Who o’er the herd would wish to reign,
Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain!
Vain as the leaf upon the stream,
And fickle as a changeful dream;
Fantastic as a woman’s mood,
And fierce as Frenzy’s fever’d blood.
Thou many-headed monster thing,
Oh who would wish to be thy king!Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish writer, historian, biographer
Lady of the Lake, Canto 5, XXX (1810)
Quotations by:
Scott, Walter
Heap on the wood! — the wind is chill;
But let it whistle as it will,
We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.
Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish writer, historian, biographer
Marmion, Canto 6, Introduction (1808)
(Source)
The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.