'aye , often enough , ' said eriol , 'yet not to the great wars of the earthly kings and mighty nations , which are cruel and bitter , whelming in their ruin all the beauty both of the earth and of those fair things that men fashion with their hands in times of peace -- nay , they spare not sweet women and tender maids , such as thou , veanne melinir , for then are men drunk with wrath and the lust of blood , and melko fares abroad .