(no subject)

[cyrano]

I suppose it says something about the ways I'm broken that Giles Corey is one of my heroes. Neither of these are mine, and I discovered them through Will Shetterly's "It's All One Thing".

THE MAN OF IRON

Giles Corey was a wizard strong, a stubborn wretch was he;
And fit was he to hang on high upon the locust tree.

So, when before the Magistrates for trial he did come,
He would no true confession make, but was completely dumb.

“Giles Corey,” said the Magistrate, “What hast thou here to plead
To those who now accuse thy sould of crime and horrid deed?”

Giles Corey he said not a word, no single word spoke he.
“Giles Corey,” said the Magistrate, “We’ll press it out of thee.”

They got them then a heavy beam, then laid it on his breast;
They loaded it with heavy stones, and hard upon him pressed.

“More weight,” now said this wretched man. “More weight!” again he cried;
And he did no confession make, but wickedly he died.

–Anonymous (early 18th century)

I will not plead
If I deny, I am condemned already,
In courts where ghosts appear as witnesses
And swear men’s lives away. If I confess,
Then I confess a lie, to buy a life,
Which is not life, but only death in life.
I will not bear false witness against any,
Not even against myself, whom I count least.

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Comments

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Actually, he's one of my heroes too. Longfellow caught it quite well, I think, he's the only one who refused to play along, either as doomed defendant or lying confessor. He stepped outside the game and defied it.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

And I think that's one of the things that strikes me about him, aside from being a cantankerous old man--these rules suck, and so I'm going to play by different ones.