 | Leonidas |  |
40
BOOK II.
The argument.
Leonidas, on his approach to the Isthmus, is met by the leaders of the troops sent from other Grecian states, and by the deputies, who compos'd the Isthmian council. He harangues them, then proceeds in conjunction with the other forces towards Thermopylæ; is join'd by Dithyrambus, and arrives at the straits about noon on the fourth day after his departure from the Isthmus. He is receiv'd at Thermopylæ by the Thespian commander Demophilus, and by Anaxander the Theban treacherously recommending Epialtes a Malian, who seeks by a pompous description of the Persian power to intimidate the Grecian leaders, as they are viewing the enemies camp from the top of mount Oeta. He is answer'd by Dieneces and Diomedon. Xerxes sends Tigranes and Phraortes to the Grecian camp, who are dismiss'd by Leonidas, and conducted back by Dithyrambus and Diomedon; which last, incens'd with the insolence of Tigranes, treats him with contempt and menaces. This occasions a challenge to single combat between Diomedon and Tigranes, Dithyrambus and Phraortes. Epialtes, after a conference with Anaxander, declares his intention of returning to Xerxes.
41
Aurora spread her purple beams around,
When mov'd the Spartans. Their approach is known.
The Isthmian council, and the various chiefs,
Who led th' auxiliar bands, proceed to meet
Leonidas; Eupalamus the strong,
Alcmæon, Clonius, Diophantus brave,
And Hegesander. At their head advanc'd
Aristobulus, whom Mycenæ's youth
Attend to war; Mycenæ once elate
With pow'r and dazzling wealth, and vaunting still
The name of Agamemnon, who along
The seas of Asia open'd to the wind
Unnumber'd sails, and darken'd half the shore
Of trembling Phrygia with the hostile shade.
Aristobulus join'd the Spartan king,
And thus began. Leonidas survey
Mycenæ's race. Should ev'ry other Greek
Be aw'd by Xerxes, and his Asian host,
Believe not, we can fear, deriv'd from those,
Who once conducted o'er the foaming surge
The strength of Greece, who desert left the fields
Of ravag'd Asia, and her proudest walls
From their foundations humbled to the dust.
When mov'd the Spartans. Their approach is known.
The Isthmian council, and the various chiefs,
Who led th' auxiliar bands, proceed to meet
Leonidas; Eupalamus the strong,
Alcmæon, Clonius, Diophantus brave,
And Hegesander. At their head advanc'd
Aristobulus, whom Mycenæ's youth
Attend to war; Mycenæ once elate
With pow'r and dazzling wealth, and vaunting still
The name of Agamemnon, who along
The seas of Asia open'd to the wind
Unnumber'd sails, and darken'd half the shore
Of trembling Phrygia with the hostile shade.
Aristobulus join'd the Spartan king,
And thus began. Leonidas survey
42
Be aw'd by Xerxes, and his Asian host,
Believe not, we can fear, deriv'd from those,
Who once conducted o'er the foaming surge
The strength of Greece, who desert left the fields
Of ravag'd Asia, and her proudest walls
From their foundations humbled to the dust.
Leonidas replied not, but address'd
The chiefs around. Illustrious warriours hail,
Who thus undaunted signalize your faith,
And gen'rous ardour in the common cause.
But you, whose counsels prop the Grecian state,
O venerable synod, whose decrees
Have call'd us forth, to vanquish, or to die,
Thrice hail. Whate'er by valour we obtain
Your wisdom must preserve. With piercing eyes
Each Grecian state contemplate, and discern
Their various tempers. Some with partial care
To guard their own neglect the publick weal.
Cold and unmov'd are others. Terrour here,
And there corruption reigns. O fire the brave
With gen'rous zeal to quit their native walls,
And join their valour in the gen'ral cause;
Confirm the wav'ring; animate the cold,
And watch the faithless: some there are, betray
Themselves and Greece; their perfidy prevent,
Or call them back to honour. Let us all
Be link'd in sacred union, and the Greeks
Shall stand the world's whole multitude in arms.
If for the spoil, which Paris bore to Troy,
A thousand barks the Hellespont o'erspread;
Shall not again confederated Greece
Be rous'd to battle, and to freedom give,
What once she gave to fame. Behold we haste
To stop th' invading tyrant. Till we bleed,
He shall not pour his millions on your plains.
But as the Gods conceal, how long our strength
May stand unconquer'd, or how soon must fall,
Waste not a moment, till consenting Greece
Range all her free-born numbers in the field.
The chiefs around. Illustrious warriours hail,
Who thus undaunted signalize your faith,
And gen'rous ardour in the common cause.
But you, whose counsels prop the Grecian state,
O venerable synod, whose decrees
Have call'd us forth, to vanquish, or to die,
Thrice hail. Whate'er by valour we obtain
Your wisdom must preserve. With piercing eyes
43
Their various tempers. Some with partial care
To guard their own neglect the publick weal.
Cold and unmov'd are others. Terrour here,
And there corruption reigns. O fire the brave
With gen'rous zeal to quit their native walls,
And join their valour in the gen'ral cause;
Confirm the wav'ring; animate the cold,
And watch the faithless: some there are, betray
Themselves and Greece; their perfidy prevent,
Or call them back to honour. Let us all
Be link'd in sacred union, and the Greeks
Shall stand the world's whole multitude in arms.
If for the spoil, which Paris bore to Troy,
A thousand barks the Hellespont o'erspread;
Shall not again confederated Greece
Be rous'd to battle, and to freedom give,
44
To stop th' invading tyrant. Till we bleed,
He shall not pour his millions on your plains.
But as the Gods conceal, how long our strength
May stand unconquer'd, or how soon must fall,
Waste not a moment, till consenting Greece
Range all her free-born numbers in the field.
Leonidas concludes, when awful step'd
Before the sage assembly one, whose head
Was hoar with aged snow, and thus replied.
Before the sage assembly one, whose head
Was hoar with aged snow, and thus replied.
Thy great example ev'ry heart unites.
From thee her happiest omens Greece derives
Of concord, freedom, victory, and fame.
Go then, O first of mortals, and impress
Amaze and terrour in the Persians breast;
The free-born Greeks instructing life to deem
Less dear than virtue, and their country's cause.
From thee her happiest omens Greece derives
Of concord, freedom, victory, and fame.
Go then, O first of mortals, and impress
Amaze and terrour in the Persians breast;
45
Less dear than virtue, and their country's cause.
This heard, Leonidas, thy secret soul
Exulting tasted of the sweet reward
Due to thy name from endless time. His eyes
Once more he turn'd, and view'd in rapt'rous thought
His native land, which he alone can save;
Then summon'd all his majesty, and o'er
The Isthmus trod. Behind the Grecians move
In deep arrangement. So th' imperial bark
With stately bulk along the beating tide
In military pomp conducts the pow'r
Of some proud navy bounding from the port
To bear the vengeance of a mighty state
Against a tyrant's walls. The Grecians march
Till noon, when halting, as they take repast,
Upon the plain before them they descry
A troop of Thespians. One above the rest
In eminence precedes. His glitt'ring shield,
Whose spacious orb collects th' effulgent beams,
Which from his throne meridian Phœbus cast,
Flames like another sun. A snowy plume
Falls o'er his dazzling cask. In wanton curls,
Which floated in the breathing air, around
The lofty crest it wav'd. Approaching near
Beneath the honours of his radiant helm
The warriour now a countenance display'd,
Where youth in rosy prime with sweetness mix'd
Its manly beauty. With such modest grace
Respectful near Leonidas he came,
As all ideas of his own desert
Were lost in veneration. Phœbus thus
Appears before his everlasting sire,
When from his altar in th' imbow'ring grove
Of palmy Delos, or the hallow'd bound
Of Tenedos, or Claros, where he hears
His hymns and praises from the sons of men,
He reascends the high Olympian seats;
Such reverential awe his brow invests,
Diffusing o'er the glowing flow'r of youth
New loveliness and grace. The king receives
Th' illustrious Thespian, and began. My tongue
Would call thee Dithyrambus, for thou bear'st
All in thy aspect to become that name
For valour known and virtue. O reveal
Thy birth and charge; whoe'er thou art, my soul
Desires to know thee, and would call thee friend.
Exulting tasted of the sweet reward
Due to thy name from endless time. His eyes
Once more he turn'd, and view'd in rapt'rous thought
His native land, which he alone can save;
Then summon'd all his majesty, and o'er
The Isthmus trod. Behind the Grecians move
In deep arrangement. So th' imperial bark
With stately bulk along the beating tide
In military pomp conducts the pow'r
Of some proud navy bounding from the port
To bear the vengeance of a mighty state
Against a tyrant's walls. The Grecians march
Till noon, when halting, as they take repast,
46
A troop of Thespians. One above the rest
In eminence precedes. His glitt'ring shield,
Whose spacious orb collects th' effulgent beams,
Which from his throne meridian Phœbus cast,
Flames like another sun. A snowy plume
Falls o'er his dazzling cask. In wanton curls,
Which floated in the breathing air, around
The lofty crest it wav'd. Approaching near
Beneath the honours of his radiant helm
The warriour now a countenance display'd,
Where youth in rosy prime with sweetness mix'd
Its manly beauty. With such modest grace
Respectful near Leonidas he came,
As all ideas of his own desert
Were lost in veneration. Phœbus thus
Appears before his everlasting sire,
47
Of palmy Delos, or the hallow'd bound
Of Tenedos, or Claros, where he hears
His hymns and praises from the sons of men,
He reascends the high Olympian seats;
Such reverential awe his brow invests,
Diffusing o'er the glowing flow'r of youth
New loveliness and grace. The king receives
Th' illustrious Thespian, and began. My tongue
Would call thee Dithyrambus, for thou bear'st
All in thy aspect to become that name
For valour known and virtue. O reveal
Thy birth and charge; whoe'er thou art, my soul
Desires to know thee, and would call thee friend.
To whom the youth return'd. O first of Greeks,
My name is Dithyrambus, which the lips
Of some benevolent and gen'rous friend
To thee have sounded with a partial voice,
And thou hast heard with favourable ears.
I come deputed by the Thespian chief,
The Theban, and the Locrian, and the brave
Diomedon, to hasten thy approach.
Three days will bring the Persian pow'rs in view.
My name is Dithyrambus, which the lips
48
To thee have sounded with a partial voice,
And thou hast heard with favourable ears.
I come deputed by the Thespian chief,
The Theban, and the Locrian, and the brave
Diomedon, to hasten thy approach.
Three days will bring the Persian pow'rs in view.
He ceas'd. At once the standards are uprear'd.
The host till ev'ning with impetuous pace
Their march continue. Through the earliest dews
Of morning they proceed, and reach the pass,
E'er the fourth sun attain'd the sultry noon.
To their impatient sight no sooner rose
The rocks of Oeta, but with rapid feet,
And martial sounds of joy they rush'd along;
As if the present deity of Fame,
Her temples with unfading laurels bound,
And in her hand her adamantine trump,
Had from the hills her radiant form disclos'd,
And bade their valour hasten to the field;
That she their acts beholding might resound
Their name and glory o'er the earth and seas.
Before the van Leonidas advanc'd,
His eye confess'd the ardour of his mind,
Which thus found utt'rance from his eager lips.
The host till ev'ning with impetuous pace
Their march continue. Through the earliest dews
Of morning they proceed, and reach the pass,
E'er the fourth sun attain'd the sultry noon.
To their impatient sight no sooner rose
The rocks of Oeta, but with rapid feet,
And martial sounds of joy they rush'd along;
As if the present deity of Fame,
49
And in her hand her adamantine trump,
Had from the hills her radiant form disclos'd,
And bade their valour hasten to the field;
That she their acts beholding might resound
Their name and glory o'er the earth and seas.
Before the van Leonidas advanc'd,
His eye confess'd the ardour of his mind,
Which thus found utt'rance from his eager lips.
All hail! Thermopylæ, and you, the pow'rs,
Which here preside. All hail! ye silvan Gods,
Ye fountain nymphs, who pour your lucid rills
In broken murmurs down the rugged steep.
Receive us, O benignant, and support
The cause of Greece. Conceal the secret paths,
Which o'er the crags and through the forests wind,
Untrod by human feet, and trac'd alone
By your immortal footsteps. O defend
Your own recesses, nor let impious war
Profane the solemn silence of your groves.
Thus on your hills your praises shall you hear
From those, whose deeds shall tell th' approving world,
That not to undeservers did you grant
Your high protection. You my valiant friends
Now rouse the gen'rous spirit, which inflames
Your hearts; now prove the vigour of your arms:
That your recorded actions may survive
Within the breasts of all the brave and free,
And sound delightful in the ear of Time,
As long as Neptune beats the Malian bay,
Or those tall cliffs erect their shaggy tops
So near to heav'n, your monuments of fame.
Which here preside. All hail! ye silvan Gods,
Ye fountain nymphs, who pour your lucid rills
In broken murmurs down the rugged steep.
Receive us, O benignant, and support
The cause of Greece. Conceal the secret paths,
Which o'er the crags and through the forests wind,
50
By your immortal footsteps. O defend
Your own recesses, nor let impious war
Profane the solemn silence of your groves.
Thus on your hills your praises shall you hear
From those, whose deeds shall tell th' approving world,
That not to undeservers did you grant
Your high protection. You my valiant friends
Now rouse the gen'rous spirit, which inflames
Your hearts; now prove the vigour of your arms:
That your recorded actions may survive
Within the breasts of all the brave and free,
And sound delightful in the ear of Time,
As long as Neptune beats the Malian bay,
Or those tall cliffs erect their shaggy tops
So near to heav'n, your monuments of fame.
51
As in some torrid region, where the head
Of Ceres bends beneath its golden load,
If on the parching ground a fatal spark
Fall from a burning brand; the sudden blaze
Increas'd and aided by tumultuous winds
In rapid torrents of involving flames
Sweeps o'er the crackling plain, and mounting high
In ruddy spires illumines half the skies:
Not with less swiftness through the glowing ranks
The words of great Leonidas diffus'd
A more than mortal fervour. Ev'ry heart
Distends with great ideas, such as raise
The patriot's virtue, and the soldier's fire,
When danger in its most tremendous form
Seems to their eyes most lovely. In their thoughts
Imagination pictures all the scenes
Of war, the purple field, the heaps of death,
And glitt'ring trophies pil'd with Persian arms.
Of Ceres bends beneath its golden load,
If on the parching ground a fatal spark
Fall from a burning brand; the sudden blaze
Increas'd and aided by tumultuous winds
In rapid torrents of involving flames
Sweeps o'er the crackling plain, and mounting high
In ruddy spires illumines half the skies:
Not with less swiftness through the glowing ranks
The words of great Leonidas diffus'd
A more than mortal fervour. Ev'ry heart
Distends with great ideas, such as raise
The patriot's virtue, and the soldier's fire,
When danger in its most tremendous form
Seems to their eyes most lovely. In their thoughts
Imagination pictures all the scenes
52
And glitt'ring trophies pil'd with Persian arms.
But now the Grecian leaders, who before
Were station'd near Thermopylæ, accost
The Spartan king. The Thespian chief allied
To Dithyrambus first the silence broke,
An ancient warriour. From behind his casque,
Whose crested weight his aged temples press'd,
His slender hairs, which time had silver'd o'er,
Flow'd venerable down. He thus began.
Were station'd near Thermopylæ, accost
The Spartan king. The Thespian chief allied
To Dithyrambus first the silence broke,
An ancient warriour. From behind his casque,
Whose crested weight his aged temples press'd,
His slender hairs, which time had silver'd o'er,
Flow'd venerable down. He thus began.
Joy now shall crown the period of my days,
And whether with my father's dust I sleep,
Or slain by Persia's sword I press the earth
Our common parent, be it as the Gods
Shall best determine. For the present hour
I bless their bounty, which has giv'n my age
To see the great Leonidas, and bid
The hero welcome on this glorious shore;
Where he by heav'n selected from mankind
Shall fix the basis of the Grecian weal.
And whether with my father's dust I sleep,
Or slain by Persia's sword I press the earth
Our common parent, be it as the Gods
Shall best determine. For the present hour
I bless their bounty, which has giv'n my age
53
The hero welcome on this glorious shore;
Where he by heav'n selected from mankind
Shall fix the basis of the Grecian weal.
Here too the wily Anaxander spake.
Hail! glorious chief. Of all the Theban race
We shall at least with gladsome bosoms meet
The great defender of the Grecian cause.
O! may oblivion o'er the shame of Thebes
Its darkest wing extend, or they alone
Be curs'd by Fame, whose impious counsels turn
Their countrymen from virtue. Thebes alas!
Still had been buried in dishonest sloth,
Had not to wake her languor Alpheus come
The messenger of freedom. O accept
Our grateful hearts; thou, Alpheus, art the cause,
That Anaxander from his native gates
Here hath not borne a solitary spear,
Nor these inglorious in their walls remain'd.
But longer do we loiter? Haste my friends
To yonder cliff, which points its shade afar,
And view the Persian camp. The morning sun
Beheld their numbers hide th' adjacent plains.
Lo! here a Malian, Epialtes nam'd,
Who with the foe from Thracia's bounds hath march'd.
Hail! glorious chief. Of all the Theban race
We shall at least with gladsome bosoms meet
The great defender of the Grecian cause.
O! may oblivion o'er the shame of Thebes
Its darkest wing extend, or they alone
Be curs'd by Fame, whose impious counsels turn
Their countrymen from virtue. Thebes alas!
Still had been buried in dishonest sloth,
Had not to wake her languor Alpheus come
The messenger of freedom. O accept
Our grateful hearts; thou, Alpheus, art the cause,
54
Here hath not borne a solitary spear,
Nor these inglorious in their walls remain'd.
But longer do we loiter? Haste my friends
To yonder cliff, which points its shade afar,
And view the Persian camp. The morning sun
Beheld their numbers hide th' adjacent plains.
Lo! here a Malian, Epialtes nam'd,
Who with the foe from Thracia's bounds hath march'd.
He said. His seeming virtue all deceiv'd.
The camp not long had Epialtes join'd,
By race a Malian. Eloquent his tongue,
But false his heart, and abject. He was skill'd
To grace perfidious counsels, and to cloath
In swelling phrase the baseness of his soul,
Foul nurse of treasons. To the tents of Greece,
Himself a Greek, a faithless spy he came.
Soon to the friends of Xerxes he repair'd,
The Theban chiefs, and nightly consult held,
How best with consternation to deject
The Spartan valour, or how best betray.
With him the leaders climb the arduous hill,
From whence the dreadful prospect they command,
Where endless plains by white pavilions hid
Spread, like the vast Atlantic, when no shore,
No rock or promontory stops the sight
Unbounded, as it wanders; but the moon
Resplendent eye of night in fullest orb
Throughout th' interminated surface throws
Its rays abroad, and decks in snowy light
The dancing billows; such was Xerxes' camp:
A pow'r unrivall'd by the greatest king,
Or conqueror, that e'er with ruthless hands
Dissolving all the sacred ties, which bind
The happiness of nations, have alarm'd
The sleeping fury Discord from her den.
Not from the hundred brazen gates of Thebes,
The tow'rs of Memphis, and the pregnant fields
By Nile's prolifick torrents delug'd o'er,
E'er flow'd such armies with th' Ægyptian lord
Renown'd Sesostris; who with trophies fill'd
The vanquish'd earth, and o'er the rapid foam
Of distant Tanais, and the huge expanse
Of trembling Ganges spread his dreaded name:
Nor yet in Asia's far extended bounds
E'er met such numbers, not when Belus drew
Th' Assyrian bands to conquest, or the pride
Of high-exalted Babylon survey'd
The plains along Euphrates cover'd wide
With armed myriads swarming from her walls;
When at the rage of dire Semiramis
Peace fled affrighted from the ravag'd East.
Yet all this hideous face of war dismays
No Grecian heart. Unterrified they stood.
Th' immeasurable camp with fearless eyes
They traverse, while in meditation near
The treach'rous Malian waits, collecting all
His pomp of words to paint the hostile pow'r;
Nor yet with falshood arms his fraudful tongue
To feign a tale of terrour: Truth herself
Beyond the reach of fiction to inhance
Now aids his treason, and with cold dismay
Might pierce the boldest breast, unless secur'd
By dauntless virtue, which disdains to live
From liberty divorc'd. Requested now
By ev'ry voice the traitor spake, and all
Attentive ears incline. Oh! Greeks and friends!
Can I behold my native Malian fields
Presenting hostile millions to your sight,
And not with grief suppress the horrid tale,
Which you exact from these ill-omen'd lips.
On Thracia's sands I first beheld the foe,
When, joining Europe with the Asian shore,
A mighty bridge th' outragious waves restrain'd,
And stem'd th' impetuous current; while in arms
The universal progeny of men
Seem'd all before me trampling o'er the sea
By thousands and ten thousands: Persians, Medes
Assyrians, Saces, Indians, swarthy files
From Æthiopia, Ægypt's tawny sons,
Arabians, Bactrians, Parthians, all the strength
Of Libya and of Asia. Neptune groan'd
Beneath the burthen, and indignant heav'd
His neck against th' incumbent weight. In vain
The violence of Boreas and the West,
With rage combin'd, against th' unshaken pile
Dash'd half the Hellespont. The eastern world
Sev'n days and nights uninterrupted pass,
And pour on Thracia's confines. They accept
The Persian lord, and range their hardy race
Beneath his standards. Macedonia's youth
With all Thessalia next, and ev'ry Greek,
Who dwells beyond Thermopylæ, attend.
Thus not alone embodied Asia lifts
Her threatning lance, but Macedon and Thrace,
Whose martial loins with daring warriours teem,
And faithless Greeks in multitudes untold
The Persian Monarch aid. Celestial pow'rs!
And thou, who reignest over men and Gods,
Who in a moment by thy will supreme
Canst quell the mighty in their proudest hopes,
And raise the weak to safety, thou impart
Thy instant succour; interpose thy arm;
With lightning blast their legions: Oh! confound
With triple-bolted thunder Persia's camp,
Whence like an inundation with the morn
Shall millions rush, and overwhelm the Greeks.
Resistance else were vain against an host,
Which covers all Thessalia; for beyond
The Malian plains thus widely stretch'd below,
Beyond the utmost measure of the sight
Bent from the height of this aspiring cliff,
Lie yet more hideous numbers, which might drain
The streams of copious rivers with their thirst,
And with their arrows hide the mid-day sun.
The camp not long had Epialtes join'd,
By race a Malian. Eloquent his tongue,
But false his heart, and abject. He was skill'd
To grace perfidious counsels, and to cloath
In swelling phrase the baseness of his soul,
Foul nurse of treasons. To the tents of Greece,
55
Soon to the friends of Xerxes he repair'd,
The Theban chiefs, and nightly consult held,
How best with consternation to deject
The Spartan valour, or how best betray.
With him the leaders climb the arduous hill,
From whence the dreadful prospect they command,
Where endless plains by white pavilions hid
Spread, like the vast Atlantic, when no shore,
No rock or promontory stops the sight
Unbounded, as it wanders; but the moon
Resplendent eye of night in fullest orb
Throughout th' interminated surface throws
Its rays abroad, and decks in snowy light
The dancing billows; such was Xerxes' camp:
A pow'r unrivall'd by the greatest king,
Or conqueror, that e'er with ruthless hands
56
The happiness of nations, have alarm'd
The sleeping fury Discord from her den.
Not from the hundred brazen gates of Thebes,
The tow'rs of Memphis, and the pregnant fields
By Nile's prolifick torrents delug'd o'er,
E'er flow'd such armies with th' Ægyptian lord
Renown'd Sesostris; who with trophies fill'd
The vanquish'd earth, and o'er the rapid foam
Of distant Tanais, and the huge expanse
Of trembling Ganges spread his dreaded name:
Nor yet in Asia's far extended bounds
E'er met such numbers, not when Belus drew
Th' Assyrian bands to conquest, or the pride
Of high-exalted Babylon survey'd
The plains along Euphrates cover'd wide
With armed myriads swarming from her walls;
57
Peace fled affrighted from the ravag'd East.
Yet all this hideous face of war dismays
No Grecian heart. Unterrified they stood.
Th' immeasurable camp with fearless eyes
They traverse, while in meditation near
The treach'rous Malian waits, collecting all
His pomp of words to paint the hostile pow'r;
Nor yet with falshood arms his fraudful tongue
To feign a tale of terrour: Truth herself
Beyond the reach of fiction to inhance
Now aids his treason, and with cold dismay
Might pierce the boldest breast, unless secur'd
By dauntless virtue, which disdains to live
From liberty divorc'd. Requested now
By ev'ry voice the traitor spake, and all
Attentive ears incline. Oh! Greeks and friends!
58
Presenting hostile millions to your sight,
And not with grief suppress the horrid tale,
Which you exact from these ill-omen'd lips.
On Thracia's sands I first beheld the foe,
When, joining Europe with the Asian shore,
A mighty bridge th' outragious waves restrain'd,
And stem'd th' impetuous current; while in arms
The universal progeny of men
Seem'd all before me trampling o'er the sea
By thousands and ten thousands: Persians, Medes
Assyrians, Saces, Indians, swarthy files
From Æthiopia, Ægypt's tawny sons,
Arabians, Bactrians, Parthians, all the strength
Of Libya and of Asia. Neptune groan'd
Beneath the burthen, and indignant heav'd
His neck against th' incumbent weight. In vain
59
With rage combin'd, against th' unshaken pile
Dash'd half the Hellespont. The eastern world
Sev'n days and nights uninterrupted pass,
And pour on Thracia's confines. They accept
The Persian lord, and range their hardy race
Beneath his standards. Macedonia's youth
With all Thessalia next, and ev'ry Greek,
Who dwells beyond Thermopylæ, attend.
Thus not alone embodied Asia lifts
Her threatning lance, but Macedon and Thrace,
Whose martial loins with daring warriours teem,
And faithless Greeks in multitudes untold
The Persian Monarch aid. Celestial pow'rs!
And thou, who reignest over men and Gods,
Who in a moment by thy will supreme
Canst quell the mighty in their proudest hopes,
60
Thy instant succour; interpose thy arm;
With lightning blast their legions: Oh! confound
With triple-bolted thunder Persia's camp,
Whence like an inundation with the morn
Shall millions rush, and overwhelm the Greeks.
Resistance else were vain against an host,
Which covers all Thessalia; for beyond
The Malian plains thus widely stretch'd below,
Beyond the utmost measure of the sight
Bent from the height of this aspiring cliff,
Lie yet more hideous numbers, which might drain
The streams of copious rivers with their thirst,
And with their arrows hide the mid-day sun.
Then shall we join our battle in the shade,
Dieneces replied. Not calmly thus
Diomedon. On Xerxes' camp he bends
His low'ring brow, which frowns had furrow'd o'er,
And thus exclaim'd. Bellona turn and view
With joyful eyes that field, the fatal stage,
Which regal madness hath for you prepar'd
To exercise your horrours. Thou, O Death,
Shalt riot here unceasing, when the rocks
Of yonder pass with bleeding ranks are strew'd;
And all, who shun th' avenging steel of Greece,
By pestilence and meager famine seiz'd,
Shall with variety of ruin feast
Thy unabated hunger. Thus he spake,
While on the host immense his gloomy eyes
He fix'd disdainful, and its strength defied.
Dieneces replied. Not calmly thus
61
His low'ring brow, which frowns had furrow'd o'er,
And thus exclaim'd. Bellona turn and view
With joyful eyes that field, the fatal stage,
Which regal madness hath for you prepar'd
To exercise your horrours. Thou, O Death,
Shalt riot here unceasing, when the rocks
Of yonder pass with bleeding ranks are strew'd;
And all, who shun th' avenging steel of Greece,
By pestilence and meager famine seiz'd,
Shall with variety of ruin feast
Thy unabated hunger. Thus he spake,
While on the host immense his gloomy eyes
He fix'd disdainful, and its strength defied.
Meantime within th' entrenchment of the Greeks
From Asia's monarch delegated came
Tigranes and Phraortes. From the hills
Leonidas conducts th' impatient chiefs.
Around the hero in his tent they throng,
When thus Tigranes their attention calls.
From Asia's monarch delegated came
62
Leonidas conducts th' impatient chiefs.
Around the hero in his tent they throng,
When thus Tigranes their attention calls.
Ambassadors from Persia's king we stand
Before you Grecians. To display the pow'r
Of our great master, were a needless task.
The name of Xerxes, Asia's mighty lord,
Invincible, and seated on a throne
Surpassing human lustre, must have reach'd
Th' extremest border of the earth, and taught
The hearts of men to own resistless force
With awe, and low submission. Yet I swear
By yon refulgent orb, which flames above,
The glorious symbol of th' eternal pow'r,
This military throng, this shew of war
Persuade me, you have never heard that name,
At whose dread sound the billows wide remote
Of Indus tremble, and the Caspian wave,
Th' Ægyptian tide, and Hellespontic surge
With homage roll. O impotent and rash!
Whom yet the large beneficence of heav'n,
And our great monarch merciful and kind
Deign to preserve. Resign your arms; disperse
Each to your cities; there with humblest hands
Before your lord bestrew the way with flow'rs.
Before you Grecians. To display the pow'r
Of our great master, were a needless task.
The name of Xerxes, Asia's mighty lord,
Invincible, and seated on a throne
Surpassing human lustre, must have reach'd
Th' extremest border of the earth, and taught
The hearts of men to own resistless force
With awe, and low submission. Yet I swear
By yon refulgent orb, which flames above,
The glorious symbol of th' eternal pow'r,
This military throng, this shew of war
63
At whose dread sound the billows wide remote
Of Indus tremble, and the Caspian wave,
Th' Ægyptian tide, and Hellespontic surge
With homage roll. O impotent and rash!
Whom yet the large beneficence of heav'n,
And our great monarch merciful and kind
Deign to preserve. Resign your arms; disperse
Each to your cities; there with humblest hands
Before your lord bestrew the way with flow'rs.
As through th' extensive grove, whose leafy boughs
Intwining crown some eminence with shade,
The tempests rush sonorous, and between
The crashing branches roar; by fierce disdain
And indignation thus the Grecians mov'd
With clam'rous murmurs close the Persian's speech.
But Sparta's king arising, all is hush'd
In sudden silence; when he thus replied.
Intwining crown some eminence with shade,
The tempests rush sonorous, and between
The crashing branches roar; by fierce disdain
And indignation thus the Grecians mov'd
With clam'rous murmurs close the Persian's speech.
64
In sudden silence; when he thus replied.
O Persian, when to Xerxes thou return'st,
Say thou hast told the wonders of his pow'r;
Then say, thou saw'st a slender band of Greece,
Which dares his boasted millions to the field.
Say thou hast told the wonders of his pow'r;
Then say, thou saw'st a slender band of Greece,
Which dares his boasted millions to the field.
The Spartan said. Th'Ambassadors retire.
Them o'er the limits of the Grecian lines
Diomedon and Thespia's youth conduct.
With slow solemnity they all proceed
In sullen silence. But their looks denote
What speech would shame and weaken. Wrath contracts
The forehead of Diomedon. His teeth
Gnash with impatience for delay'd revenge.
Disdain, which sprung from conscious merit, flush'd
The cheek of Dithyrambus. On the face
Of either Persian insolence and pride
Incens'd by disappointment gloomy low'r'd.
But when they reach'd the limits of the straits,
Where Xerxes' camp began to open wide
Its deep, immense arrangement; then the heart
Of vain Tigranes, swelling at the sight,
Thus overflows in loud and haughty phrase.
Them o'er the limits of the Grecian lines
Diomedon and Thespia's youth conduct.
With slow solemnity they all proceed
In sullen silence. But their looks denote
What speech would shame and weaken. Wrath contracts
The forehead of Diomedon. His teeth
Gnash with impatience for delay'd revenge.
Disdain, which sprung from conscious merit, flush'd
65
Of either Persian insolence and pride
Incens'd by disappointment gloomy low'r'd.
But when they reach'd the limits of the straits,
Where Xerxes' camp began to open wide
Its deep, immense arrangement; then the heart
Of vain Tigranes, swelling at the sight,
Thus overflows in loud and haughty phrase.
O Arimanius, origin of ill,
Have we demanded of thy ruthless pow'r,
Thus with the curse of madness to afflict
These wretched men? But since thy dreadful will
To irresistible perdition dooms
The sons of Greece, in vain should we oppose.
Be thy dire will accomplish'd, let them fall,
And fatten with their blood their native soil.
Have we demanded of thy ruthless pow'r,
Thus with the curse of madness to afflict
These wretched men? But since thy dreadful will
To irresistible perdition dooms
The sons of Greece, in vain should we oppose.
Be thy dire will accomplish'd, let them fall,
And fatten with their blood their native soil.
66
Enrag'd the stern Diomedon replies.
Thou servile, base dependent on a king,
Inglorious mercenary, slave to those,
Whom most we scorn, thou boaster, dost thou know,
That I beheld the Marathonian field;
When, like the Libyan sands before the wind,
Your host was scatter'd by th'unconquer'd Greeks;
Where thou perhaps didst turn before this arm
To ignominious flight thy shiv'ring limbs?
O may I find thee in to morrow's fight!
Then on this rocky pavement shalt thou lie
Beneath this arm to feast the vulture's beak.
Thou servile, base dependent on a king,
Inglorious mercenary, slave to those,
Whom most we scorn, thou boaster, dost thou know,
That I beheld the Marathonian field;
When, like the Libyan sands before the wind,
Your host was scatter'd by th'unconquer'd Greeks;
Where thou perhaps didst turn before this arm
To ignominious flight thy shiv'ring limbs?
O may I find thee in to morrow's fight!
Then on this rocky pavement shalt thou lie
Beneath this arm to feast the vulture's beak.
He ended here, and thus the Persian chief.
O thou, whose hand omnipotent protects
The throne of Xerxes, bend thy sacred ear!
For lo! my first victorious fruits of war
To thee I here devote, the gory spoils,
Which from this Grecian with the rising dawn
In sight of either host my arm shall rend.
O thou, whose hand omnipotent protects
The throne of Xerxes, bend thy sacred ear!
67
To thee I here devote, the gory spoils,
Which from this Grecian with the rising dawn
In sight of either host my arm shall rend.
Phraortes interrupting then began.
I too would find among the Grecian chiefs
One, who in battle dare abide my spear.
I too would find among the Grecian chiefs
One, who in battle dare abide my spear.
To him thus answer'd Thespia's gallant youth.
Thou look'st on me, O Persian. Worthier far
Thou mightst indeed have singled from our host,
But none more willing to essay thy force.
Yes, I will prove before the eye of Mars,
How far the valour of the meanest Greek
Beyond thy vaunts deserves the palm of fame.
Thou look'st on me, O Persian. Worthier far
Thou mightst indeed have singled from our host,
But none more willing to essay thy force.
Yes, I will prove before the eye of Mars,
How far the valour of the meanest Greek
Beyond thy vaunts deserves the palm of fame.
68
This said, the Persians to their king repair,
Back to their camp the Grecians. There they found
Each soldier poizing his extended spear,
And his large buckler bracing on his arm,
For instant war prepar'd. Through all the files
Each leader moves exulting, and with praise
And exhortations aids their native warmth.
Alone the Theban Anaxander pin'd,
Who thus apart address'd his Malian friend.
Back to their camp the Grecians. There they found
Each soldier poizing his extended spear,
And his large buckler bracing on his arm,
For instant war prepar'd. Through all the files
Each leader moves exulting, and with praise
And exhortations aids their native warmth.
Alone the Theban Anaxander pin'd,
Who thus apart address'd his Malian friend.
What has thy lofty eloquence avail'd,
Alas! in vain attempting to confound
The Spartan valour? With redoubled fires
See how their bosoms glow. They wish to die,
And wait impatient for th' unequal fight.
Too soon will come th' insuperable foes,
And in promiscuous ruin all be whelm'd;
Nor shall our merit to the Persian lord
Be told, or known: for whose advent'rous feet
To serve the Thebans, through the guarded pass,
The Grecian watch eluding, will approach
The tents of Asia, that the king may know,
And spare his friends amid the gen'ral wreck;
When his high-swoln resentment, like a flood
Increas'd with stormy show'rs, shall cover Greece
With desolation? Epialtes here.
Alas! in vain attempting to confound
The Spartan valour? With redoubled fires
See how their bosoms glow. They wish to die,
And wait impatient for th' unequal fight.
69
And in promiscuous ruin all be whelm'd;
Nor shall our merit to the Persian lord
Be told, or known: for whose advent'rous feet
To serve the Thebans, through the guarded pass,
The Grecian watch eluding, will approach
The tents of Asia, that the king may know,
And spare his friends amid the gen'ral wreck;
When his high-swoln resentment, like a flood
Increas'd with stormy show'rs, shall cover Greece
With desolation? Epialtes here.
Whence, Anaxander, this unjust despair?
Is there a path on Oeta's hills unknown
To Epialtes? O'er the trackless rock,
And mazy grove shall pass my secret steps.
This night I part. Thy merit shall be told
To Persia's king. Thou only watch the hour,
Nor then be tardy, when he wants thy aid.
Is there a path on Oeta's hills unknown
To Epialtes? O'er the trackless rock,
And mazy grove shall pass my secret steps.
70
To Persia's king. Thou only watch the hour,
Nor then be tardy, when he wants thy aid.
End of the Second Book.
| Leonidas | |