Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife
Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
These lines have been quoted from "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", composed by Thomas Gray, an eighteenth century poet. In these lines the poet has glorified the peaceful life of the humble villagers now buried in the country churchyard.
This stanza occurs after a few stanzas in which Gray describes the possibilities that the dead villagers had genius but could not materialise it because of poverty and opportunity. These villagers during their lifetime lived far from the madding crowd of the cities. They did not have any ambition, nor did they have knowledge, aristocracy and power to boast of. However, they were happy with whatever they had. They worked hard in their fields. They never flattered with a view to gaining something undue to them. They never expected any flattery from anybody, before or after their death. They had no tension because they did not commit any shameful thing. They were not unhappy for not getting any chance to flourish their virtues. These humble people led a very peaceful life within their own limit. Gray, thus, appreciates the simple and plain life of the rural people in these lines.
