Love-Sonnets by Evelyn Douglas [i.e. J. E. Barlas] |
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 | Love-Sonnets |  |
28
XX.
[“Noblesse oblige:” it was a simple creed]
“Noblesse oblige:” it was a simple creed,Forgotten now, that who preferred a claim
To life more honoured than the general name
Should give it for the general good at need:
And from this outworn faith arose a breed
Of men who sickened at the thought of shame,
Whose swords, kept bright by use, were fire to tame
On England's soil the growth of waste and weed.
He who has once loved truly is a knight,
Knows deep down in his heart heroic worth,
And pins upon his crest a lady's glove.
Him shall you not turn back in the grim fight:
Uncover and own then, ye who prate of birth,
The untitled aristocracy of Love.
| Love-Sonnets | |