‘Twas in truth an hour
Of universal ferment; mildest men
Were agitated, and commotions, strife
Of passion and opinion, filled the walls
Of peaceful houses with unquiet sounds.
The soil of common life was, at that time,
Too hot to tread upon; oft said I then,
And not then only, “What a mockery this
Of history, the past and that to come!”
— Wordsworth, The Prelude, Book 9
I got 3 licks once for handing in a paper to the Female English teacher, who was sporting a quite prominent mustache by the way, for signing it William Henry Wadsworth….with hand drawn illustrations and all that jazz.
“…universal ferment”? This explains everything – the whole world is drunk!
And talk. Like. William. Shatner.