Look not thou on beauty's charming;
Sit thou still when kings are arming;
Taste not when the wine-cup glistens;
Speak not when the people listens;
Stop thine ear against the singer;
From the red gold keep thy finger;
Vacant heart and hand and eye,
Easy live and quiet die.
Very good, I wonder who Lucy Ashton was, an old flame, unrequited love? Who knows.
Lucy Ashton is a character in 'A room with a view' by E M Forster. In the novel she sings these words at the piano.
Vacant heart and hand and eye, Easy live and quiet die. Wisest observations. Thanks for sharing it here.
The poem lays down a philosophy to be imbibed and followed by one and all. Nicely written: Vacant heart and hand and eye, Easy live and quiet die.
Scott was so much greater than people now realise.