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Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and Reformer
Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and Reformer
With commentary by Charles W. Frederickson
Book Excerpt
in the English Public
Schools and the tyrannical venality of ushers, deeply impressed
themselves on the mind of Shelley, and he tells us, in the beautiful
lines to his wife, of the remembrance of his endeavors to overthrow
these abominations having failed, of flying from "the harsh and
grating strife of tyrants and of foes" and of the high and noble
resolves which inspired him:
"And then I clasp'd my hands, and look'd around; But none were near to mock my streaming eyes, Which pour'd their warm drops on the sunny ground. So, without shame, I spake: 'I will be wise, And just, and free, and mild, if in me lies Such power; for I grow weary to behold The selfish and the strong still tyrannize Without reproach or check.' I then controll'd My tears; my heart grew calm; and I was meek and bold.
"And from that hour did I, with earnest thought, Heap knowledge from forbidden mines of lore; Yet nothing that my tyrants knew or
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FEATURED AUTHOR - 'The Plotting Shed' (see her blog http://www.intheplottingshed.com/) was Alex Martin's first writing space at the bottom of her Welsh garden. Now she splits her time between Wales and France and plot wherever she is. She still wanders aimlessly in the countryside with her dog and her dreams and she can still be found typing away with imaginary friends whispering in her ear, but these days she has the joy of seeing her stories published and the treasured feedback from readers who've enjoyed them.