"In my craft, or sullen art,
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers are abed,
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition, or bread,
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages,
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man,
Apart from the raging moon,
I write on these spindrift pages,
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms,
But for the lovers,
Their arms round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise, or wages,
Nor heed my craft, or art.'
Dylan Thomas
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers are abed,
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition, or bread,
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages,
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man,
Apart from the raging moon,
I write on these spindrift pages,
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms,
But for the lovers,
Their arms round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise, or wages,
Nor heed my craft, or art.'
Dylan Thomas
3 comments:
The Parthian shot.
The Pesian education system, we know, and they are unlikely to have forgotten, consisted of two, and only two, items: To shoot with the bow, and to tell the truth.
The first of these constituted a lifelong discipline including mass archery, firing from horseback, individual marksmanship, an endless series of skills.
One of their most famous exercises was the Parthian shot, requiring very accurate and coordinated maneuvers.
First it required a simulated withdrawal, a mass retreat.
The enemy would of course pursue the apparently discomfited Persians, with their leader, perhaps the best mounted of all, drawing further ahead of his troops. (Being human, his mind may well have been on how he could parlay his demonstrated prowess in battle to, perhaps, making a bid for the presidency.)
When he was comfortably ahead of his troops (this required great accuracy and practice) one chosen marksman would turn from the fleeing Persians and sink a shaft through his throat, a wound incapable of healing.
Voila - the Parthian shot.
The Parthian shot.
The Pesian education system, we know, and they are unlikely to have forgotten, consisted of two, and only two, items: To shoot with the bow, and to tell the truth.
The first of these constituted a lifelong discipline including mass archery, firing from horseback, individual marksmanship, an endless series of skills.
One of their most famous exercises was the Parthian shot, requiring very accurate and coordinated maneuvers.
First it required a simulated withdrawal, a mass retreat.
The enemy would of course pursue the apparently discomfited Persians, with their leader, perhaps the best mounted of all, drawing further ahead of his troops. (Being human, his mind may well have been on how he could parlay his demonstrated prowess in battle to, perhaps, making a bid for the presidency.)
When he was comfortably ahead of his troops (this required great accuracy and practice) one chosen marksman would turn from the fleeing Persians and sink a shaft through his throat, a wound incapable of healing.
Voila - the Parthian shot.
August 23, 2013 at 11:19 PM
For 'Pesian' [line 2]read 'Persian.'
Post a Comment