A Word to Matthew Arnold

A Word to Matthew Arnold
When the forts of folly fall,
Will the victors comprehend
How you sought to meet your end:
To scale or to defend the wall,
Or scale and then defend?
February 2007
Referring to the Matthew Arnold poem The Last Word. The key lines are at the end:
Let the victors, when they come,
When the forts of folly fall,
Find thy body by the wall.