Philippa Gregory - I have heard ballads of great battles, and poems about...

I have heard ballads of great battles, and poems about the beauty of a charge and the grace of a leader. But I did not know that war was nothing more than butchery, as savage and unskilled as sticking a pig in the throat and leaving it to bleed to make the meat tender. I did not know that the style and nobility of the jousting arena had nothing to do with this thrust and stab. Just like killing a screaming piglet for bacon after chasing it round the sty. And I did not know that war thrilled men so: they come home laughing like schoolboys after a prank; but they have blood on their hands and a smear of something on their cloaks and the smell of smoke in their hair and a terrible ugly excitement on their faces.I understand now why they break into convents, force women against their will, defy sanctuary to finish the killing chase. They arouse in themselves a wild vicious hunger more like animals than men. I did not know war was like this. I feel I have been a fool not to know, since I was raised in a kingdom at war and am the daughter of a man captured in battle, the widow of a night, the wife of a merciless solider. But I know now.

Philippa Gregory

They Said So®

Philippa Gregory Quotes

;

I have heard ballads of great battles, and poems about the beauty of a charge and the grace of a leader. But I did not know that war was nothing more than butchery, as savage and unskilled as sticking a pig in the throat and leaving it to bleed to make the meat tender. I did not know that the style and nobility of the jousting arena had nothing to do with this thrust and stab. Just like killing a screaming piglet for bacon after chasing it round the sty. And I did not know that war thrilled men so: they come home laughing like schoolboys after a prank; but they have blood on their hands and a smear of something on their cloaks and the smell of smoke in their hair and a terrible ugly excitement on their faces.I understand now why they break into convents, force women against their will, defy sanctuary to finish the killing chase. They arouse in themselves a wild vicious hunger more like animals than men. I did not know war was like this. I feel I have been a fool not to know, since I was raised in a kingdom at war and am the daughter of a man captured in battle, the widow of a night, the wife of a merciless solider. But I know now. Philippa Gregory

They Said So®

Keywords

heard ballads great battles poems beauty charge grace leader war butchery savage unskilled sticking pig throat leaving bleed make meat tender style nobility jousting arena thrust stab killing screaming piglet bacon chasing round sty thrilled men home laughing schoolboys prank blood hands smear cloaks smell smoke hair terrible ugly excitement faces understand break convents force women defy sanctuary finish chase arouse wild vicious hunger animals feel fool raised kingdom daughter man captured battle widow night wife merciless solider

Explore other Authors

Carole King

Carnie Wilson

Rebecca West

Robert Fulghum

Tim Scott

John Kenneth Galbraith

Jean Kerr

Gregory David Roberts

Otto von Bismarck

Randal Marlin

W.H. Auden

Stephen Ambrose

If you are using this quote in any webpage , printmedia or any other places please use the following methods to cite this quotation.

MLA Style Citation

"A quote by Philippa Gregory" theysaidso.com, 2024. Apr 23, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/philippa-gregory-i-have-heard-ballads-of-great-battles-and-poems-about-the-beaut

APA Style Citation

"A quote by Philippa Gregory" (n.d.). theysaidso.com. Retrieved Apr 23, 2024, from theysaidso.com web site : https://theysaidso.com/quote/philippa-gregory-i-have-heard-ballads-of-great-battles-and-poems-about-the-beaut

Chicago Style Citation

"A quote by Philippa Gregory". theysaidso.com, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/philippa-gregory-i-have-heard-ballads-of-great-battles-and-poems-about-the-beaut , accessed Apr 23, 2024.

Comments

Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

There are no comments yet.