And with glorious triumph, they Rode through England proud and gay, Drunk as with intoxication Of the wine of desolation.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The victors ride in celebration, but their joy is rooted in the suffering of others.
- In plain terms
- Winning feels great to the winners, but it comes from destroying others.
- What can you take from it?
- Celebrate victories carefully, knowing they often involve someone else's loss.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is the cost of your success?
- Who suffered for your triumph?
Another view
It assumes all victory involves desolation, which isn't always true.
More from Percy Bysshe Shelley
And he wore a kingly crown; And in his grasp a sceptre shone; On his brow this mark I saw - 'I AM GOD, AND KING, AND LAW!'
Permalink to quote #101 My father Time is weak and gray With waiting for a better day; See how idiot-like he stands, Fumbling with his palsied hands!
Permalink to quote #103 Last came Anarchy: he rode On a white horse, splashed with blood; He was pale even to the lips, Like Death in the Apocalypse.
Permalink to quote #100
Related quotes
I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust…
Siegfried SassoonSiegfried Sassoon quote #2 Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction or emerge from its ashes.
Hussein of JordanHussein of Jordan quote #28 There had been a war fought and won and the great city of the conquering people was crossed with triumphal arches and vivid with thrown flowers of white, red, …
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald quote #38