Of Lacedæmon from th' impending war,
When in these words the deity reply'd.
• Inhabitants of Sparta, Persia's arms
Shall lay your proud and ancient seat in dust;
Unless a king, from Hercules deriv'd,
Cause Lacedæmon for his death to mourn'."
As, when the hand of Perseus had disclos'd
The snakes of dire Medusa, all, who view'd
The Gorgon features, were congeal'd to stone,
With ghastly eyeballs, on the hero bent,
And horrour, living in their marble form;
Thus with amazement rooted, where they stood,
In speechless terrour frozen, on their kings
The Spartans gaz'd: but soon their anxious looks
All on the great Leonidas unite,
Long known his country's refuge. He alone
Remains unshaken. Rising, he displays
His godlike presence. Dignity and grace
Adorn his frame, where manly beauty joins
With strength Herculean. On his aspect shine
Sublimest virtue, and desire of fame,
Where justice gives the laurel, in his eye
The inextinguishable spark, which fires
The souls of patriots; while his brow supports
Undaunted valour, and contempt of death.
Serene he cast his looks around, and spake.
"Why this astonishment on ev'ry face,
Ye men of Sparta? Does the name of death
Create this fear and wonder? O my friends,
Why do we labour through the arduous paths
Which lead to virtue? Fruitless were the toil,
Above the reach of human feet were plac'd
The distant summit; if the fear of death
Could intercept our passage. But a frown
Of unavailing terrour he assumes
To shake the firmness of a mind, which knows,
That, wanting virtue, life is pain and woe,
That, wanting liberty, ev'n virtue mourns,
And looks around for happiness in vain.
Then speak, O Sparta, and demand my life.
My heart, exulting, answers to thy call,
And smiles on glorious fate. To live with fame
The gods allow to many; but to die
With equal lustre is a blessing Jove
Among the choicest of his boons reserves,
Which but on few his sparing hand bestows."
Salvation thus to Sparta he proclaim'd.
Joy, wrapt awhile in admiration, paus'd,
Suspending praise; nor praise at last resounds
In high acclaim to rend the arch of Heav'n:
A reverential murmur breathes applause.
So were the pupils of Lycurgus train'd
To bridle Nature. Public fear was dumb
Before their senate, Ephori and kings,
Nor exultation into clamour broke.
Amidst them rose Dieneces, and thus.
"Haste to Thermopyla. To Xerxes show
The discipline of Spartans, long renown'd
In rigid warfare, with enduring minds,
Which neither pain, nor want, nor danger bend.
Fly to the gate of Greece, which open stands
To slavery and rapine. They will shrink
Before your standard, and their native seats
Resume in abject Asia. Arm, ye sires,
Who with a growing race have bless'd the state.
That race, your parents, gen'ral Greece forbid
Delay. Heav'n summons. Equal to the cause
A chief behold. Can Spartans ask for more?"
Bold Alpheus next. "Command my swift re-
Amid the isthmian council, to declare
Your instant march." His dictates all approve.
Back to the isthmus he unweary'd speeds.
Now from th' assembly with majesty steps Forth moves their godlike king, with conscious worth
His gen'rous bosom glowing. Such the port
Of his divine progenitor; impeil'd
By ardent virtue, so Alcides trod
Invincible to face in horrid war
The triple form of Geryon, or against
The bulk of huge Antæus match his strength.
Say, Muse, what heroes, by example fir'd,
Nor less by honour, offer'd now to bleed?
Dieneces the foremost, brave and staid,
Of vet'ran skill to range in martial fields
Well-order'd lines of battle. Maron next,
Twin-born with Alphens, shows his manly frame,
Him Agis follow'd, brother to the queen
Of great Leonidas, his friend, in war
His try'd companion. Graceful were his steps,
And gentle his demeanour. Still his soul
Preserv'd the purest virtue, though refin'd
By arts unknown to Lacedæmon's race.
High was his office. He, when Sparta's weal
Support and counsel from the gods requir'd,
Was sent the hallow'd messenger to learn
Their mystic will, in oracles declar'd,
From rocky Delphi, from Dodona's shade,
Or sea-encircled Delos, or the cell
Of dark Trophonius, round Boeotia known.
Three hundred more complete th' intrepid band,
Illustrious fathers all of gen'rous sons,
The future guardians of Laconia's state.
Then rose Megistias, leading forth his son,
Young Menalippus. Not of Spartan blood
Were they. Megistias, heav'n-enlighten'd seer,
Had left his native Acarnanian shore;
Along the border of Eurotas chose
His place of dwelling. For his worth receiv'd,
And hospitably cherish'd, he the wreath
Pontific bore in Lacedæmon's camp,
Serene in danger, nor his sacred arm
From warlike toil secluding, nor untaught
To wield the sword, and poise the weighty spear.
But to his home Leonidas retir'd.
There calm in secret thought he thus explor'd
His mighty soul, while nature in his breast
A short emotion rais'd. "What sudden grief,
What cold reluctance now unmans my heart,
And whispers, that I fear? Can death dismay
Leonidas; death, often seen and scorn'd,
When clad most dreadful in the battle's front?
Or to relinquish life in all its pride,
With all my honours blooming round my head,
Repines my soul, or rather to forsake,
Eternally forsake my weeping wife,
My infant offspring, and my faithful friends?
Leonidas, awake. Shall these withstand
The public safety? Hark! thy country calls.
O sacred voice, I hear thee. At the sound
Reviving virtue brightens in my heart;
Fear vanishes before her. Death, receive
My unreluctant hand. Immortal Fame,
Thou too, attendant on my righteous fall,
With wings unweary'd wilt protect my tomb."
His virtuous soul the hero had confirm'd,
When Agis enter'd. "If my tardy lips,"
He thus began, "have hitherto forborne
To bring their grateful tribute of applause,
Which, as a Spartan, to thy worth I owe,
Forgive the brother of thy queen. Her grief
Detain❜d me from thee. O unequall’d man!
Though Lacedæmon call thy prime regard,
Forget not her, sole victim of distress
Amid the gen'ral safety. To assuage
Such pain fraternal tenderness is weak."
How strong a parent's feelings, till this hour;
Nor was she once insensible to thee
In all her fervour to assert my fame.
How had the honours of my name been stain'd
By hesitation? Shameful life preferr'd
By an inglorious colleague would have left
The king embrac'd him, and reply'd. "O best, No choice, but what were infamy to shun,
O dearest man, conceive not, but my soul
To her is fondly bound, from whom my days
Their largest share of happiness deriv'd.
Can I, who yield my breath, lest others mourn,
Lest thousands should be wretched, when she pines,
More lov'd than any, though less dear than all,
Can I neglect her griefs? In future days,
If thou with grateful memory record
My name and fate, O Sparta, pass not this
Unheeded by. The life, for thee resign'd,
Knew not a painful hour to tire my soul,
Nor were they common joys I left behind."
So spake the patriot, and his heart o'erflow'd
In tend'rest passion. Then in eager haste
The faithful partner of his bed he sought.
Amid her weeping children sat the queen
Immoveable and mute. Her swimming eyes
Bent to the earth. Her arms were folded o'er
Her lab'ring bosom, blotted with her tears.
As, when a dusky mist involves the sky,
The Moon through all the dreary vapours spreads
The radiant vesture of her silver light
O'er the dull face of Nature; so the queen,
Divinely graceful shining through her grief,
Brighten'd the cloud of woe. Her lord approach'd.
Soon, as in gentlest phrase his well-known voice
Awak'd her drooping spirit, for a time
Care was appeas'd. She lifts her languid head.
She gives this utt'rance to her tender thoughts.
"O thou, whose presence is my sole delight;
If thus, Leonidas, thy looks and words
Can check the rapid current of distress,
How am I mark'd for misery! How long!
When of life's journey less than half is pass'd,
And I must hear those calming sounds no more,
Nor see that face, which makes affliction smile."
This said, returning grief o'erwhelms her breast.
Her orphan children, her devoted lord,
Pale, bleeding, breathless on the field of death,
Her ever-during solitude of woe,
All rise in mingled horrour to her sight,
When thus in bitt'rest agony she spake.
"O whither art thou going from my arms!
Shall I no more behold thee! Oh! no more,
In conquest clad, o'erspread with glorious dust,
Wilt thou return to greet thy native soil,
And find thy dwelling joyful! Ah! too brave,
Why wouldst thou hurry to the dreary gates
Of death, uncall'd—Another might have bled,
Like thee a victim of Alcides' race,
Less dear to all, and Sparta been secure.
Now ev'ry eye with mine is drown'd in tears.
All with these babes lament a father lost.
Alas! how heavy is our lot of pain!
Our sighs must last, when ev'ry other breast
Exults in safety, purchas'd by our loss.
Thou didst not heed our anguish-didst not seek
One pause for my instruction how to bear
Thy endless absence, or like thee to die."
Unutterable sorrow here confin'd
Her voice. These words Leonidas return'd.
"I see, I share thy agony. My soul
Ne'er knew, how warm the prevalence of love,
Not virtue to accept. Then deem no more,
That of thy love regardless, or thy tears,
I rush, uncall'd, to death. The voice of Fate,
The gods, my fame, my country press my doom.
Oh! thou dear mourner! Wherefore swells afresh
That tide of woe? Leonidas must fall.
Alas! far heavier misery impends
O'er thee and these, if, soften'd by thy tears,
I shamefully refuse to yield that breath,
Which justice, glory, liberty, and Heav'n
Claim for my country, for my sons, and thee.
Think on my long unalter'd love. Reflect
On my paternal fondness. Hath my heart
E'er known a pause in love, or pious care?
Now shall that care, that tenderness, be shown
Most warm, most faithful. When thy husband dies
For Lacedæmon's safety, thou wilt share,
Thou and thy children, the diffusive good.
I am selected by th' immortal gods
To save a people. Should my timid heart
That sacred charge abandon, I should plunge
Thee too in shame, in sorrow. Thou wouldst mourn
With Lacedæmon; wouldst with her sustain
Thy painful portion of oppression's weight.
Behold thy sons now worthy of their name, [pine
Their Spartan birth. Their growing bloom would
Depress'd, dishonour'd, and their youthful hearts
Beat at the sound of liberty no more.
On their own merit, on their father's fame,
When he the Spartan freedom bath confirm'd,
Before the world illustrious will they rise -
Their country's bulwark, and their mother's joy."
Here paus'd the patriot. In religious awe
Grief heard the voice of Virtue. No complaint
The solemn silence broke. Tears ceas'd to flow;
Ceas'd for a moment soon again to stream.
Behold, in arms before the palace drawn,
His brave companions of the war demand
Their leader's presence. Then her griefs renew'd,
Surpassing utt'rance, intercept her sighs.
Each accent freezes on her falt'ring tongue.
In speechless anguish on the hero's breast
She sinks. On ev'ry side his children press,
Hang on his knees, and kiss his honour'd hand.
His soul no longer struggles to confine
Her agitation. Down the hero's check,
Down flows the manly sorrow.
Great in woe
Amid his children, who enclose him round,
He stands, indulging tenderness and love
In graceful tears, when thus with lifted eyes
Address'd to Heav'n. "Thou ever-living pow'r,
Look down propitious, sire of gods and men!
O to this faithful woman, whose desert
May claim thy favour, grant the hours of peace!
And thou, my bright forefather, seed of Jove,
O Hercules, neglect not these thy race!
But since that spirit I from thee derive
Transports me from them to resistless fate,
Be thou their guardian! Teach them like thyself
By glorious labours to embellish life,
And from their father let them learn to die."
Here ending, forth he issues, and assumes Before the ranks his station of command,
They now proceed. So mov'd the host of Heav'n
On Phlegra's plains to meet the giant sons
Of Earth and Titan. From Olympus march'd
The deities embattled; while their king
Tow'r'd in the front with thunder in his grasp.
Thus through the streets of Lacedæmon pass'd
Leonidas. Before his footsteps bow
The multitude, exulting.
Rever'd. Unsated, their enraptur'd sight
Pursues his graceful stature, and their tongues
Extol and hail him as their guardian god.
Firm in his nervous hand he gripes the spear.
Low, as the ankles, from his shoulders hangs
The massy shield; and o'er his burnish'd helm
The purple plumage nods. Harmonious youths,
Around whose brows entwining laurels play,
In lofty-sounding strains his praise record;
While snowy-finger'd virgins all the way
Bestrew with od'rous garlands. Now his breast
Is all possess'd by glory, which dispell'd
Whate'er of grief remain'd, or vain regret
For those he left behind. The rev'rend train
Of Lacedæmon's senate last appear
To take their final, solemn leave, and grace
Their hero's parting steps. Around him flow
In civil pomp their venerable robes,
Mix'd with the blaze of arms. The shining troop
Of warriors press behind him, Maron here
With Menalippus warm in flow'ry prime,
There Agis, there Megistias, and the chief,
Dieneces. Laconia's dames ascend
The loftiest mansions; thronging o'er the roofs,
Applaud their sons, their husbands, as they march:
So parted Argo from th' Iölchian strand
To plough the foaming surge. Thessalia's nymphs,
Rang'd on the cliffs, o'ershading Neptune's face,
Still on the distant vessel fix'd their eyes
Admiring, still in pæans bless'd the helm,
By Greece entrusted with her chosen sons
For high adventures on the Colchian shore.
Swift on his course Leonidas proceeds.
Soon is Eurotas pass'd, and Lerna's bank,
Where his victorious ancestor subdu'd
The many-headed Hydra, and the lake
To endless fame consign'd. Th' unweary'd bands
Next through the pines of Mænalus he led,
And down Parthenius urg'd the rapid toil.
Six days incessant was their march pursu'd,
When to their ear the hoarse-resounding waves
Beat on the isthmus. Here the tents are spread.
Below the wide horizon then the Sun
Had dipp'd his beamy locks. The queen of night
Gleam'd from the centre of th' ethereal vault,
And o'er the raven plumes of darkness shed
Her placid light. Leonidas detains
Dieneces and Agis. Open stands
The tall pavilion, and admits the Moon.
As here they sit conversing, from the hill,
Which rose before them, one of noble port
Is seen descending. Lightly down the slope
He treads. He calls aloud. They heard, they knew
The voice of Alpheus, whom the king address'd.
"O thou, with swiftness by the gods endu'd
To match the ardour of thy daring soul,
What from the isthmus draws thee? Do the Greeks
Neglect to arm and face the public foe?"
"Good news give wings," said Alpheus. "Greece
is arm'd.
The neighb'ring isthmus holds th' Arcadian bands.
From Mantinea, Diophantus leads
Five hundred spears; nor less from Tegea's walls
With Hegesander move. A thousand more,
Who in Orchomenus reside, and range
Along Parrhasius, or Cyllene's brow;
Who near the foot of Erymanthus dwell,
Or on Alphean banks, with various chiefs
Expect thy presence. Most is Clonius fam'd,
Of stature huge, unshaken rock of war.
Four hundred warriors brave Alcmæon draws
From stately Corinth's tow'rs. Two hundred march
From Phlius. Them Eupalamus commands.
An equal number of Mycena's race
Aristobulus heads. Through fear alone
Of thee, and threat'ning Greece, the Thebans arm.
A few in Thebes authority and rule
Usurp. Corrupted with Barbarian gold,
They quench the gen'rous, eleutherian flame
In ev'ry heart. The eloquent they bribe.
By specious tales the multitude they cheat,
Establishing base measures on the plea
Of public safety. Others are immers'd
In all the sloth of plenty, who, unmov'd
In shameful ease, behold the state betray'd.
Aw'd by thy name, four hundred took the field.
The wily Anaxander is their chief
With Leontiades. To see their march
I staid, then hasten'd to survey the straits,
Which thou shalt render sacred to renown.
"For ever mingled with a crumbling soil,
Which moulders round th' indented Malian coast,
The sea rolls slimy. On a solid rock,
Which forms the inmost limit of a bay,
Thermopyla is stretch'd. Where broadest spread,
It measures threescore paces, bounded here
By the salt ooze, which underneath presents
A dreary surface; there the lofty cliffs
Of woody'd Eta overlook the pass,
And far beyond o'er half the surge below
Their horrid umbrage cast. Across the mouth
An ancient bulwark of the Phocians stands,
A wall with gates and tow'rs. The Locrian force
Was marching forward. Them I pass'd to greet
Demophilus of Thespia, who had pitch'd
Seven hundred spears before th' important fence.
His brother's son attends the rev'rend chief,
Young Dithyrambus. He for noble deeds,
Yet more for temperance of mind renown'd,
In early bloom with brightest honours shines
Nor wantons in the blaze." Here Agis spake.
"Well hast thou painted that illustrious youth.
He is my host at Thespia. Though adorn'd
With various wreaths, by Fame, by Fortune bless'd,
His gentle virtues take from Envy's lips
Their blasting venom; and her baneful eye
Strives on his worth to smile." In silence all
Again remain, when Alpheus thus proceeds.
"Platæa's chosen veterans I saw,
Small in their number, matchless in their fame.
Diomedon the leader. Keen his sword
At Marathon was felt, where Asia bled.
These guard Thermopylæ. Among the hills,
Unknown to strangers, winds an upper strait,
Which by a thousand Phocians is secur'd.
"Ere these brave Greeks I quitted, in the bay
A stately chieftain of th' Athenian fleet
Arriv'd. I join'd him. Copious in thy praise
He utter'd rapture, but austerely blam'd
Laconia's tardy counsels; while the ships
Of Athens long had stemm'd Eubœan tides,
Which flow not distant from our future post.
This was the far-fam'd Æschylus, by Mars,
By Phoebus lov'd. Parnassus him proclaims
The first of Attic poets, him the plains
Of Marathon a soldier, try'd in arms."
"Well may Athenians murmur," said the king.
"Too long hath Sparta slumber'd on her shield.
By morn beyond the isthmus we will spread
A gen'rous banner. In Laconian strains
Of Aleman and Terpander lives the fame
Of our forefathers. Let our deeds attract
The brighter Muse of Athens in the song
Of Eschylus divine. Now frame thy choice.
Share in our fate; or, hast'ning home, report,
How much already thy discerning mind,
Thy active limbs have merited from me,
How serv'd thy country." From th' impatient lips
Of Alpheus swift these fervid accents broke.
"I have not measur'd such a tract of land,
Have not, untir'd, beheld the setting Sun,
Nor through the shade of midnight urg'd my steps
To animate the Grecians, that myself
Might be exempt from warlike toil, or death.
Return? Ah! no. A second time my speed
Shall visit thee, Thermopylæ. My limbs
Shall at thy side, Leonidas, obtain
An honourable grave. And oh! amid
His country's perils if a Spartan breast
May feel a private sorrow, fierce revenge
I seek not only for th' insulted state,
But for a brother's wrongs. A younger hope
Than I, and Maron, bless'd our father's years,
Child of his age, and Polydorus nam'd.
His mind, while tender in his op'ning prime,
Was bent to strenuous virtue. Gen'rous scorn
Of pain or danger, taught his early strength
To struggle patient with severest toils.
Oft, when inclement winter chill'd the air,
When frozen show'rs had swoln Eurotus' stream,
Amid th' impetuous channel would he plunge
To breast the torrent. On a fatal day,
As in the sea his active limbs he bath'd,
A savage corsair of the Persian king
My brother naked and defenceless bore,
Ev'n in my sight, to Asia; there to waste
With all the promise of its growing worth
His youth in bondage. Tedious were the tale,
Should I recount my pains, my father's woes,
The days he wept, the sleepless nights he beat
His aged bosom. And shall Alpheus' spear
Be absent from Thermopylæ, nor claim,
O Polydorus, vengeance for thy wrongs
In that first slaughter of the barb'rous foe?"
Here interpos'd Dieneces. Their hands
He grasp'd, and cordial transport thus express'd.
"O that Lycurgus from the shades might rise
To praise the virtue, which his laws inspire!"
Thus till the dead of night these heroes pass'd
The hours in friendly converse, and enjoy'd
Each other's virtue. Happiest of men!
At length with gentle heaviness the pow'r
Of sleep invades their eyelids, and constrains
Their magnanimity and zeal to rest:
When, sliding down the hemisphere, the Moon
Immers'd in midnight shade her silver head.
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 composed the isthmian council. He harangues them; then proceeds in conjunction with these forces towards Thermopyla. On the first day he is joined by Dithyrambus; on the third he reaches a valley in Locris, where he is entertained by Oileus, the public host, of the Lacedæmonian state; and the next morning is accompanied by him in a car to the temple of Pan: he finds Medon there, the son of Oïleus, and commander of two thousand Locrians, already posted at Thermopylæ, and by him is informed, that the army of Xerxes is in sight of the pass.
AURORA spreads her purple beams around,
When move the Spartans. Their approach is known.
The isthmian council, and the diff'rent chiefs,
Who lead th' auxiliar bands, advance to meet
Leonidas; Eupalamus the strong,
Alemæon, Clonius, Diophantus brave
With Hegesander. At their head is seen
Aristobulus, whom Mycena's ranks
Obey, Mycena once august in pow'r,
In splendid wealth, and vaunting still the name
Of Agamemnon. To Laconia's king
The chieftain spake. "Leonidas, survey
Mycenae's race. Should ev'ry other Greek
Be aw'd by Xerxes, and his eastern 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 levell'd to the ground."
Leonidas replies not, but his voice
Directs to all. "Illustrious warriors, hail!
Who thus undaunted signalize your faith,
Your gen'rous ardour in the common cause.
But you, whose counsels prop the Grecian state,
O venerable synod, who consign
To our protecting sword the gate of Greece,
Thrice hail! Whate'er by valour we obtain,
Your wisdom must preserve. With piercing eyes
Contemplate ev'ry city, and discern
Their various tempers. Some with partial care
To guard their own, neglect the public weal.
Unmov'd and cold are others. Terrour here,
Corruption there presides. O fire the brave
To gen'ral efforts in the gen'ral cause.
Confirm the wav'ring. Animate the cold,
The timid. Watch the faithless. Some betray
Themselves and Greece. Their perfidy prevent,
Or call them back to honour. Let us all
Be link'd in sacred union, and this land
May face the world's whole multitude in arms.
If for the spoil, by Paris borne to Troy,
A thousand keels 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 fall,
He shall not pour his myriads on your plains.
But as the gods conceal, how long our strength
May stand unvanquish'd, or how soon may yield;
Waste not a moment, till consenting Greece
Range all her free-born numbers in the field."
Leonidas concluded. Awful stepp'd
Before the sage assembly one supreme
And old in office, who address'd the king.
"Thy bright example ev'ry heart unites.
From thee her happiest omens Greece derives
Of concord, safety, liberty, and fame.
Go then, O first of mortals, go, impress
Amaze and terrour on the barb'rous host;
The free-born Greeks instructing life to deem
Less dear than honour, and their country's cause."
This heard, Leonidas, thy secret soul,
Exulting, tasted of the sweet reward
Due to thy name through endless time. Once more
His eyes 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. The phalanx moves behind
In deep arrangement. So th' imperial ship
With stately bulk along the heaving 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. Till sultry noon
They march; when halting, as they take repast,
Across the plain before them they descry
A troop of Thespians. One above the rest
In eminence precedes. His glitt'ring shield,
Whose gold-emblazon'd orb collects the beams,
Cast by meridian Phœbus from his throne,
Flames like another Sun. A snowy plume,
With wanton curls disporting in the breeze,
Floats o'er his dazzling casque. On nearer view,
Beneath the radiant honours of his crest
A countenance of youth in rosy prime,
And manly sweetness, won the fix'd regard
Of each beholder. With a modest grace
He came respectful tow'rd the king, and show'd,
That all ideas of his own desert
Were sunk in veneration. So the god
Of light salutes his empyreal sire;
When from his altar in th' embow'ring grove
Of palmy Delos, or the hallow'd bound
Of Tenedos, or Claros, where he hears
In hymns his praises from the sons of men,
He reascends the high Olympian seats:
Such reverential homage on his brow,
O'ershading, softens his effulgent bloom
With loveliness and grace. The king receives
Th' illustrious Thespian thus. "My willing tongue
Would style thee Dithyrambus. Thou dost bear
All in thy aspect to become that name,
Renown'd for worth and valour.
Thy birth, thy charge. Whoe'er thou art, my soul
Desires to know thee, and would call thee friend."
To him the youth. "O bulwark of our weal,
My name is Dithyrambus; which the lips
Of some benevolent, some gen'rous friend
To thee have sounded in a partial strain,
And thou hast heard with favour. In thy sight
I stand, deputed by the Thespian chief,
The Theban, Locrian, by the fam'd in war,
Diomedon, to hasten thy approach.
Three days will bring the hostile pow'rs in view." He said. The ready standards are uprear'd.
By zeal enforc'd, till ev'ning shadows fall,
The march continues, then by day-spring sweeps
The earliest dews. The van, by Agis led,
Displays the grisly face of battle rough
With spears, obliquely trail'd in dreadful length
Along th' indented way. Beside him march'd
His gallant Thespian host. The centre boasts
Leonidas the leader, who retains
The good Megistias near him. In the rear
Dieneces commanded, who in charge
Kept Menalippus, offspring of his friend,
For these instructions. "Let thine eye, young man,
Dwell on the order of our varying march;
As champaign, valley, mountain, or defile
Require a change. The eastern tyrant thus
Conducts not his barbarians, like the sands
In number. Yet the discipline of Greece
They will encounter feeble, as the sands,
Dash'd on a rock, and scatter'd in their fall."
To him th' inquiring youth. "The martial tread,
The flute's slow warble, both in just accord,
Entrance my senses; but let wonder ask,
Why is that tender vehicle of sound
Preferr'd in war by Sparta? Other Greeks
To more sonorous music rush in fight."
"Son of my friend," Dieneces rejoins,
"Well dost thou note. I praise thee. Sparta's law
With human passions, source of human woes,
Maintains perpetual strife. She sternly curbs
Our infant hearts, till passion yields its seat
To principle and order. Music too,
By Spartans lov'd, is temper'd by the law;
Still to her plan subservient melts in notes,
Which cool and soothe, not irritate and warm.
Thus by habitual abstinence, apply'd
To ev'ry sense, suppressing Nature's fire,
By modes of duty, not by ardour sway'd,
O'er each impetuous enemy abroad,
At home o'er vice and pleasure we prevail."
"O might I merit a Laconian name!"
The Arcanian answer'd. "But explain,
What is the land we traverse? What the hill,
Whose parted summit in a spacious void
Admits a bed of clouds? And gracious tell,
Whose are those suits of armour, which I see
Borne by two Helots?" At the questions pleas'd,
Dieneces continues. "Those belong
To Alpheus and his brother. Light of foot
They, disencumber'd, all at large precede
This pond'rous band. They guide a troop of slaves,
Our missile-weapon'd Helots, to observe,
Provide, forewarn, and obstacles remove.
This tract is Phocis. That divided hill
Is fam'd Parnassus. Thence the voice divine
Was sent by Phoebus, summoning to death
The king of Sparta. From his fruitful blood
A crop will spring of victory to Greece."
"And these three hundred high in birth and rank, All citizens of Sparta❞—cries the youth."They all must bleed," Dieneces subjoins, "All with their leader. So the law decrees."
To him with earnest looks the gen'rous youth. "Wilt thou not place me in that glorious hour Close to thy buckler? Gratitude will brace Thy pupil's arm to manifest the force Of thy instruction."-" Menalippus, no," Return'd the chief. "Not thou of Spartan breed, Nor call'd to perish. Thou unwedded too Wouldst leave no race behind thee. Live to praise, Live to enjoy our salutary fall.
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