King Richard III (1452-1485); then, and now (discovered in 2012 under a parking lot)
————————-
William Shakespeare, from Richard II, Act Three:
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings:
How some have been deposed; some slain in war;
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poison’d by their wives; some sleeping kill’d;
All murder’d: for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear’d and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life
Were brass impregnable, and humour’d thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!
********************************************
II Samuel 1:27a — “How the mighty have fallen!”
James 4:13-16 — Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
Isaiah 13:11 — I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
Proverbs 18:22 — Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
I Peter 5:5b-7 — Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
********************************************
Prayer written for Britain’s House of Commons, by Sir Christopher Yelverton, composed about 1578, and prayed at every sitting of the House of Commons:
Almighty God, by whom alone kings reign and princes decree justice, and from whom alone cometh all wisdom and understanding: we thine unworthy servants, here gathered together in thy name, do most humbly beseech thee to send down thy heavenly wisdom from above, to direct and guide us in all our consultations; and grant that having thy fear always before our eyes and laying aside all private interests, prejudices and partial affections, the result of all our counsels may be the glory of thy blessed name; the maintenance of true religion and justice; the safety, honour, and happiness of the Sovereign; the public welfare, peace and tranquility of the realm; and the uniting and knitting together of the hearts of all persons and estates within the same in true Christian love and charity towards one another; through Jesus Christ our Lord.