Monday, April 20, 2009

Wry Bit of Humor

I got a kick out of this partisan newsbook report of the trial (and ultimate beheading) of King Charles I on January 21, 1649: 

"The commissioners kept a fast this day in Whitehall. There preached before them Mr. Sprig, whose text was, "He that sheds blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Mr. Foxley's was, "Judge not, lest you be judged." And Mr. Peter's was, "I will bind their kings in chains, and their nobles in fetters of iron." The last sermon made amends for the two former.

(Source: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B - The 16th Century/The Early 17th Century, Eighth Edition, page 1741)

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Keep it clean and positive. (And sorry about the word verification, but the spmb*ts are out in full force!)