 | Leonidas |  |
235
BOOK VII.
The argument.
The bodies of Teribazus and Ariana are brought into the presence of Xerxes, soon after a report had reach'd the camp, that half his navy was shipwreck'd. The Persian monarch, quite dispirited, is persuaded by Argestes, one of the satraps, to send an ambassador to the Spartan king. Argestes himself is deputed, who, after revealing his ambassy to Leonidas in secret, is by him led before the whole army, and there receives his answer. In the mean time Alpheus returns and declares, that the enemies were possess'd of the passages in the hills, and were hastening to Thermopylæ, upon which Leonidas offers to send away all the army except his three hundred Spartans; but Diomedon, Demophilus, Dithyrambus, and Megistias refuse to depart: he then dismisses Argestes, informs the Grecians of his design to attack the Persian camp in the night, and making all the necessary dispositions retires to his pavilion.
236
Before the tent of Xerxes now arriv'd
The Persian captives. On with solemn pace
And slow they move. The monarch from afar
Descries their sad demeanour. They approach,
Nor he forbids. That morn had Rumour told
The loss of half his navy dash'd on rocks
By angry blasts, or buried in the surge.
Thus, when his bleeding sister met his eyes,
Already sunk in sadness, he had lost
His kingly pride, the parent of disdain,
And cold indifference for others woes;
Nor ev'n beside his sister's nobler corse
Her humble lover now his scorn awak'd.
In tears the captive's mournful tale he heard,
And then first knew compassion; but e'er long
Those traces vanish'd from the tyrant's breast:
His former gloom redoubles, for himself
His anxious bosom heaves, and now he fears,
Lest he with all his numbers should be cast
A prey to Fortune. Near the monarch stood
The Spartan exile, whom he thus bespake.
The Persian captives. On with solemn pace
And slow they move. The monarch from afar
Descries their sad demeanour. They approach,
Nor he forbids. That morn had Rumour told
The loss of half his navy dash'd on rocks
By angry blasts, or buried in the surge.
Thus, when his bleeding sister met his eyes,
Already sunk in sadness, he had lost
His kingly pride, the parent of disdain,
And cold indifference for others woes;
Nor ev'n beside his sister's nobler corse
Her humble lover now his scorn awak'd.
In tears the captive's mournful tale he heard,
And then first knew compassion; but e'er long
Those traces vanish'd from the tyrant's breast:
237
His anxious bosom heaves, and now he fears,
Lest he with all his numbers should be cast
A prey to Fortune. Near the monarch stood
The Spartan exile, whom he thus bespake.
O Demaratus, what will fate ordain!
Lo! Fortune turns against me! Who shall know
How far her daring malice may extend,
Which rages now so near me, and hath made
My house the seat of ruin? I have sent
From my unshelter'd side my bravest chiefs,
And choicest troops to pass the desart hill,
Led by this Malian; may not there the Greeks
With opposition more tremendous still
And ruinous, than yester sun beheld,
Resistless hold their craggy post; renew
Their stony thunder with augmented rage,
And send whole quarries down the rocky steep
Again to crush my legions? Oh! unfold
Thy secret soul, nor hide the harshest truth;
Say what remains to hope? The exile here.
Lo! Fortune turns against me! Who shall know
How far her daring malice may extend,
Which rages now so near me, and hath made
My house the seat of ruin? I have sent
From my unshelter'd side my bravest chiefs,
And choicest troops to pass the desart hill,
Led by this Malian; may not there the Greeks
With opposition more tremendous still
And ruinous, than yester sun beheld,
Resistless hold their craggy post; renew
238
And send whole quarries down the rocky steep
Again to crush my legions? Oh! unfold
Thy secret soul, nor hide the harshest truth;
Say what remains to hope? The exile here.
If truth unblam'd may issue from my lips,
Too well, imperial Xerxes, you presage
What may befal your legions. If the Greeks
Arrang'd within Thermopylæ, a pass
Accessible and spacious, could repel
With such destruction their unnumber'd foes;
What scenes of havoc must th' untrodden paths,
Confin'd among the craggy hills, afford?
Too well, imperial Xerxes, you presage
What may befal your legions. If the Greeks
Arrang'd within Thermopylæ, a pass
Accessible and spacious, could repel
With such destruction their unnumber'd foes;
What scenes of havoc must th' untrodden paths,
Confin'd among the craggy hills, afford?
Immers'd in care the monarch silent sat.
Amid th' incircling peers Argestes stood.
A potent prince. On Sipylus he reign'd.
Whose lofty summits overlook'd the waves
Of Hermus and Pactolus; either stream
Enrich'd with golden sands its tribute bore
To this great satrap: through the servile court
Yet was there none more practic'd in the arts
Of mean submission; none more skill'd to gain
The royal favour; none, who better knew
The phrase, the looks, and gesture of a slave.
In soothing words he thus the king bespake.
Amid th' incircling peers Argestes stood.
239
Whose lofty summits overlook'd the waves
Of Hermus and Pactolus; either stream
Enrich'd with golden sands its tribute bore
To this great satrap: through the servile court
Yet was there none more practic'd in the arts
Of mean submission; none more skill'd to gain
The royal favour; none, who better knew
The phrase, the looks, and gesture of a slave.
In soothing words he thus the king bespake.
If Xerxes will to spare his faithful bands,
And not exert the terrours of his pow'r;
More gentle means of conquest than by arms,
Nor less secure may artifice supply.
Renown'd Darius, thy imperial sire
Great in the spoil of kingdoms, long in vain
The fields of proud Euphrates with his host
O'erspread; at length confiding in the wiles
Of Zopyrus the mighty king subdu'd
The Babylonian tow'rs: but who shall count,
What num'rous states by policy have fall'n;
And let corruption once her aid impart,
Not one shall stand. What race of men possess
Such probity and wisdom, whom the veil
Of craft may blind not, nor corruption's charm
Seduce. O Xerxes, thou, whom heav'n hath rais'd
To more than mortal greatness, canst thou find
Through all thy empire, which from India's shore
Shall reach Eurotas soon, no dazzling gift
To gain the Grecian leader? O dispel
The cloud of sadness from those sacred eyes,
And proffer streight to Lacedæmon's chief,
What may thy own munificence declare,
And win his sword to aid thee. Xerxes here,
Rous'd from his trance of sorrow, swift replied.
And not exert the terrours of his pow'r;
More gentle means of conquest than by arms,
Nor less secure may artifice supply.
Renown'd Darius, thy imperial sire
Great in the spoil of kingdoms, long in vain
240
O'erspread; at length confiding in the wiles
Of Zopyrus the mighty king subdu'd
The Babylonian tow'rs: but who shall count,
What num'rous states by policy have fall'n;
And let corruption once her aid impart,
Not one shall stand. What race of men possess
Such probity and wisdom, whom the veil
Of craft may blind not, nor corruption's charm
Seduce. O Xerxes, thou, whom heav'n hath rais'd
To more than mortal greatness, canst thou find
Through all thy empire, which from India's shore
Shall reach Eurotas soon, no dazzling gift
To gain the Grecian leader? O dispel
The cloud of sadness from those sacred eyes,
And proffer streight to Lacedæmon's chief,
What may thy own munificence declare,
241
Rous'd from his trance of sorrow, swift replied.
Wise are thy words and counsels. Go, repair,
My faithful servant, to the Grecian chief;
Fall down before him; bid him join our arms,
And he shall reign o'er all the Grecian states.
My faithful servant, to the Grecian chief;
Fall down before him; bid him join our arms,
And he shall reign o'er all the Grecian states.
At once Argestes leaves the monarch's side.
He now approaches to the Phocian wall.
Thence Dithyrambus leads him to the tent
Of Lacedæmon's king. Retreated there
Alone the hero meditating sat
On future woes to Persia. At his feet
Prone bows Argestes, and begun. Thus low
Before thy awful presence Xerxes wills,
That I should bend me prostrate to the earth,
And thus accost thee. Great and matchless chief,
By fortune favour'd, and belov'd by heav'n,
Thus says the lord of Asia; join our arms,
And we reward thee with the sov'reign rule
O'er all the pow'rful states of haughty Greece.
And, O illustrious warriour, heed my words.
Think on the bliss of royalty, the pomp
Of courts, their endless pleasures, trains of slaves,
Who restless watch for thee and thy delights,
With all the glories of unrivall'd sway.
Look on th' Ionic and Æolian Greeks
From them their fantom liberty is flown,
While in each province, rais'd by Xerxes' hand,
Some favour'd chief presides (exalted state,
Which envious freedom gives not) on his head
He bears the gorgeous diadem, and sees
His equals once now prostrate at his throne.
Yet how much greater thou, whom gen'ral Greece,
That teems with mightiest states, shall call her lord,
Thee only worthy. How will Greece rejoice
Around thy throne, and hail th' auspicious hour,
When thou, selected by the Persian king
To bless consenting nations with thy sway,
Didst calm the fury of unsparing war,
Which else had delug'd all with blood and flames!
He now approaches to the Phocian wall.
Thence Dithyrambus leads him to the tent
Of Lacedæmon's king. Retreated there
Alone the hero meditating sat
On future woes to Persia. At his feet
Prone bows Argestes, and begun. Thus low
Before thy awful presence Xerxes wills,
That I should bend me prostrate to the earth,
242
By fortune favour'd, and belov'd by heav'n,
Thus says the lord of Asia; join our arms,
And we reward thee with the sov'reign rule
O'er all the pow'rful states of haughty Greece.
And, O illustrious warriour, heed my words.
Think on the bliss of royalty, the pomp
Of courts, their endless pleasures, trains of slaves,
Who restless watch for thee and thy delights,
With all the glories of unrivall'd sway.
Look on th' Ionic and Æolian Greeks
From them their fantom liberty is flown,
While in each province, rais'd by Xerxes' hand,
Some favour'd chief presides (exalted state,
Which envious freedom gives not) on his head
He bears the gorgeous diadem, and sees
His equals once now prostrate at his throne.
243
That teems with mightiest states, shall call her lord,
Thee only worthy. How will Greece rejoice
Around thy throne, and hail th' auspicious hour,
When thou, selected by the Persian king
To bless consenting nations with thy sway,
Didst calm the fury of unsparing war,
Which else had delug'd all with blood and flames!
He said. The chief replies not, but commands
The Thespian youth, who near the tent had watch'd,
To summon all the Grecians. He obeys.
While from his seat the hero mov'd, and bade
The Persian follow. He amaz'd attends,
Surrounded soon by all the Grecian bands;
When him the godlike Spartan thus bespake.
The Thespian youth, who near the tent had watch'd,
To summon all the Grecians. He obeys.
While from his seat the hero mov'd, and bade
The Persian follow. He amaz'd attends,
Surrounded soon by all the Grecian bands;
When him the godlike Spartan thus bespake.
244
Here, Persian, tell thy ambassy, repeat,
That to obtain my friendship Asia's lord
Bids me accept the sov'reignty of Greece;
Then view this band, whose valour shall preserve
That Greece unconquer'd, which your king bestows,
And strew your bodies on its crimson plains:
The indignation painted on their looks,
And gen'rous scorn shall answer for their chief.
That to obtain my friendship Asia's lord
Bids me accept the sov'reignty of Greece;
Then view this band, whose valour shall preserve
That Greece unconquer'd, which your king bestows,
And strew your bodies on its crimson plains:
The indignation painted on their looks,
And gen'rous scorn shall answer for their chief.
The hero ceas'd, when suddenly return'd
The speed of Alpheus; all suspended streight
On him direct their sight, who thus began.
The speed of Alpheus; all suspended streight
On him direct their sight, who thus began.
E'er I could join the Phocians, from the hill,
Which overhung the close defile, I view'd
The pow'rs of Persia. Down the narrow strait
No sooner gleam'd th' innumerable spears,
But by our angry destiny misled,
Or some curst dæmon, enemy to Greece,
The Phocians quit their station. Through the pass
An inundation of Barbarians pours,
The traitor Epialtes is their guide,
And to Thermopylæ directs their course.
Which overhung the close defile, I view'd
The pow'rs of Persia. Down the narrow strait
245
But by our angry destiny misled,
Or some curst dæmon, enemy to Greece,
The Phocians quit their station. Through the pass
An inundation of Barbarians pours,
The traitor Epialtes is their guide,
And to Thermopylæ directs their course.
He here concludes. Unutterable fear
In horrid silence wrapt the list'ning throng,
Aghast, confounded; silent too were those,
Who knew no terrour, yet with wonder mute,
Thick-wedg'd inclos'd Leonidas around,
Who thus with calmest elocution spoke.
In horrid silence wrapt the list'ning throng,
Aghast, confounded; silent too were those,
Who knew no terrour, yet with wonder mute,
Thick-wedg'd inclos'd Leonidas around,
Who thus with calmest elocution spoke.
I now behold my destiny compleat,
And how at last Leonidas must die.
Here with the Spartans shall I rest behind
While you, my faithful, brave allies, retreat.
Then art thou near, thou glorious, sacred hour,
Which shalt my country's liberty confirm!
All hail! thou solemn period! thee the tongues
Of Virtue, Fame, and Freedom shall record,
And celebrate in ages yet unborn.
Then O farewel, Megistias wise and brave;
Thou too experienc'd, venerable chief,
Demophilus farewel: farewel to thee
Invincible Diomedon, to thee
Unequall'd Dithyrambus, and to all,
You other dauntless warriours, who may claim
Praise from my lips, and friendship from my heart,
You after all the wonders, which your swords
Have here accomplish'd, shall enrich your names
With fresh renown. Your valour must compleat,
What we begin. Here first th' astonish'd foe
A dying Spartan shall with terrour view,
And tremble, while he conquers; then, by fate
Led from his dreadful victory dismay'd
Against the phalanx of united Greece,
By your unconquer'd spears himself shall fall.
And how at last Leonidas must die.
246
While you, my faithful, brave allies, retreat.
Then art thou near, thou glorious, sacred hour,
Which shalt my country's liberty confirm!
All hail! thou solemn period! thee the tongues
Of Virtue, Fame, and Freedom shall record,
And celebrate in ages yet unborn.
Then O farewel, Megistias wise and brave;
Thou too experienc'd, venerable chief,
Demophilus farewel: farewel to thee
Invincible Diomedon, to thee
Unequall'd Dithyrambus, and to all,
You other dauntless warriours, who may claim
Praise from my lips, and friendship from my heart,
You after all the wonders, which your swords
Have here accomplish'd, shall enrich your names
With fresh renown. Your valour must compleat,
247
A dying Spartan shall with terrour view,
And tremble, while he conquers; then, by fate
Led from his dreadful victory dismay'd
Against the phalanx of united Greece,
By your unconquer'd spears himself shall fall.
Here interpos'd the fierce Platæan chief.
By the twelve Gods enthron'd in heav'n supreme,
By my fair name unsullied yet I swear,
Ne'er shall thy eyes, Leonidas, behold
Diomedon forsake thee. First let strength
Desert my limbs, and valour shun my heart.
Did I not face the Marathonian war?
Have I not seen Thermopylæ? O Fame,
What more canst thou bestow, or I receive?
Where can I living purchase brighter praise,
Than dying here? A more illustrious tomb
Where can I gain, than underneath the heaps
Of Persians fall'n the victims of our sword.
He ended, when Demophilus subjoin'd.
By the twelve Gods enthron'd in heav'n supreme,
By my fair name unsullied yet I swear,
Ne'er shall thy eyes, Leonidas, behold
Diomedon forsake thee. First let strength
Desert my limbs, and valour shun my heart.
Did I not face the Marathonian war?
Have I not seen Thermopylæ? O Fame,
What more canst thou bestow, or I receive?
Where can I living purchase brighter praise,
248
Where can I gain, than underneath the heaps
Of Persians fall'n the victims of our sword.
He ended, when Demophilus subjoin'd.
O king of Sparta, pride of human race,
Whom none e'er equall'd, but the seed of Jove,
Thy own forefather number'd with the Gods,
Lo! I am old. With faltring steps I tread
The prone descent of years. The winged hours
By me, as one unequal to their speed,
Who can no more their fleeting joys attain,
Unheeding slide. My youth my country claim'd,
My age no more can serve her; what remains?
What eligible hope can wisdom form,
But to die well? Upon this glorious earth
With thee, unrivall'd hero, will I close
The eve of life. So spake the hoary chief,
When Dithyrambus next. O first of Greeks,
Me too think worthy to attend thy fame
With this most dear and venerable man
For ever honour'd from my tend'rest age,
Ev'n till on life's extremity we part.
Nor too aspiring let my hopes be deem'd;
Should the Barbarian in his triumphs mark
My youthful limbs among the gory heaps,
Thence may his fears be doubled, when again
He meets in fields hereafter to be known
The Grecian standards, trembling at a foe,
To whom the flow'r, and blooming joys of life
Are less alluring than a noble fate.
Whom none e'er equall'd, but the seed of Jove,
Thy own forefather number'd with the Gods,
Lo! I am old. With faltring steps I tread
The prone descent of years. The winged hours
By me, as one unequal to their speed,
Who can no more their fleeting joys attain,
Unheeding slide. My youth my country claim'd,
My age no more can serve her; what remains?
What eligible hope can wisdom form,
But to die well? Upon this glorious earth
With thee, unrivall'd hero, will I close
249
When Dithyrambus next. O first of Greeks,
Me too think worthy to attend thy fame
With this most dear and venerable man
For ever honour'd from my tend'rest age,
Ev'n till on life's extremity we part.
Nor too aspiring let my hopes be deem'd;
Should the Barbarian in his triumphs mark
My youthful limbs among the gory heaps,
Thence may his fears be doubled, when again
He meets in fields hereafter to be known
The Grecian standards, trembling at a foe,
To whom the flow'r, and blooming joys of life
Are less alluring than a noble fate.
To him Demophilus. Wilt thou too bleed,
My Dithyrambus?—But I here withhold
All counsel from thee, who art wise, as brave.
If then thy magnanimity retain
Thee too with great Leonidas to fall,
At either's side our limbs shall press the ground,
And drop together in the arms of Death;
So if th' attentive traveller we draw
To our cold reliques, wondring shall he trace
The diff'rent scene, and pregnant with applause,
O wise old man, exclaim, thou well hast chose
The hour of fate: and O unequall'd youth,
Who to thy country didst thy bloom devote,
Mayst thou remain for ever dear to Fame!
May Time rejoice to name thee! and may Peace
With gentlest pinions hover o'er thy urn!
My Dithyrambus?—But I here withhold
250
If then thy magnanimity retain
Thee too with great Leonidas to fall,
At either's side our limbs shall press the ground,
And drop together in the arms of Death;
So if th' attentive traveller we draw
To our cold reliques, wondring shall he trace
The diff'rent scene, and pregnant with applause,
O wise old man, exclaim, thou well hast chose
The hour of fate: and O unequall'd youth,
Who to thy country didst thy bloom devote,
Mayst thou remain for ever dear to Fame!
May Time rejoice to name thee! and may Peace
With gentlest pinions hover o'er thy urn!
This said, the hero with his lifted shield
His face o'ershades, and drops a secret tear;
Not this the tear of anguish, but deriv'd
From fond affection grown mature with time;
Which in a feebler mind to pain had turn'd,
But in the Thespian's firm and virtuous breast,
Alone a manly tenderness awak'd
Unmix'd with pity, or with vain regret.
His face o'ershades, and drops a secret tear;
251
From fond affection grown mature with time;
Which in a feebler mind to pain had turn'd,
But in the Thespian's firm and virtuous breast,
Alone a manly tenderness awak'd
Unmix'd with pity, or with vain regret.
Megistias last address'd the Spartan chief.
Thou, whom the Gods have chosen to exalt
Above mankind in virtue and renown,
O call not me presumptuous, who implore
Among these heroes thy regardful ear!
To Lacedæmon I a stranger came.
You there preserv'd me, there with honours clad;
Nor have I yet one benefit repay'd.
That now the gen'rous Spartans may behold
In me their high beneficence not vain,
Here to their cause I consecrate my breath.
Thou, whom the Gods have chosen to exalt
Above mankind in virtue and renown,
O call not me presumptuous, who implore
Among these heroes thy regardful ear!
To Lacedæmon I a stranger came.
You there preserv'd me, there with honours clad;
Nor have I yet one benefit repay'd.
That now the gen'rous Spartans may behold
252
Here to their cause I consecrate my breath.
Not so Megistias (interpos'd the king)
Thou and thy son retreat. Again the seer.
Thou and thy son retreat. Again the seer.
Forbid it, thou eternally ador'd,
O Jove, confirm my persevering soul!
Nor let my fear neglect this happy hour
To shew the Spartans, I deserv'd their care.
Thou, Menalippus, hear the king's command,
And my paternal tenderness revere.
Do thou withdraw thee from me, to my hand
Thy arms resigning. Fortune will supply
Fresh toil for valour. Vanquish then, or find
A glorious grave; but spare thy father's eye
The bitter anguish to behold thy youth
Untimely bleed before him. Grief suspends
His speech, and interchangeably their arms
Impart their last embraces. Either wept,
The hoary parent, and the blooming son.
But from his temples the pontific wreath
Megistias now unloosens, and resigns
His hallow'd vestments; while the youth with tears
The helmet buckles o'er his snowy locks,
And on his breast adjusts the radiant mail.
O Jove, confirm my persevering soul!
Nor let my fear neglect this happy hour
To shew the Spartans, I deserv'd their care.
Thou, Menalippus, hear the king's command,
And my paternal tenderness revere.
Do thou withdraw thee from me, to my hand
Thy arms resigning. Fortune will supply
Fresh toil for valour. Vanquish then, or find
A glorious grave; but spare thy father's eye
The bitter anguish to behold thy youth
253
His speech, and interchangeably their arms
Impart their last embraces. Either wept,
The hoary parent, and the blooming son.
But from his temples the pontific wreath
Megistias now unloosens, and resigns
His hallow'd vestments; while the youth with tears
The helmet buckles o'er his snowy locks,
And on his breast adjusts the radiant mail.
While such contempt of life, such fervid zeal
To die with glory animate the Greeks,
Far other thoughts possess Argestes' soul.
Amaze with mingled terrour smote his heart;
Cold drops, distill'd from ev'ry pore, bedew
His shiv'ring limbs; his bosom pants; his knees
Yield to their burthen; ghastly pale his cheeks,
Pale are his lips and trembling: such the minds
Of slaves corrupt, to them the beauteous face
Of Virtue turns to horrour. But the chief
Of Lacedæmon now the wretch bespake.
To die with glory animate the Greeks,
Far other thoughts possess Argestes' soul.
Amaze with mingled terrour smote his heart;
Cold drops, distill'd from ev'ry pore, bedew
His shiv'ring limbs; his bosom pants; his knees
Yield to their burthen; ghastly pale his cheeks,
254
Of slaves corrupt, to them the beauteous face
Of Virtue turns to horrour. But the chief
Of Lacedæmon now the wretch bespake.
Return to Xerxes; tell him on this rock
The Grecians faithful to their post await
His chosen myriads; tell him, thou hast seen,
How far the lust of empire is below
A free-born mind: and tell him, to behold
A tyrant humbled, and by virtuous death
To seal my country's freedom, is a good
Surpassing all, his boasted pow'r can give.
The Grecians faithful to their post await
His chosen myriads; tell him, thou hast seen,
How far the lust of empire is below
A free-born mind: and tell him, to behold
A tyrant humbled, and by virtuous death
To seal my country's freedom, is a good
Surpassing all, his boasted pow'r can give.
He said, the Persian hastens through the pass.
But now once more Diomedon arose.
Wrath overcasts his forehead, while he spake.
But now once more Diomedon arose.
Wrath overcasts his forehead, while he spake.
255
Yet more must stay and bleed. Inglorious Thebes
Ne'er shall receive her traitors back, but here
Shall they attone their perfidy by death
Ev'n from their swords, to whom their abject hearts
Have sacrific'd their faith. Nor dare to hope,
Ye vile deserters of the public weal,
Ye coward slaves, that mingled with the heaps
Of those, who perish in their country's cause,
You shall your shame conceal. Whoe'er shall pass
Along this field of glorious slain, and trace
With veneration ev'ry nobler corse;
His soul, though warm with generous applause,
A while shall curb the transport to repeat
Its execrations o'er your impious heads,
On whom that fate, which gives to others fame,
Is infamy and vengeance. Dreadful thus
On the pale Thebans sentence he pronounc'd,
Like Rhadamanthus, from th' infernal throne
When with inexorable frowns he doom'd
The guilty dead to ever-during pain;
While Phlegethon its flaming billows roll'd
Before their sight, and ruthless furies shook
Their hissing serpents. All the Greeks assent
With clamours echoing through the concave rock.
Ne'er shall receive her traitors back, but here
Shall they attone their perfidy by death
Ev'n from their swords, to whom their abject hearts
Have sacrific'd their faith. Nor dare to hope,
Ye vile deserters of the public weal,
Ye coward slaves, that mingled with the heaps
Of those, who perish in their country's cause,
You shall your shame conceal. Whoe'er shall pass
Along this field of glorious slain, and trace
With veneration ev'ry nobler corse;
His soul, though warm with generous applause,
A while shall curb the transport to repeat
Its execrations o'er your impious heads,
On whom that fate, which gives to others fame,
Is infamy and vengeance. Dreadful thus
256
Like Rhadamanthus, from th' infernal throne
When with inexorable frowns he doom'd
The guilty dead to ever-during pain;
While Phlegethon its flaming billows roll'd
Before their sight, and ruthless furies shook
Their hissing serpents. All the Greeks assent
With clamours echoing through the concave rock.
Forth Anaxander in th'assembly stood,
And thus began with indignation feign'd.
If yet your clamours, Grecians, are allay'd,
Behold, I stand before you to demand,
Why these my brave companions, who alone
Of all the Thebans under my command
Durst force their passage through dissuading crouds
To join your host, should now be traitors deem'd;
Accus'd by one alone, a banish'd wretch,
Whom Lacedæmon in her anger drove
Far from her confines; one, who meanly sought
A servile court for shelter: has he drawn
Such virtues thence, that Sparta, who before
Held him unworthy of his native soil,
Should trust him now before auxiliar friends?
Injurious Greeks! we scorn the thought of flight.
Let Asia bring her millions; unconstrain'd
We wait the conflict, and for Greece will die.
And thus began with indignation feign'd.
If yet your clamours, Grecians, are allay'd,
Behold, I stand before you to demand,
Why these my brave companions, who alone
Of all the Thebans under my command
Durst force their passage through dissuading crouds
To join your host, should now be traitors deem'd;
257
Whom Lacedæmon in her anger drove
Far from her confines; one, who meanly sought
A servile court for shelter: has he drawn
Such virtues thence, that Sparta, who before
Held him unworthy of his native soil,
Should trust him now before auxiliar friends?
Injurious Greeks! we scorn the thought of flight.
Let Asia bring her millions; unconstrain'd
We wait the conflict, and for Greece will die.
Thus in the garb of virtue he adorn'd
Necessity, deluding ev'ry Greek
Except Laconia's hero. He perceiv'd
Through all its fair disguise the traitor's heart.
So, when at first mankind in science rude
Rever'd the moon, as bright with native beams,
Some sage, that walk'd with Nature through her works,
By Wisdom led, discern'd, the various orb
Itself was dark, in foreign splendours clad.
Now unexpected with his troop return'd
Dieneces, and thus to Sparta's king.
Necessity, deluding ev'ry Greek
Except Laconia's hero. He perceiv'd
Through all its fair disguise the traitor's heart.
So, when at first mankind in science rude
Rever'd the moon, as bright with native beams,
258
By Wisdom led, discern'd, the various orb
Itself was dark, in foreign splendours clad.
Now unexpected with his troop return'd
Dieneces, and thus to Sparta's king.
I need not tell thee, that the Persian pow'rs
Have pass'd the secret strait. This night they halt,
But with the morning will invade us here.
We come to die with thee. United thus,
Our strength a fiercer contest shall maintain;
Whence a more bright example to our friends,
And stronger terrour of the Grecian name.
Have pass'd the secret strait. This night they halt,
But with the morning will invade us here.
We come to die with thee. United thus,
Our strength a fiercer contest shall maintain;
Whence a more bright example to our friends,
And stronger terrour of the Grecian name.
He said, when thus Leonidas began.
O Spartans, hear, and all you other Greeks,
Whose matchless virtue shall inroll your names
In Time's eternal records, and inhance
Your country's lustre; lo! the setting sun
Inflames the broad horizon. All retire,
And in your tents invoke the pow'r of sleep
To aid your vigour, and to give your limbs
Unwearied patience of continued toil;
But when the second watch begins, let all
With mutual exhortation rouse to arms:
For soon, as Cynthia from the vault of heav'n
Hath hung her shining lamp, through Asia's host
Shall death with horrour and amazement rage.
Their camp is open to our swords, depriv'd
Of all its chosen warriours. But I charge
All, ev'n the Spartans, who are maim'd, or weak,
To pain, or toil unequal, from our camp
This hour to hasten. You, our brave allies
Of Corinth, Phlius, with th' Arcadian bands
And Mycenæans must not yet return,
But here, while we repose, in arms remain;
When we our tents abandon, then depart.
O Spartans, hear, and all you other Greeks,
Whose matchless virtue shall inroll your names
259
Your country's lustre; lo! the setting sun
Inflames the broad horizon. All retire,
And in your tents invoke the pow'r of sleep
To aid your vigour, and to give your limbs
Unwearied patience of continued toil;
But when the second watch begins, let all
With mutual exhortation rouse to arms:
For soon, as Cynthia from the vault of heav'n
Hath hung her shining lamp, through Asia's host
Shall death with horrour and amazement rage.
Their camp is open to our swords, depriv'd
Of all its chosen warriours. But I charge
All, ev'n the Spartans, who are maim'd, or weak,
To pain, or toil unequal, from our camp
This hour to hasten. You, our brave allies
Of Corinth, Phlius, with th' Arcadian bands
260
But here, while we repose, in arms remain;
When we our tents abandon, then depart.
He said, all heard obedient, and dispers'd;
While to his tent the godlike chief repairs,
And with him Agis, whom he thus bespake.
While to his tent the godlike chief repairs,
And with him Agis, whom he thus bespake.
O Agis, hear and mark my last command.
With wary skill dispose the nightly guard,
That no deserter from the Theban tents
May reach the camp of Asia, or ascend
To those now halting on the neighb'ring hills:
Nor yet with us the faithless band must join.
Not with such base associates must we trust
Our great design. Their persidy might soon
Find means to rouse the unsuspecting foe,
And all our glorious enterprise confound.
Then, O my faithful Agis, e'er we move,
While on the solemn sacrifice intent,
As Lacedæmon's sacred laws ordain,
Our pray'rs we offer to the tuneful nine,
Do thou in whispers charge the Theban train
Slow and in silence to disperse and fly.
This said, they parted. On his couch alone
Reclines the hero, where he thus revolves.
With wary skill dispose the nightly guard,
That no deserter from the Theban tents
May reach the camp of Asia, or ascend
To those now halting on the neighb'ring hills:
Nor yet with us the faithless band must join.
Not with such base associates must we trust
Our great design. Their persidy might soon
Find means to rouse the unsuspecting foe,
261
Then, O my faithful Agis, e'er we move,
While on the solemn sacrifice intent,
As Lacedæmon's sacred laws ordain,
Our pray'rs we offer to the tuneful nine,
Do thou in whispers charge the Theban train
Slow and in silence to disperse and fly.
This said, they parted. On his couch alone
Reclines the hero, where he thus revolves.
My fate is now impending. O my heart!
What more auspicious period could I chuse
For death, than now; when beating high with joy
Thou tell'st me, I am happy? If to live,
Or die, as Virtue dictates, be to know
The purest bliss; if she her charms display
Still beauteous, still unfading, still serene
To youth, to age, to death; whatever be
Those other climes of uncorruptive joy,
Which Heav'n in dark futurity conceals,
Still here, O Virtue, thou art all our good.
Then what a black, unspeakable reverse
The wretched offspring of Injustice prove?
What in the struggle of departing day,
When life's last glimpse extinguishing presents
Th' unknown, inextricable gloom of death?
But can I paint the terrours of a breast,
Where guilt resides? Leonidas forego
The horrible conception, seek again
Thy own untroubled heart, and grateful bow
To those benignant pow'rs, who fram'd thy mind
In crimes unfruitful, never to admit
The black impression of a guilty thought.
Else could I fearless thus relinquish life?
No. Such unshaken calmness from th' unjust
Is ever absent. Oft in them the rage
Of some prevailing passion for a time
Suppresses fear. Oft hurried on they lose
The sense of danger, when dominion, pow'r,
And purple pomp their dazzled sight enchant.
Yet still the joys of life alone they seek.
But he, who calmly meets resistless fate,
When glory only, and the gen'ral good
Invite him forward, must possess a soul,
Which all content deducing from itself
Can by unerring virtue's constant light
Discern, when death is worthy of his choice.
The man thus great and happy, in the scope
Of his large mind is stretch'd beyond his date;
Ev'n on this shore of being he in thought
Supremely bless'd anticipates the good,
Which late posterity from him derives.
What more auspicious period could I chuse
For death, than now; when beating high with joy
Thou tell'st me, I am happy? If to live,
Or die, as Virtue dictates, be to know
The purest bliss; if she her charms display
Still beauteous, still unfading, still serene
262
Those other climes of uncorruptive joy,
Which Heav'n in dark futurity conceals,
Still here, O Virtue, thou art all our good.
Then what a black, unspeakable reverse
The wretched offspring of Injustice prove?
What in the struggle of departing day,
When life's last glimpse extinguishing presents
Th' unknown, inextricable gloom of death?
But can I paint the terrours of a breast,
Where guilt resides? Leonidas forego
The horrible conception, seek again
Thy own untroubled heart, and grateful bow
To those benignant pow'rs, who fram'd thy mind
In crimes unfruitful, never to admit
The black impression of a guilty thought.
Else could I fearless thus relinquish life?
263
Is ever absent. Oft in them the rage
Of some prevailing passion for a time
Suppresses fear. Oft hurried on they lose
The sense of danger, when dominion, pow'r,
And purple pomp their dazzled sight enchant.
Yet still the joys of life alone they seek.
But he, who calmly meets resistless fate,
When glory only, and the gen'ral good
Invite him forward, must possess a soul,
Which all content deducing from itself
Can by unerring virtue's constant light
Discern, when death is worthy of his choice.
The man thus great and happy, in the scope
Of his large mind is stretch'd beyond his date;
Ev'n on this shore of being he in thought
264
Which late posterity from him derives.
The hero clos'd his meditation here.
The swelling transports of his mind subside
In soft oblivion, while the silken plumes
Of sleep envelop his extended limbs.
The swelling transports of his mind subside
In soft oblivion, while the silken plumes
Of sleep envelop his extended limbs.
End of the Seventh Book.
| Leonidas | |