him as it doth to me.”

“Every subject’s duty is the king’s, but every subject’s soul is his own.”

“Not today, O Lord, O, not today, think not upon the fault My father made in compassing the crown. I Richard’s body have interrèd new And on it have bestowed more contrite tears Than from it issued forcèd drops of blood. Five hundred poor I have in yearly pay Who twice a day their withered hands hold up Toward heaven, to pardon blood.”

“So, if a son that is by his father sent about merchandise do sinfully miscarry upon the sea, the imputation of his wickedness, by your rule, should be imposed upon his father that sent him.”

“Yet, in reason, no man should possess him with any appearance of fear, lest he, by showing it, should dishearten his army.”

“Upon the king! Let us our lives, our souls, our debts, our careful wives, our children, and our sins lay on the King! We must bear all. O hard condition, Twin-born with greatness, subject to the breath Of every fool, whose sense no more can feel But his own wringing.”

“There above How many now hold themselves mighty kings Who here like swine shall wallow in the mire, Leaving behind them horrible dispraise!”

“Even as one did thy mother bear thee, she the wild cow of the cattle stalls, Ninsunna, whose head she exalted more than a husband. Royal power over the people Enlil has decreed for thee.”

“Oh Enkidu, arise, I will conduct thee unto Eanna dwelling place of Anu, where Gilgamish [oppresses] the souls of men.”

“Why, if not, we should be as able to win it without the King’s grace as with him. For I need not tell your Lordship that Miraz is no very great captain. And after that, we should be both victorious and kingless.”

“Miraz weeded them out. Belisar and Uvilas were shot with arrows on a hunting party: by chance, it was pretended. All the great house of the Passarids he sent to fight giants on the northern frontier till one by one they fell.”

“All the kings of the earth before God are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised.”

“He coulda been a king.”

“Not for some far-off kinsman, but myself, Shall I expel this poison in the blood; For whoso slew that king might have a mind To strike me too with his assassin hand.”

“One can ignore a poor shirtless wretch doing such labor, but none ignore a king sharing the load. Perhaps we should switch places more often. If a king is seen to assume the burden of the poorest of men, perhaps there will be those who will help him with his own load, so invisible, yet so daunting.”

“A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a tree which bore golden apples. These apples were always counted, and about the time when they began to grow ripe it was found that every night one of them was gone. The king became very angry at this, and ordered the gardener to keep watch all night under the tree. The gardener set his eldest son to watch; but about twelve o’clock he fell asleep, and in the morning another of the apples was missing.”

“The old king was very angry, and wanted to punish his wicked sons; but they made their escape , and got into a ship and sailed away over the wide sea, and where they went to nobody knew and nobody cared.”

“Don’t be a pawn, when you’re meant to be the king.”

“He called them privately after the Kings and Queens of England; Cam the Wicked, James the Ruthless, Andrew the Just, Prue the Fair—for Prue would have beauty, he thought, how could she help it?—and Andrew brains.”

“From my vantage point, hidden behind the flowers, I’m level with the king’s box and slightly behind it. Mare Barrow, a few yards from the king. What would my family think, or Kilorn for that matter? This man sends us to die, and I’ve willingly become his servant. It makes me sick.”

“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me—who lives and who dies?”

“Lavender’s blue, Rosemary’s green, When you are king, I shall be queen”

“When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.”

“Duplicity of any sort is exceedingly objectionable between married people of any rank, not to say kings and queens; and the most objectionable form duplicity can assume is that of punning.”

“Absolute monarchs are but men.”

“All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one. I feel ill-used.”

“The king, who was the wisest man in the kingdom, knew well there was a time when things must be done and questions left till afterwards.”

“He could not tell whether the queen meant light-haired or light-heired; for why might she not aspirate her vowels when she was ex-asperated herself?”

“You hardly know me, Johnny, so I beg you to believe my reputation: I’m a constant soldier and a sometime poet and I will be King.”

“I’ve snapped and plotted all my life. There’s no other way to be a king, alive and fifty all at the same time.”

“You get Alais and you get the kingdom but I get the one thing I want most. If you’re king, England stays intact. I get that. It’s all yours now-the girl, the crown, the whole black bloody business. Isn’t that enough?”

“My, what a greedy little trinity you are: king, king, king. Two of you must learn to live with disappointment.”

“My position is - well frankly, Philip, it’s a tangle. Once I’m dead, who’s to be king? I could draw papers ‘til my scribes drop or the ink runs out, and once I died, unless I’ve left behind me three contented sons, my lands will split three ways in civil war.”

“I have not disobeyed my sovereign. I truly believe no man in England is safer than myself.”

″‘There is something more powerful than any army. Something strong enough to topple kings, and even Darklings. Do you know what that thing is?‘.... ‘Faith,’ he breathed, his black eyes wild. “Faith’”

“A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake.”

“That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them...A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free.”

“Technology has tended to devaluate the traditional vision-inducing materials. The illumination of a city, for example, was once a rare event, reserved for victories and national holidays, for the canonization of saints and the crowning of kings. Now it occurs nightly and celebrates the virtues of gin, cigarettes and toothpaste.”

“My father is a Cannibal King; there aren’t many children with so fine a father!”

“ME... ME say I’m sorry! Kings never say ‘I’m sorry!’ and I am the mightiest king in all the world!”

“You may be a mighty king, but your sitting in oobleck up to your chin. And so is everyone else in you land. And if you won’t even say you’re sorry, you’re no sort of a king at all!”

“To the rest of the world the name of Henry VIII brought a shiver, and suggested an ogre whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt scourgings and death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of pleasure, the figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all gentleness and affection. He called to mind a long succession of loving passages between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon them, his unstinted tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that possessed his heart.”

“Maybe there was, and maybe there wasn’t. But they say that as soon as the old King spoke them, the sun began to shine and fight its way through the storm. They say that the falling oobleck blobs grew smaller and smaller and smaller. ”

“Every year the same four things! I’m mighty tired of those old things! I want something NEW to come down!”

“When I am king they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books, for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved.”

“Up onto the stilts sprang Birtram, the King. He drew a great Kingly breath-- the first one in weeks. His head shot up high; his chest broadened wide. Birtram of Binn was sturdy, straight and strong again, and every inch a King.

“Why, I’ll be the mightiest man that ever lived! Just think of it! Tomorrow I’m going to have OOBLECK!”

″‘Then shall the king’s law be law of mercy from this day, and never more be law of blood! Up from thy knees and away! To the Tower and say the king decrees the duke of Norfolk shall not die!’ The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and wide over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another prodigious shout burst forth— ‘The reign of blood is ended! Long live Edward, King of England!‘”

“Oh, my precious Mistress Stahlbaum, you see at your feet the happiest of men, whose life you saved on this very spot. You were kind enough to say that you would not scorn me as that nasty Princess Pirlipat did, for becoming ugly on your account. In that instant, I ceased to be a lowly nutcracker and regained my former, not unpleasant aspect. Oh, precious Mistress Stahlbaum, favor me with your hand, share my crown and kingdom with me, reign with me over Marzipan Case, for I am king there now.”

“It was Humphrey and Mop’s secret castle. Mop was a king on his throne, with jewels and treasure. It was very cozy...and near Mommy.”

“There did seem to be something on his head. He reached up his hand and touched a hat!”

“Young man, I’ll give you one more chance. Will you take off your hat for your King?”

“Does this mean there is no one in my whole kingdom who can take off this boy’s hat?”

“But when Bartholomew stepped up on the wall they gasped in amazement. He was wearing the most beautiful hat that had ever been seen in the Kingdom of Didd. ”

“The King’s hand trembled with joy as he reached for the hat. Slowly, slowly, Bartholomew felt the weight of the grat hat lifting from his head. He held his breath.... then suddenly he felt the cool evening breezes blew through his hair.

“Then the King sent Bartholomew home to his parents.. no basket on his arm, no hat on his head, but with five hundred pieces of gold in a bag. ”

“Look. You may be a king-you may even be a deity-but you are still a monkey. Have a good evening, sir.”

“A long time ago, in a certain place in Africa, a small village lay across a river and half a day’s journey from a city where a great king lived. A man named Mufaro lived in this village with his two daughters, who were called Manyara and Nyasha. Everyone agreed that Manyara and Nyasha were very beautiful.”

“Mufaro beamed with pride. ‘The king has asked for the most worthy and the most beautiful. No, Manyara, I cannot send you alone. Only a king can choose between two such worthy daughters. Both of you must go.”

“On the seat of the great chief’s stool lay the little garden snake. Nyasha laughed with relief and joy. ‘My little friend!’ she exclaimed. ‘It’s such a pleasure to see you, but why are you here?’ ‘I am the king,’ Nyoka replied. And there, before Nyasha’s eyes, the garden snake changed shape.”

“He was dying, and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. But that was no excuse. He was a warrior. A king!”

“Rock-a-bye baby, thy cradle is green; Father’s a nobleman, Mother’s a queen. And Betty’s a lady, And wears a gold ring; And Johnny’s a drummer, And drums for the king.”

“Draw a pail of water; For my lady’s daughter; My father’s a king, and my mother’s a queen, My two little sisters are dressed in green, Stamping grass and parsley; Marigold leaves and daisies.”

“Tonight, you must be like an animal when he comes into the room. A lioness. She mates with her lion and he thinks the moment is about him when it is really about her, her children, her posterity. Her trick is to make him think that he is king of the bush, but what does a king matter? Really, she is king and queen and everything in between.”

″‘Why don’t you show your face to your king?’ A voice came clearly through the gorge piece. ‘Sire, because I do not exist!‘”

″‘The King of Egypt is greater than Egypt’s corn!’ cried King Ra. ‘The King is more golden than the corn! The King will outlast the corn!‘”

″‘Now,’ said Sir Ector, kneeling before Arthur and bowing his head in reverence, ‘I understand that you and none other are the true-born King of this land.‘”

“Arthur! We will have Arthur! By God’s will he is our King! God save King Arthur!”

″‘Kings and princes have brought entire armies to free the princess,’ said the fairy, ‘and every last one of them died.’ ‘All I have are my will and my courage,’ said the youth.”

“Before them stood an old man, very tall and upright, carrying a staff as though it were a king’s sceptre. There was something so noble about the old man that the children knew, in spite of his simple tunic and broad-brimmed hat, that he must be a king at the very least.”

“I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule! I’m king of a house! And a bush! And a cat! But that isn’t all. I’ll do better than that! My throne shall be higher!”

“If I could sit high, how much greater I’d be! What a king! I’d be ruler of all I could see!”

″ ‘Hooray! shouted Yertle. ‘I’m king of the trees! I’m king of the birds! And I’m king of the bees! I’m king of the butterflies! King of the air! Ah, me! What a throne! What a wonderful chair! I’m Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see!’ ”

“A real king’s life is perhaps a hard one; but a pretended king’s is, I warrant, much harder.”

“It is my belief that, given the necessary physical likeness, it was far easier to pretend to be king of Ruritania than it would have been to personate my next-door neighbor.”

“He was my king and all that I have I owe to him. The food that I eat, the hall where I live, and the swords of me men, all came from Alfred, my king, who hated me.”

“Parnell,” said Mr Henchy, “is dead. Now, here’s the way I look at it. Here’s this chap come to the throne after his old mother keeping him out of it till the man was grey. He’s a man of the world, and he means well by us. He’s a jolly fine decent fellow, if you ask me, and no damn nonsense about him. He just says to himself: ‘The old one never went to see these wild Irish. By Christ, I’ll go myself and see what they’re like.’ And are we going to insult the man when he comes over here on a friendly visit? Eh? Isn’t that right, Crofton?”

“Heathcliff would as soon lift a finger at you as the king would march his army against a colony of mice.”

I might have remembered that the children of kings are men from the beginning.”