Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
From The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde
That has to be my favourite ballad.
My favourite part though:
" And once or twice to throw the dice is a gentlemanly game,
But he he does not win who plays with sin in the secret house of shame."