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Iolo Goch Quotes

1320–1390 Wales

Iolo Goch (c. 1320 – c. 1398) was a Welsh poet, best remembered as a master of the cywydd, a praiser of his friend Owain Glyndŵr, and the author of "Y Llafurwr" (The Labourer).

Wales
Poets

Random Iolo Goch quote

5 quotes

The best of Welshmen, valiant man,
Lord of the land, of Pywer Llew's line,
A slim strong man, to him the court belongs,
That best of places, worthy to be praised.

Without his work there's no
Christ's sacrifice to feed our faith,
And without him no pope
Or emperor can keep alive,
No wine-giving, sprightly king
Of notable prudence, no living man.

He'll speak his mind only on ploughs;
He hates dissension where he works.
He'll make and follow no war,
He'll oppress no one for his goods,
He's never brutal with us
Nor will he pursue false claims.

It fetches crops from the rich earth,
It's a good beast biting the ground.
It must have its knife and its board
And its food right under its thigh.
It goes unwillingly through stones,
It skins the field with leg outstretched.

He finds it many times pleasanter,
And I think no worse of him,
To grip in his placid way
The crooked plough and the goad
Than if he were wrecking a tower.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Iolo Goch (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.