Love some poetic inspiration, especially this one entitled You Have No Enemies.
“You Have No Enemies” By Charles Mackay (1814-1889) The excellent Netflix series “The Crown” launched its fourth season, with Gillian Anderson, delivering a brilliant portrayal of “the Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher. At one point, Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) warns the Prime Minister that she is making enemies, and she responds by reciting from memory this poem.
You Have No Enemies
You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;
He who has 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 perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.
Per·jure as a verb in law (perjure oneselfbe perjured) To wilfully tell an untruth or make a misrepresentation under oath; commit perjury: "she admitted that she had perjured herself"
Mackay was a marginal literary figure in England. But in 2019, a confidante of Thatcher’s revealed that she turned to the writings of Mackay for solace and inspiration, particularly “Enemies,” which she kept in her scrapbook.
Thatchers enemies
Reminding me of Theodore’s Roosevelt’s famous “The Man in the Arena” speech.
Also 'If' by Rudyard Kipling, which I have recently written a blog about. Wise words from two great men. The Stoics are next on my 'to do list'.
In conclusion, you should read them all for inspiration.
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