XXIV
If that blind fury that engenders wars,
Fails to rouse the of a kind,
Whether swift bird aloft or fleeting hind,
Whether equipped with scales or sharpened claws,
What ardent Fury in her pincers' jaws
Gripped your hearts, so poisoned the mind,
That intent on mutual cruelty, we find,
Into your own entrails your own blade bores?
If that blind fury that engenders wars,
Fails to rouse the of a kind,
Whether swift bird aloft or fleeting hind,
Whether equipped with scales or sharpened claws,
What ardent Fury in her pincers' jaws
Gripped your hearts, so poisoned the mind,
That intent on mutual cruelty, we find,
Into your own entrails your own blade bores?
Du Bellay - The Ruins of Rome