Explore "Heroism" by Ralph Waldo Emerson on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
"Paradise is under the shadow of swords. " / Muhammad
Ruby wine is drunk by knaves, / Sugar spends to fatten slaves, / Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons; / Thunderclouds are Jove's festoons, / Drooping oft in wreaths of dread / Lightning-knotted round his head; / The hero is not fed on sweets, / Daily his own heart he eats; / Chambers of the great are jails, / And headwinds right for royal sails.