Of these sovereigns the most conspicuous during the period of which we
are writing was Alfred. He was a grandson of Egbert (S49). He was
rightly called Alfred the Great, since he was the embodiment of
whatever was best and bravest in the English character. The keynote
of his life may be found in the words which he spoke at the close of
it, "So long as I have lived, I have striven to live worthily."