Saturday, December 22, 2012

Charles Mackay nineteenth century author and journalist, born Perthshire. One of his works was an attempt to prove that all the languages of Europe derived from the Scots Gaelic. I wonder how he fared with that?

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas, my friend, the boast is poor,
For those who have mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes.
If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from purjured lip,
You’ve never set the wrong to right.
You’ve been a coward in the fight.

I've left the spelling 'purjured' unchanged. For all I know it could be an acceptable alternative to the usual one.

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