Which half of sovereignty’s the better part?
To rule this ardor with strategic swords
Would test all testament to armour’s art
In shielding ‘gainst the rush of passion’s hordes.
But to govern with a mawkish rein,
And lend a civil heel to all dissent,
Would be to bridled governance a bane,
And render it a buck to sentiment,
Which history distorts and then forgets.
So henceforth walls of iron I erect
To keep at bay the thoughts that lust begets,
And to official purpose I direct
The capital which others put to waste
In dim devotion to affection’s haste.
Sir Martin Caterwaul III, 1848
Sir Martin Caterwaul III, 1848