I was there when kings were born
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn
The strongest fell in my presence
Consequences ignored in my absence
The corrupt have plenty to give
Given too much it's hard to live
Some have reached out and felt me
But none have ever touched me
What am I?
Added lines:
The corrupt have plenty to give
Given too much it's hard to live
Is it:
Corruption
I was there when kings were born
Corruption has always been there since the start of mankind
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn
Corruption can lead to serious consequences
The strongest fell in my presence
The strongest Empires/Dynasties fell because there was corruption everywhere, even within the king's palace
Consequences ignored in my absence
Nothing to ignore when there's no corruption :)
Some have reached out and felt me
Bribery? Some have felt the effects of bribing someone succesfully
But none have ever touched me
You can't touch corruption, cant you?
OR
You are:
Death
I was there when kings were born
Duh!
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn
Who wants to die?
The strongest fell in my presence
The wealthiest, strongest, most powerful, all will eventually die
Consequences ignored in my absence
No death, nothing to worry about!
Some have reached out and felt me
Dead people
But none have ever touched me
You can't touch death, can't you?
You're
Guilt
I was there when kings were born
Guilt is as old as rational thinking
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn
Guilt is one of if not the worst feeling you can have
The strongest fell in my presence
Guilt lingers and you can't do anything about it
Consequences ignored in my absence
With no guilt, you don't take responsibility of your actions
The corrupt have plenty to give
Wrongdoers have plenty to feel guilt for
Given too much it's hard to live
Guilt can drive people insane
Some have reached out and felt me
It's not unusual to feel guilt
But none have ever touched me
You cannot touch guilt
I think it must be:
Greed (in general strong lust for something)
I was there when kings were born:
Most of them would have a deep longing for something
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn :
Most would have known many stories about the greed's consequences and yet theirs is innate, they mark their guilt against the stories they have heard and try to avoid it
The strongest fell in my presence :
Many strong men fell due to greed
Consequences ignored in my absence :
The mind will be at peace with the absence of greed
The corrupt have plenty to give :
Corrupt have a great degreed of greed for money
Given too much it's hard to live :
Once the mind clings to so much greed for something, it never satisfies and hence the mind is NEVER at peace and hence it is hard to live.
Some have reached out and felt me :
Some felt the greed
But none have ever touched me :
Greed is a feeling that is to be felt and that can't be touched
Blood
matches all except the last line.
I was there when kings were born
Blood at childbirth
Yet all avoided me lest they know my scorn
Not touching the placenta or the newborn until it's cleaned up
The strongest fell in my presence
Wounded e.g. in battle
Consequences ignored in my absence
Not having enough blood is terminal
Some have reached out and felt me
self-evident
But none have ever touched me
(doesn't fit this one)
