A kick that scarce would move a horse

May kill a sound divine.

William Cowper (1731-1800): The Yearly Distress.

One murder made a villain,

Millions a hero. Princes were privileged

To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.

Beilby Porteus (1731-1808): Death. Line 154.

That kill the bloom before its time,

And blanch, without the owner's crime,

The most resplendent hair.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850): Lament of Mary Queen of Scots.

I will kill thee a hundred and fifty ways.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): As You Like It. Act v. Sc. 1.

Th' adorning thee with so much art

Is but a barb'rous skill;

'T is like the pois'ning of a dart,

Too apt before to kill.

Abraham Cowley (1618-1667): The Waiting Maid.