Leonidas: a poem.

LEONIDAS, A POEM.

——〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

PIND. OLYMP. OD. 1.

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LONDON: Printed for R. DODSLEY, at Tully's Head in Pallmall. M.DCC.XXXVII.

THE PREFACE.

TO illustrate the following poem, to vin|dicate the subject from the censure of improbability, and to shew by the concurring evidence of the best historians, that such disinterested public virtue did once exist, I have thought, it would not be improper to prefix the subsequent narration.

WHILE Darius, the father of Xerxes, was yet on the throne of Persia, Cleomenes and Demaratus were kings in Lacedaemon, both descended from Hercules. Demaratus was un|fortunately expos'd by an uncertain rumour, which render'd his legitimacy suspected, to the

malice and treachery of his colleague, who had conceiv'd a personal resentment against him; for Cleomenes taking advantage of this report, persuaded the Spartans to examine into the birth of Demaratus, and refer the difficulty to the oracle of Delphi; and was assisted in his perfidious designs by a near relation of Dema|ratus, nam'd Leotychides, who aspir'd to suc|ceed him in his dignity. Cleomenes found means to corrupt the priestess of Delphi, who declar'd Demaratus not legitimate. Thus by the base practices of his colleague Cleomenes, and his kinsman Leotychides, Demaratus was expell'd from his office of king in the commonwealth, after having frequently signaliz'd his valour in its service. He went into voluntary banish|ment, and retiring to Asia was there protected by Darius; while Leotychides succeeded to the regal authority in Sparta. Upon the death of Cleomenes Leonidas was made king, who rul'd in conjunction with this Leotychides, when Xerxes, the son of Darius, invaded Greece. The

number of land and naval forces, which accom|panied that monarch, together with the servants, women, and other usual attendants on the army of an eastern prince, amounted to upwards of five millions, as reported by Herodotus, who wrote within a few years after the event, and pub|licly recited his history at the Olympic games. In this general assembly not only from Greece itself, but from every part of the world, where|ever a colony of Grecians was planted, had he greatly exceeded the truth, he must certainly have been detected, and censur'd by some a|mong so great a multitude, and such a vo|luntary falshood must have entirely destroy'd that merit and authority, which have procur'd to Herodotus the veneration of all posterity, with the appellation of the father of history. On the first news of this attempt upon their li|berty a convention was immediately held at the Isthmus of Corinth, compos'd of deputies from the several states of Greece, to consult on proper measures for the public safety. The Spartans

also sent messengers to enquire of the oracle at Delphi into the event of the war, who return'd with an answer from the priestess of Apollo, that either a king descended from Hercules must die, or Lacedaemon would be entirely de|stroy'd. Leonidas immediately offer'd to sa|crifice his life for the safety of Lacedaemon, and marching to Thermopylae possess'd himself of that important pass with three hundred of his countrymen; who with the forces of some o|ther cities in the Peloponnesus, together with the Thebans, Thespians, and the troops of those states, which adjoin'd to Thermopylae, compos'd an army of near eight thousand men.

XERXES was now advanc'd as far, as Thessalia; when hearing, that a small body of Grecians was assembled at Thermopylae, with some Lacedaemonians at their head, and among the rest Leonidas, a descendant of Hercules, he dispatch'd a single horseman before to ob|serve

their numbers, and discover their designs. When this horseman approach'd, he could not take a view of the whole camp, which lay con|ceal'd behind a rampart formerly rais'd by the Phocians at the entrance of Thermopylae; so that his whole attention was employ'd on those, who were on guard before the wall, and who at that instant chanc'd to be the Lacedaemo|nians. Their manner and gestures greatly as|tonish'd the Persian; some were amusing them|selves in gymnastic exercises; others were comb|ing their hair; and all discover'd a total disregard of him, whom they suffer'd to depart without molestation, and report to Xerxes, what he had seen: which appearing to that prince quite ri|diculous, he sent for Demaratus, who was with him in the camp, and requir'd him to ex|plain this strange behaviour of his countrymen. Demaratus inform'd him, that it was a custom among the Spartans to comb down and ad|just their hair, when they were determin'd to fight till the last extremity. Xerxes notwith|standing

in the confidence of his power sent am|bassadors to the Grecians to demand their arms, to bid them disperse, and become his friends and allies; which proposals being receiv'd with dis|dain, he commanded the Medes and Saces to seize on the Grecians, and bring them alive into his presence. These nations immediately at|tack'd the Grecians, and were soon repuls'd with great slaughter; fresh troops still succeed|ed, but with no better fortune than the first, being oppos'd to an enemy not only superiour in valour and resolution, but who had the ad|vantage of discipline, and were furnish'd with better arms both offensive and defensive.

PLUTARCH in his Laconic apothegms re|ports, that the Persian king offer'd to invest Leonidas with the sovereignty of all Greece, provided he would join his arms to those of Per|sia. This offer was too considerable a conde|scension to have been made before a tryal of their force, and must therefore have been propos'd by

Xerxes, after such a series of ill success, as might probably have depress'd the insolence of his temper; and it may be easily suppos'd, that the virtue of Leonidas was proof against any temptations of that nature. Whether this be a fact, or not, thus much is certain, that Xerxes was reduc'd to extreme difficulties by this reso|lute defence of Thermopylae; till he was extri|cated from his distress by a Malian nam'd Epi|altes, who conducted twenty thousand of the Persian army into Greece through a pass, which lay higher up the country among the mountains of Oeta: whereas the passage at Thermopylae was situated on the sea-shore between the end of those mountains and the Malian bay. The de|fence of the upper pass had been committed to a thousand Phocians, who upon the first sight of the enemy inconsiderately abandon'd their station, and put themselves in array upon a neighbouring eminence; but the Persians wisely avoided an engagement, and with the utmost expedition march'd to Thermopylae. Leonidas

no sooner receiv'd information, that the Barba|rians had pass'd the mountains, but he command|ed the allies to retreat, reserving the three hundred Spartans, and four hundred Thebans, whom, as they follow'd him with reluctance at first, he now compell'd to stay. But the Thespians, whose number amounted to seven hundred, would not be persuaded by Leonidas to forsake him. Their commander was Demophilus, and the most eminent amongst them for his va|lour was Dithyrambus. Among the Spartans the most conspicuous next to Leonidas was Di|eneces, who being told, that the multitude of Persian arrows would obscure the sun, replied, the battle would then be in the shade. Two bro|thers named Alpheus and Maron are also record|ed for their valour, and were Lacedaemonians. Megistias a priest, by birth an Acarnanian, re|fus'd to desert Leonidas, though intreated by him to consult his safety, and retire; but sent away his only son, and remain'd himself be|hind to die with the Lacedaemonians. Among

the three hundred Spartans were two call'd Eurytus and Aristodemus, who being almost blind were dismiss'd by Leonidas. Of these Aristodemus return'd home; but Eurytus wait|ed, till the Persians descended from the hills, and then commanding his slave to lead him a|mong the combatants was slain with the rest of his countrymen.

HERODOTUS relates, that Leonidas drew up his men in the broadest part of Thermopy|lae; where, being surrounded by the Persians, they fell with great numbers of their ene|mies: but Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and o|thers affirm, that the Grecians attack'd the ve|ry camp of Xerxes in the night. The action is thus describ'd by Diodorus.

"The Grecians having now rejected all thoughts of safety, preferring glory to life, unanimously call'd on their general to lead them against the Per|sians, before they could be appris'd, that their friends had pass'd round the mountains.

Leonidas embrac'd the occasion, which the ready zeal of his soldiers afforded, and com|manded them forthwith to dine, as men, who were to sup in Elysium. Himself in conse|quence of this command took a repast, as the means to furnish strength for a long continuance, and to give perseverance in danger. After a short refreshment the Gre|cians were now prepar'd, and receiv'd orders to assail the enemies camp, to put all, they met, to the sword, and force a passage to the royal pavilion; when, form'd into one compact body with Leonidas himself at their head, they march'd against the Persians, and enter'd their camp at the dead of night. The Barbarians wholly unprepar'd, and blindly conjecturing, that their friends were defeat|ed, and themselves attack'd by the united power of Greece, hurry together from their tents with the utmost disorder and consterna|tion. Many were slain by Leonidas and his party, but much greater multitudes by their

own troops, to whom in the midst of this blind confusion they were not distinguishable from enemies: for as night took away the power of discerning truely, and the tumult was spread universally over the camp, a pro|digious slaughter must naturally ensue. The want of command, of a watch-word, and of confidence in themselves reduc'd the Persians to such a state of confusion, that they de|stroy'd each other without distinction. Had Xerxes continu'd in the royal pavilion, the Grecians without difficulty might have brought the war to a speedy conclusion by his death; but he at the beginning of the tumult betook himself to flight with the ut|most precipitation; when the Grecians rush|ing into the tent, put to the sword most of those, who were left behind: then, while night lasted, they rang'd through the whole camp in diligent search of the tyrant. When morning appear'd, the Persians perceiving the true state of things, held the inconsiderable

number of their enemies in contempt; yet were so terrified at their valour, that they avoided a near engagement; but inclosing the Grecians on every side shower'd their darts and arrows upon them at a distance, and in the end destroy'd their whole body. Such was the pe|riod of their lives, who under the conduct of Leonidas defended the pass of Thermopy|lae. Who can refrain from admiring the virtue of these men, who with one consent maintaining the post allotted by their country chearfully renounc'd their lives for the com|mon safety of Greece, and esteem'd a glori|ous death more eligible than to live with dis|honour? Nor is the consternation of the Persians incredible. Who among those Bar|barians could have conjectur'd such an event? who could have expected, that five hundred men would have dar'd to attack a million? Wherefore shall not all posterity from that day reflect on the virtue of these men as the object of imitation, who, though the loss of

their lives was the necessary consequence of their undertaking, were yet unconquer'd in their spirit; and among all the great names deliver'd down to remembrance are the only heroes, who obtain'd more glory in their fall than others from the brightest victories? With justice may they be deem'd the pre|servers of the Grecian liberty, even prefer|ably to those, who were conquerors in the battles fought afterwards with Xerxes; for the memory of their valour, who fell at Thermopylae, for ever dejected the Barbarians, while the Greeks were fir'd with emulation to equal such a pitch of magnanimity. Upon the whole there never were any before these, who attain'd to immortality through the meer excess of virtue; whence the praise of their fortitude has not been recorded by hi|storians only, but has been celebrated by numbers of poets, among others by Simoni|des the lyric."

PAUSANIAS in his Laconics considers the defence of Thermopylae, as an action superior to any atchiev'd by their cotemporaries, and to all the exploits of preceding ages.

"Never (says he) had Xerxes beheld Greece, or laid in ashes the city of Athens, had not his forces under Hydarnes been conducted through a path over Oeta, and by that means incom|passing the Greeks overcome and slain Leo|nidas."

Nor is it improbable, that Leonidas should have maintain'd his post in so narrow a pass, till the whole army of Xerxes had pe|rish'd by famine. At the same time the Per|sian navy had been miserably shatter'd by a storm, and worsted in an engagement with the Athenians at Artemisium.

To conclude, the fall of Leonidas and his brave companions, so meritorious to their coun|try, and so glorious to themselves, has obtain'd such an high degree of veneration and applause

from past ages, that few among the antient compilers of history have been silent on this amazing instance of magnanimity and zeal for liberty; and many are the epigrams and in|scriptions now extant, some on the whole body, others on particulars, who died at Thermopy|lae, still preserving their memory in every na|tion conversant with learning, and at this dis|tance of time still rendring their virtue the ob|ject of admiration and praise.

I SHALL now detain the reader no longer, than to take this public occasion of expressing my sincere regard for the LORD VISCOUNT COBHAM, and the sense of my obligations for the early honour of his friendship. To him I inscribe the following poem; and herein might I be justified, independent of all personal motives, from his Lordship's public conduct so highly distinguish'd by his disinterested zeal, and unsha|ken fidelity to his country, not less in civil life

than in the field: and to whom a poem found|ed on a character eminent for military glory, and love of liberty is due from the nature of the subject.

R. GLOVER.

LEONIDAS.

BOOK I.

The argument.

Xerxes king of Persia having drawn together the whole force of his empire, and pass'd over the Hellespont into Thrace with a design to conquer Greece; the deputies from the several states of that country, who had some time before assembled themselves at the Isthmus of Corinth to deliberate on proper measures for resisting the invader, were no sooner appris'd of his march into Thrace, than they determin'd without further delay to dispute his passage at the straits of Thermopylae, the most accessible part of Greece on the side of Thrace and Thessaly. Alpheus, one of the deputies from Sparta, repairs to that city, and communicates this resolution to his countrymen; who chanced that day to be assembled in expectation of receiving an answer from Apollo, to whom they had sent a messenger to consult about the event of the war. Leotychides, one of their two kings, counsels the people to advance no further, than the Isthmus of Corinth, which separates the Peloponnesus, where Lacedaemon was situated, from the rest of Greece; but Leonidas, the other king, dissuades them from it. Agis, the messenger, who had

been deputed to Delphi, and brother to the queen of Leonidas, returns with the oracle; which denounces ruin to the Lacedaemonians, unless one of their kings lays down his life for the publick. Leonidas offers himself for the victim. Three hundred Spartans are chosen to accompany him to Thermopylae, and Alpheus returns to the Isthmus. Leonidas, after an interview with his queen, departs from Lacedaemon. At the end of six days, he encamps near the Isthmus, when he is join'd by Alpheus; who describes the auxiliaries, that wait at the Isthmus, those, who are already possess'd of Thermopylae, as also the pass itself; and concludes with a relation of the captivity of his brother Polydorus in Persia.

REHEARSE, O Muse, the deeds and glorious death Of that fam'd Spartan, who withstood the pow'r Of Xerxes near Thermopylae, and fell To save his country. When from Asia's coast With half the nations of the peopled globeLine 5 The Persian king the Hellespont had pass'd, And now in Thrace his boundless camp was spread; Soon to the Isthmus, where th'assembled chiefs Of Greece in anxious council long had sat, How best their menac'd liberties to guard,Line 10

The dreadful tidings reach'd. The near approach Of Asia's lord determines their resolves. These they convey to all the Grecian states. Back to Eurotas' shores, where Sparta rose, Laconian Alpheus speeds: in council thereLine 15 He finds the Spartan people with their kings; Their kings, who boast an origin divine, From Hercules descended. They the sons Of Lacedaemon had conven'd to learn The sacred mandates of th' immortal Gods,Line 20 That morn expected from the Delphian dome; But in their presence Alpheus first appear'd, And thus address'd them. For immediate war Prepare, O Spartans. Xerxes' num'rous pow'rs Already fill the trembling bounds of Thrace.Line 25 The Isthmian council hath decreed to guard The strait and rocky entrance into Greece,

Thermopylae; where ev'n a slender force May stem the torrent of unnumber'd foes.

HE said, when Leotychides, who shar'dLine 30 The rule with great Leonidas, bespake The Spartans thus. My countrymen give ear. Why from her bosom should Laconia send Her valiant sons to wage a distant war For others' safety; why exhaust her strengthLine 35 And thin her numbers in defence of those, Who far remote from Lacedaemon dwell Beyond the Isthmus? there the Gods have plac'd Our native ramparts, there our empire's bound; And there alone our country claims our swords.Line 40

HE ceas'd. The people with assenting shouts Replied, when thus Leonidas began.

O MOST ungen'rous counsel! most unjust, And base desertion of the Grecian weal! What! shall th'Athenians, whose assiduous fleetsLine 45 Undaunted watch th' innumerable foes, Where'er they menace our affrighted shores, And trust th' impending dangers of the field To Sparta's well-known valour; shall they hear, That we, disowning thus the gen'ral cause,Line 50 Maintain the Isthmus only, and expose The rest of Greece, ev'n Athens, while she guards Our naked coasts, to all the waste of war, Her walls to ruin, and her fields to flames, Her sons, her matrons, and her hoary siresLine 55 To violation, servitude, and shame? O should they hear such counsels guide our state, Would they not court the first propitious gale

To waft them far from such perfidious friends, And raise new seats in other climes remote,Line 60 Safe from insulting foes, and false allies? Then should we soon behold the proud array Of Xerxes' navy with their hostile beaks Affront our shores, and deluge all our fields With inexhausted numbers. Half the Greeks,Line 65 By us betray'd to bondage, would support The Persian king, and lift th' avenging spear For our destruction. But my friends reject Such mean and dang'rous counsels, which will blast Your long establish'd glories, and assistLine 70 The proud invader. O eternal king Of Gods and mortals elevate our minds! Each low and partial passion thence dispel! Till this great truth in ev'ry heart be known, That none, but those, who aid the publick cause,Line 75

Can shield their countries, or themselves from chains.

HE said, by shame suppress'd each clam'rous voice Was lost in silence; till a gen'ral shout Proclaim'd th' approach of Agis from the fane, Where, taught by Phoebus on the Delphic hill,Line 80 The Pythian maid his oracles reveal'd. He came; but discontent and grief o'ercast His anxious brow. Reluctant he advanc'd, And now prepar'd to speak. Th' impatient throng Was gather'd round him; motionless they stoodLine 85 With expectation; not a whisper told The silent fear, but all on Agis gaze; And still as death attend the solemn tale. As o'er the western waves, when ev'ry storm Is hush'd within its cavern, and a breezeLine 90 Soft-breathing lightly with its wings along

The slacken'd cordage glides, the sailor's ear Perceives no sound throughout the vast expanse; None, but the murmurs of the sliding prowe, Which slowly parts the smooth and yielding main:Line 95 So through the wide and listning croud no sound, No voice, but thine, O Agis, broke the air, Declaring thus the oracle divine.

I WENT to Delphi; I enquir'd what fate Was doom'd to Sparta from th'impending war;Line 100 When thus th' all-seeing deity replied. "Inhabitants of Sparta, Persia's arms "Shall lay your proud and ancient seat in dust; "Unless a king from Hercules deriv'd "Cause Lacedaemon for his death to mourn."Line 105

AS, when the hand of Perseus had disclos'd The snakes of dirc Medusa; all, who view'd

The Gorgon features, were congeal'd to stone, With ghastly eye-balls on the hero bent, And horrour living in their marble form:Line 110 Thus with amazement rooted, where they stood, And froze with speechless terrour, 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 aloneLine 115 Remains unshaken. Rising, he displays His godlike presence. Dignity and grace Adorn his frame, and manly beauty join'd With strength Herculean. On his aspect shines Sublimest virtue, and desire of fame,Line 120 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 rose, and thus address'd the throng.Line 125

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,Line 130 Above the reach of human feet were plac'd The distant summit, if the fear of death Could intercept our passage. But in vain His blackest frowns and terrours he assumes To shake the firmness of the mind, which knows,Line 135 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; Line 140

My heart exulting answers to thy call,Line 140 And smiles on glorious fate. To live with fame The Gods allow to many; but to die With equal lustre, is a blessing, Heav'n Selects from all the choicest boons of fate, And with a sparing hand on few bestows.Line 145

HE said. New wonder fix'd the gazing throng. In silence Joy and Admiration sat, Suspending praise. At length with high acclaim The arch of heav'n resounded, when amid Th' assembly stood Dieneces, and spake.Line 150

SO from Thermopylae may Sparta's shouts Affright the ear of Asia! Haste, my friends, To guard the gates of Greece, which open stand To Tyranny and Rapine. They with dread Line 155

Will shrink before your standards, and againLine 155 In servile Persia seek their native seats. Your wives, your sons, your parents, general Greece Forbid delay; and equal to the cause A chief behold: can Spartans ask for more?

HE ceas'd; when Alpheus thus. It well becomesLine 160 The Spartans held the chiefs of Greece, and fam'd For dauntless courage, and unyielding hearts, Which neither want, nor pain, nor death, can bend, To lead the rest to battle. Then with speed From all your number form a chosen band,Line 165 While I returning, will my seat resume Among the Isthmian council, and declare Your instant march. Our brave allies, I deem, Now on the Isthmus wait the Spartan king; All but the Locrian and Boeotian force,Line 170

With Phocis' youth, appointed to secure Thermopylae. This said, not long he paus'd, But with unwearied steps his course renews.

NOW from th' assembly with majestic steps Forth moves their godlike king, with conscious worthLine 175 His gen'rous bosom glowing; like his sire, Th' invincible Alcides, when he trod With ardent speed to face in horrid war The triple form of Geryon, or against The bulk of huge Antaeus match his strength.Line 180

SAY, Muse, who next present their dauntless breasts To meet all danger in their country's cause? Dieneces advances sage, and brave, And skill'd along the martial field to range The order'd ranks of battle; Maron next,Line 185

To Alpheus dear, his brother, and his friend. Then rose Megistias with his blooming heir, Joy of his age, and Menalippus call'd; Megistias, wise and venerable seer, Whose penetrating mind, as fame records,Line 190 Could from the entrails of the victim slain Before the altar, and the mystic flight Of birds foresee the dark events of time. Though sprung a stranger on the distant shore Of Acarnania, for his worth receiv'd,Line 195 And hospitably cherish'd; he the wreath Pontific bore amid the Spartan camp; Serene in danger, nor his sacred arm From warlike toils secluding, nor unskill'd To wield the sword, or poize the weighty spear.Line 200 Him Agis follow'd, brother to the queen Of great Leonidas; his friend, in war

His tried companion. Graceful were his steps, And gentle his demeanour. Still his soul Preserv'd its rigid virtue, though refin'dLine 205 With arts unknown to Lacedaemon's race. High was his office. He, when Sparta's weal Their aid and counsel from the Gods requir'd, Was sent the sacred messenger to learn Their mystic will in oracles declar'dLine 210 From rocky Delphi, and Dodona's shade, Or sea-incircled Delos, or the cell Of dark Trophonius round Boeotia known. Three hundred more compleat th' intrepid band.

BUT to his home Leonidas retir'd.Line 215 There calm in secret thought he thus explor'd His mighty soul, while nature to his breast A short-liv'd terrour call'd. What sudden grief,

What cold reluctance thus unmans my heart, And whispers, that I fear?—Can death dismayLine 220 Leonidas, so 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,Line 225 Eternally forsake my weeping wife, My infant offspring, and my faithful friends?— Leonidas awake! Shall these withstand The public safety? Lo! thy country calls. O sacred voice, I hear thee! At that soundLine 230 Returning virtue brightens in my heart; Fear vanishes before her; Death receive My unreluctant hand, and lead me on. Thou too, O Fame, attendant on my fall, Line 235

With wings unwearied shalt protect my tomb,Line 235 Nor Time himself shall violate my praise.

THE hero thus confirm'd his virtuous soul, When Agis enter'd. If till now my tongue (He thus began) O brother, has delay'd To pay its grateful off'ring of the praise,Line 240 Thy merit claims, and only fill'd the cries Of general applause, forgive thy friend; Since her distresses, hers, whom most you love, Detain'd me from thee. O unequall'd man! Though Lacedaemon call thy first regard,Line 245 Forget not her, who now for thee laments In sorrows, which fraternal love in vain Hath strove to sooth. Leonidas embrac'd His gen'rous friend, and thus replied. Most dear And best of men! conceive not, but my heartLine 250

Must still remember her, from whom my life Its largest share of happiness derives. 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,Line 255 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, I gave for thee, Knew not a painful hour to tire my soul,Line 260 Nor were they common joys, I left behind.

SO spake the patriot, and his heart o'erflow'd With fondest passion; then in eager haste The faithful partner of his bed he sought. Amid her weeping children sat the queen,Line 265 Immoveable and mute; her swimming eyes

Fix'd on 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 spreadsLine 270 The radiant vesture of its silver light O'er the dull face of nature; so her charms Divinely graceful shone upon her grief, Bright'ning the cloud of woe. The chief approach'd. Soon as in gentlest phrase his well-known voiceLine 275 Her drooping mind awaken'd, for a time Its cares were hush'd: she lifts her languid head, And thus gives utt'rance to her tender thoughts.

O THOU, whose presence is my only joy, If thus, Leonidas, thy looks and voiceLine 280 Can dissipate at once the sharpest pangs, How greatly am I wretched; who no more

Must hear that voice, which lulls my anguish thus, Nor see that face, which makes affliction smile!

THIS said, returning grief her breast invades.Line 285 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 spoke.Line 290

O WHITHER art thou going from my arms! Shall I no more behold thee! Oh! no more In conquest clad, and wrapt in glorious dust Wilt thou return to greet thy native soil, And make thy dwelling joyfull Yet, too brave,Line 295 Why wouldst thou hasten to the dreary gates Of death, uncall'd? Another might have fall'n,

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,Line 300 All with these babes lament their father lost. But oh! how heavy is our lot of pain! Our sighs must last, when ev'ry other breast Exults with transport, and the public joy Will but increase our anguish. Yet unmov'd,Line 305 Thou didst not heed our sorrows, didst not seek A moment's pause, to teach us how to bear Thy endless absence, or like thee to die.

UNUTTERABLE sorrow here confin'd Her voice. These words Leonidas return'd.Line 310

I SEE, I feel thy anguish, nor my soul Has ever known the prevalence of love, E'er prov'd a father's fondness, as this hour;

Nor, when most ardent to assert my fame, Was once my heart insensible to thee.Line 315 How had it stain'd the honours of my name To hesitate a moment, and suspend My country's fate, till shameful life prefer'd By my inglorious colleague left no choice, But what in me were infamy to shun,Line 320 Not virtue to accept? Then deem no more, That of thy love regardless, or thy tears, I haste uncall'd to death. The voice of Fate, The Gods, my fame, my country bid me bleed. —Oh! thou dear mourner! wherefore streams afreshLine 325 That flood of woe? Why heaves with sighs renew'd That tender breast? 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,Line 330

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. Has my heart E'er known a pause of love, or pious care?Line 335 Now shall that care, that tenderness be prov'd Most warm and faithful. When thy husband dies. For Lacedaemon's safety, thou wilt share, Thou and thy children, the diffusive good. Should I, thus singled from the rest of men,Line 340 Alone intrusted by th 'immortal Gods With pow'r to save a people, should my soul Desert that sacred cause, thee too I yield To sorrow, and to shame; for thou must weep With Lacedaemon, must with her sustainLine 345 Thy painful portion of oppression's weight. Thy sons behold now worthy of their names,

And Spartan birth. Their growing bloom must pine In shame and bondage, and their youthful hearts Beat at the sound of liberty no more.Line 350 On their own virtue, and their father's fame, When he the Spartan freedom hath confirm'd, Before the world illustrious shall they rise, Their country's bulwark, and their mother's joy.

HERE paus'd the patriot. With religious aweLine 355 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. For now in arms before the palace rang'd His brave companions of the war demandLine 360 Their leader's presence; then her griefs renew'd, Too great for utt'rance, intercept her sighs, And freeze each accent on her falt'ring tongue.

In speechless anguish on the hero's breast She sinks. On ev'ry side his children press,Line 365 Hang on his knees, and kiss his honour'd hand. His soul no longer struggles to confine Its strong compunction. Down the hero's cheek, Down flows the manly sorrow. Great in woe Amid his children, who inclose him round,Line 370 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! And to this faithful woman, whose desertLine 375 May claim thy favour, grant the hours of peace. And thou, my great forefather, son of Jove, O Hercules, neglect not these thy race! But since that spirit, I from thee derive, Now bears me from them to resistless fate,Line 380

Do thou support their virtue! be they taught, Like thee, with glorious labour life to grace, And from their father let them learn to die!

SO saying, forth he issues, and assumes Before the band his station of command.Line 385 They now proceed. So mov'd the host of heav'n Down from Olympus in majestic march, On Jove attendant to the flaming plains Of Phlegra, there to face the giant sons Of Earth and Titan: he before them tow'r'd.Line 390 Thus through the streets of Lacedaemon pass'd Leonidas. Before his footsteps bow The multitude exulting. On he treads Rever'd and honour'd. Their inraptur'd sight Pursues his graceful stature, and their tonguesLine 395 Extol and hail him as their guardian God.

Firm in his nervous hand he grasps his spear. Down from his shoulders to his ankles hangs The massy shield, and o'er his burnish'd helm The purple plumage nods. Harmonious youths,Line 400 Around whose brows entwining laurels play'd, In lofty-sounding strains his praise record; While snowy-finger'd virgins all the ways With od'rous garlands strew'd. His bosom now Was all possess'd with glory, which dispell'dLine 405 Whate'er of grief remain'd, or fond regret For those, he left behind. The rev'rend train Of Lacedaemon's senate now approach'd To give their solemn, last farewel, and grace Their hero's parting steps. Around him flow'dLine 410 In civil pomp their venerable robes Mix'd with the blaze of arms. The radiant troop Of warriours press'd behind him. Maron here,

With Menalippus warm in flow'ry prime, And Agis there with manly grace advanc'd,Line 415 Dieneces, and Acarnania's seer, Megistias sage. The Spartan dames ascend The loftiest domes, and thronging o'er the roofs Gaze on their sons and husbands, as they march. So parted Argo from th' Iolchian strand,Line 420 And plough'd the foaming surge. Thessalia's nymphs Their hills forsaking, and their hallow'd groves, Rang'd on the cliffs, which overshade the deep, Still on the distant vessel fix'd their sight; Where Greece her chosen heroes had embark'dLine 425 To seek the dangers of the Cholchian shore.

SWIFT on his course Leonidas proceeds. Soon is Eurotas pass'd, and Lerna's banks, Where his unconquer'd ancestor subdu'd Line 430

The many-headed Hydra, and with fameLine 430 Immortaliz'd the lake. Th'unwearied bands Next through the pines of Maenalus he led, And down Parthenius urg'd the rapid toil. Six days incessant thus the Spartans march, When now they hear the hoarse-resounding tideLine 435 Beat on the Isthmus. Here their tents they spread. Below the wide horizon then the sun Had sunk his beamy head. The queen of night Gleam'd from the center of th'ethereal vault, And o'er the dusky robe of darkness shedLine 440 Her silver light. Leonidas detains Dieneces and Agis. Open stands The tall pavilion, and admits the moon. As here they sat conversing, from the hill, Which rose before them, one of noble portLine 445 Appears with speed descending. Lightly down

The slope he treads, and calls aloud. They heard, And knew the voice of Alpheus. From their seats They rose, and thus Leonidas began.

O THOU, whom heav'n with swiftness hath endu'd To match the ardour of thy daring soul,Line 451 What calls thee from the Isthmus? Do the Greeks Neglect to arm, nor face the public foe?

I COME to meet thee (Alpheus thus return'd) A messenger, who gladsome tidings bears.Line 455 Through Greece the voice of liberty is heard, And all unfold their banners in her cause; The Thebans only with reluctant hands. Arcadia's sons with morning shalt thou join, Who on the Isthmus wait thy great command.Line 460 With Diophantus Mantinéa sends Five hundred spears; nor less from Tegea's walls

With Hegesander move. A thousand more, Who in Orchomenus reside, who range Along Parrhasius, and Cyllene's brow,Line 465 Or near the foot of Erymanthus dwell, Or on Alphéus' banks, with various chiefs, Attend thy call; but most is Clonius fam'd Of stature huge: unshaken as a rock, His giant bulk the line of war sustains.Line 470 Four hundred warriours brave Alcmaeon draws From stately Corinth's tow'rs. Two hundred march From Phlius, whom Eupalamus commands. An equal number of Mycenae's race Aristobulus heads. Through fear aloneLine 475 Of thee, and threatning Greece the Thebans arm. To these inglorious Greeks my self repair'd Their dying sense of honour to recal. A few corrupted by the Persian gold, Line 480

Unjust dominion have usurp'd in Thebes.Line 480 These in each bosom quell the gen'rous flame Of liberty. The eloquent they bribe; With specious tales the multitude they cheat; And prostitute the name of public good To veil oppression. Others are immers'dLine 485 In all the sloth of riches, and unmov'd In shameful ease behold their country fall. I first implor'd their senate's instant aid, But they with artful wiles demanding time For consultation, I address'd them thus.Line 490 The shortest moment may suffice to know, If to die free be better than to serve; But if, deluding Greece by vain delays, You mean to shew your friendship to the foe, You cannot then deliberate too long,Line 495 How to withstand her swift-avenging wrath,

Approaching with Leonidas. This heard, Four hundred warriours they appoint to march. The wily Anaxander is their chief, With Leontiades. I saw their marchLine 500 Begun, then hasten'd to survey the straits, Which thou shalt render sacred to renown. Where, ever mingling with the crumbling soil, Which moulders round the Malian bay, the sea In slimy surges rolls; upon the rock,Line 505 Which forms the utmost limit of the bay, Thermopylae is stretch'd. Where broadest spread, It measures threescore paces, bounded here By the deep ooze, which underneath presents Its dreary surface; there the lofty cliffsLine 510 Of woody Oeta overlook the pass, And far beyond o'er half the surge below Their horrid umbrage cast. Across the straits

An ancient bulwark of the Phocians stands, A wall with turrets crown'd. In station hereLine 515 I found the Locrians, and from Thespia's gates Sev'n hundred more Demophilus hath led. His brother's son attends him to the camp, Young Dithyrambus greatly fam'd in war, But more for temperance of mind renown'd;Line 520 Lov'd by his country, and with honours grac'd, His early bloom with brightest glory shines, Nor wantons in the blaze. Here Agis spake.

WELL hast thou painted that illustrious youth. He was my host at Thespia. Though adorn'dLine 525 With highest deeds, by fame and fortune crown'd, His gentle virtues take from envy's mouth Its blasting venom, and her baneful face

Strives on his worth to smile. In silence all Again remain, and Alpheus thus pursues.Line 530

A CHOSEN troop hath bold Plataea sent, Small in its numbers, but unmatch'd in arms. Above the rest Diomedon their chief Excels in prowess. Signal were his deeds Upon that day of glory, when the fieldsLine 535 Of Marathon were hid with Persian slain. These guard Thermopylae. Among the hills A winding path to stranger's feet unknown Affords another entrance into Greece: This by a thousand Phocians is secur'd.Line 540

HERE Alpheus paus'd. Leonidas embrac'd The noble Spartan, and rejoin'd. Thou know'st What fate to me th' immortal Gods ordain.

Frame now thy choice. Accompany our march, Or go to Lacedaemon, and relate,Line 545 How thy discerning mind, and active limbs Have serv'd thy country. From th' impatient mouth Of Alpheus streight these fervent accents broke.

I HAVE not measur'd such a tract of land, Not look'd unwearied on the setting sun,Line 550 And through the shade of midnight urg'd my steps To rouse the Greeks to battle, that myself Might be exempted from the glorious toil. Return? Oh! no. A second time my feet Shall visit thee, Thermopylae, and thereLine 555 With great Leonidas shall Alpheus find An honourable grave. And oh! amid His country's danger if a Spartan breast May feel a private sorrow, not alone Line 560

For injur'd Greece I hasten to revenge,Line 560 But for a brother's wrongs. A younger hope Than I, or Maron bless'd our father's years, Child of his age, and Polydorus nam'd. His mind, while tender in its op'ning prime, Was bent to rigid virtue. Gen'rous scornLine 565 Of pain and danger taught his early strength To struggle patient with severest toils. Oft, when inclement winter chill'd the air, And frozen show'rs had swoln Eurotas' stream, Amid th' impetuous channel would he plunge,Line 570 And breast the torrent. On a fatal day, As in the sea his active limbs he bath'd, A servile corsair of the Persian king My brother, naked and defenceless, bore Ev'n in my sight to Asia, there to waste,Line 575 With all the promise of its growing worth,

His youth in bondage. Never can my tongue My pains recount, much less my father's woes, The days he wept, the sleepless nights he beat His aged bosom. And shall Alpheus' spearLine 580 Be absent from Thermopylae, nor claim, O Polydorus, vengeance for thy bonds In that first slaughter of the barb'rous foe?

HERE interpos'd Dieneces. The hands Of Alpheus and Leonidas he grasp'd,Line 585 And joyful thus. Your glory wants no more, Than that Lycurgus should himself arise To praise the virtue, which his laws inspire.

THUS pass'd these heroes, till the dead of night, The hours in friendly converse, and enjoy'dLine 590 Each other's virtue; happiest of men!

At length with gentle heaviness the hand Of sleep invades their eyelids. On the ground, Oppress'd with slumber, they extend their limbs; When, sliding down the hemisphere, the moonLine 595 Now plung'd in midnight gloom her silver head.

End of the First Book.

LEONIDAS. 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 com|pos'd the Isthmian council. He harangues them, then proceeds in conjunction with the other forces towards Thermopylae; 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 Thermopylae by the Thespian commander Demophilus, and by Anax|ander 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.

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,Line 5 Alcmaeon, Clonius, Diophantus brave, And Hegesander. At their head advanc'd Aristobulus, whom Mycenae's youth Attend to war; Mycenae once elate With pow'r and dazzling wealth, and vaunting stillLine 10 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,Line 15 And thus began. Leonidas survey

Mycenae'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 surgeLine 20 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,Line 25 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,Line 30 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.Line 35 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,Line 40 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.Line 45 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, Line 50

What once she gave to fame. Behold we hasteLine 50 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 GreeceLine 55 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.

THY great example ev'ry heart unites.Line 60 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; Line 65

The free-born Greeks instructing life to deemLine 65 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 eyesLine 69 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 tideLine 80 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,Line 85

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 Phoebus cast,Line 90 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 helmLine 95 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 desertLine 100 Were lost in veneration. Phoebus 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 hearsLine 105 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 receivesLine 110 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 soulLine 115 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,Line 120 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.Line 125

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 sult'ry noon.Line 130 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, Line 135

Her temples with unfading laurels bound,Line 135 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.Line 140 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! Thermopylae, and you, the pow'rs, Which here preside. All hail! ye silvan Gods,Line 145 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,Line 150

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 hearLine 155 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 breasts; now prove the vigour of your arms:Line 160 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 topsLine 165 So near to heav'n, your monuments of fame.

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 blazeLine 170 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 ranksLine 175 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 formLine 180 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.

BUT now the Grecian leaders, who beforeLine 185 Were station'd near Thermopylae, 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,Line 190 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 earthLine 195 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;Line 200 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 meetLine 205 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!Line 210 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, Line 215

That Anaxander from his native gatesLine 215 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 sunLine 220 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,Line 225 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,Line 230

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.Line 235 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 sightLine 240 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:Line 245 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.Line 250 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' Aegyptian lord Renown'd Sesostris; who with trophies fill'dLine 255 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 drewLine 260 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; Line 265

When at the rage of dire SemiramisLine 265 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 nearLine 270 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 inhanceLine 275 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 allLine 280 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.Line 285 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▪Line 290 Seem'd all before me trampling o'er the sea By thousands and ten thousands: Persians, Medes Assyrians, Saces, Indians, swarthy files From Aethiopia, Aegypt's tawny sons, Arabians, Bactrians, Parthians, all the strengthLine 295 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 pileLine 300 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 youthLine 305 With all Thessalia next, and ev'ry Greek, Who dwells beyond Thermopylae, attend. Thus not alone embodied Asia lifts Her threatning lance, but Macedon and Thrace, Whose martial loins with daring warriours teem,Line 310 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,Line 315

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 mornLine 320 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 sightLine 325 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,Line 330 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,Line 335 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,Line 340 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.Line 345

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,Line 350 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,Line 355 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 swearLine 360 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 remoteLine 365 Of Indus tremble, and the Caspian wave, Th' Aegyptian 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 kindLine 370 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,Line 375 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. Line 380

But Sparta's king arising, all is hush'dLine 380 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.Line 385

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 denoteLine 390 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 Line 395

The cheek of Dithyrambus. On the faceLine 395 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 heartLine 400 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 afflictLine 405 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.Line 410

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;Line 415 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!Line 420 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!Line 425

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.

PHRAORTES interrupting then began.Line 430 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,Line 435 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.

THIS said, the Persians to their king repair,Line 440 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 praiseLine 445 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 confoundLine 450 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;Line 455 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,Line 460 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?Line 465 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,Line 470 Nor then be tardy, when he wants thy aid.

End of the Second Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK III.

The argument.

Tigranes and Phraortes repair to Xerxes, whom they find seated on a throne surrounded by his satraps in a magnificent pavilion; while the Magi stand before him, and sing an hymn containing the religion of Zoroastres. Xerxes, notwithstanding the arguments of his brothers Hyperanthes and Abrocomes, gives no credit to the ambassadors, who report, that the Grecians are determin'd to maintain the pass against him; but commands Demaratus an exil'd king of Sparta to attend him, and ascends his chariot to take a view of the Grecians himself. He passes through the midst of his army, consisting of many nations differing in arms, customs, and manners. He advances to the entrance of the straits, and surpris'd at the behaviour of the Spar|tans demands the reason of it from Demaratus; which occasions a conversation between them on the mercenary forces of Persia, and the militia of Greece. Demaratus weeping at the fight of his country|men, is comforted by Hyperanthes. Xerxes still incredulous commands Tigranes and Phraortes to bring the Grecians bound before him the next day, and retires to his pavilion.

NOW had Tigranes, and Phraortes gain'd The splendid tent of Xerxes. Him they found Begirt with princes, and illustrious chiefs, The potentates of Asia. Near his side His valiant brothers stood, Abrocomes,Line 5 And Hyperanthes, then Pharnuchus brave, Pandates, Intaphernes, mighty lords, And numbers more in purple splendour clad, With homage all attending round the throne, Whose gorgeous seat erected high upboreLine 10 Their regal master. He above their heads Look'd down imperious. So the stately tow'r Of Belus, mingling its majestick front With heav'n's bright azure, from on high survey'd The huge extent of Babylon, with allLine 15 Its sumptuous domes and palaces beneath.

That day the monarch deem'd to enter Greece, And hide her fields with war; but first ordains, That grateful hymns should celebrate the name Of Oromasdes: so the Persians call'dLine 20 The world's great author. By the king's decree The Magi stood before th' unfolded tent. Fire blaz'd beside them. Tow'rds the sacred flame They turn'd, and sent their tuneful praise to heav'n.

FROM Zoroastres was the song deriv'd,Line 25 Who on the hills of Persia from his cave With flow'rs incircled, and with murm'ring founts, That chear'd the solemn mansion, had reveal'd, How Oromasdes, radiant source of good, Original, immortal fram'd the globeLine 30 With all its varied beauty: how with stars By him the heav'ns were spangled: how the sun,

Refulgent Mithra, purest spring of light, And genial warmth, whence fruitful Nature smiles, Burst from the east at his creating voice;Line 35 When streight beyond the golden verge of day Night shew'd the horrours of her distant reign, Whence black, and hateful Arimanius sprung, The author foul of evil: he with shades From his dire mansion veil'd the earth and skies,Line 40 Or to destruction chang'd the solar beam, When parching fields deny the foodful grain, And from their channels fly th' exhaling streams, Whence pestilence, and famine: how the pow'r Of Oromasdes in the human breastLine 45 Benevolence, and equity infus'd, Truth, temperance, and wisdom sprung from heav'n; When Arimanius blacken'd all the soul With falshood, and injustice, with desires Line 50

Insatiable, with violence, and rage,Line 50 Malignity, and folly. If the hand Of Oromasdes on precarious life Shed wealth, and pleasure, soon th' infernal God With wild excess, or av'rice blasts the joy. Thou, Oromasdes, victory dost give.Line 55 By thee with fame the regal head is crown'd. Great Xerxes owns thy succour. When with storms The hate of direful Arimanius swell'd The Hellespont, thou o'er the angry surge The destin'd master of the world didst lead,Line 60 This day his promis'd glories to enjoy, When Greece affrighted to his arm shall bend; Ev'n as at last shall Arimanius fall Before thy might, and evil be no more.

THE Magi ceas'd their harmony; when nowLine 65

Before the king with adoration bow'd Tigranes and Phraortes. Prone they lay, And o'er their foreheads spread their abject hands, As from a present deity too bright For mortal vision to conceal their eyes.Line 70 At length in humble phrase Tigranes thus.

O XERXES, live for ever! Gracious lord! Who dost permit thy servants to approach Thy awful sight, and prostrate thus to own Thy majesty and greatness. May the pow'rLine 75 Of Oromasdes stretch thy scepter'd arm O'er all the nations from the Indian shores, Ev'n to the waters of the western main, From northern Tanais to the source of Nile! And still from thee may Arimanius turnLine 80 Against thy foes his malice to mankind!

By him, ev'n now with frenzy smote, the Greeks Reject thy proffer'd clemency. The morn Shall see them bleed the victims of thy wrath.

HERE, to his brothers turning, Xerxes spake.Line 85 Say, Hyperanthes? Does thy soul believe These tydings? Sure these slaves have never dar'd To face the Grecians, but delude our ear With base impostures, which their fears suggest.

To him this answer Hyperanthes form'd.Line 90 O from his servants may the king avert His indignation! Greece was fam'd of old For martial virtue, and intrepid sons: I have essay'd their valour, and with me Abrocomes can witness. When our sireLine 95 The great Darius to th' Athenian shore

With Artaphernes, and with Datis sent Our tender youth; at Marathon we found, How vain the hopes, that numbers should dismay A foe resolv'd on victory, or death.Line 100 Yet not as one contemptible, or base Let me appear before thee: though the Greeks With such unconquer'd spirits be indu'd, Soon as the king shall summon me to war, He shall behold me in the dang'rous vanLine 105 Exalt my spear, and pierce the hostile ranks, Or sink before them. Xerxes then return'd;

WHY over Asia, and the Libyan soil, With all their nations does my potent arm Extend its scepter? Wherefore do I sweepLine 110 Across the globe with millions in my train? Why shade the Ocean with unnumber'd sails?

Whence all this pow'r, unless th' eternal will Had doom'd to give one master to the world, And that the earth's extremity aloneLine 115 Should bound my empire? He for this reduc'd Revolted Aegypt, and inlarg'd my sway With sandy Libya, and the sultry clime Of Aethiopia. He for this subdu'd The Hellespontic rage, and taught the seaLine 120 Obedience to my pow'r. Then cease to think, That heav'n deserting now the cause of kings Those despicable Grecians will inspire With courage more than human, and expunge The common fears of nature from their breasts.Line 125 He ceas'd, when thus Abrocomes began.

THE king commands us to reveal our hearts: Then may the sun to lightning change his beams

And blast my head with ruin; may the king Look on his servant with a loathing eye,Line 130 If what I here affirm be false, or vain, That yonder Grecians will oppose our course.

THE king arose. No more: prepare my Car; The Spartan exile Demaratus call: We will our selves advance and view the foe.Line 135

THE monarch will'd; and suddenly he hears His trampling horses. High on silver wheels The iv'ry car with azure sapphirs shone, Caerulean beryls, and the jasper green, The emerald, the ruby's glowing blush,Line 140 The flaming topaz with its golden beam, The pearl, th' impurpled amathyst, and all The various gems, which India's mines afford To deck the pomp of kings. In burnish'd gold Line 145

A sculptur'd eagle from behind displaysLine 145 Its stately neck, and o'er the monarch's head Extends its dazzling wings. Eight gen'rous steeds, Which on the fam'd Nysaean plain were nurs'd In wintry Media, drew the radiant car. Not those of old to Hercules refus'dLine 150 By false Laomedon, nor they, which bore The son of Thetis through the scatter'd rear Of Troy's devoted race, might these surpass In strength, or beauty. With obedient pride They heard their lord: exulting in the airLine 155 They toss'd their foreheads, while the silver manes Smote on their glitt'ring necks. The king ascends: Beside his footstool Demaratus sat. The charioteer now shakes the golden reins, Bold Patiramphes. At the signal boundLine 160 Th' attentive steeds; the chariot flew; behind

Ten thousand horse in thunder swept the field. The eastern bands (so Xerxes had ordain'd) Between the sea-beat margin, and the camp All wait imbattled, all prepar'd to passLine 165 Thermopylae. To these with rapid wheels Th' imperial car proceeds. Th' approaching king Soon through the wide battalions is proclaim'd. He now draws nigh. Th' innumerable host Roll back by nations, and admit their lordLine 170 With all his satraps. From his crystal dome Rais'd on the bottom of the watry world Thus when the potent ruler of the floods With each caerulean deity ascends, Thron'd on his pearly chariot; all the deepLine 175 Divides its bosom to th' emerging God. So Xerxes rode between the Asian world On either side receding; when, as down

Th' immeasurable ranks his sight was lost, A momentary gloom o'ercast his mind,Line 180 While this reflection fill'd his eyes with tears: That soon, as Time an hundred years had told, Not one of all those thousands should survive. Whence to obscure thy pride arose that cloud? Was it, that once humanity could touchLine 185 A tyrant's breast? or rather did thy soul Repine, O Xerxes, at the bitter thought, That all thy pow'r was mortal? But the veil Of sadness soon forsook his brightning eyes, As with adoring homage millions bow'd,Line 190 And to his heart relentless pride recall'd. Elate the mingled prospect he surveys Of glitt'ring files unnumber'd, chariots scyth'd On thund'ring axles roll'd with haughty steeds In sumptuous trappings clad (Barbaric pomp)Line 195

Which tore with spurning hoofs the sandy beach; While ev'ry banner to the sun expands Its gorgeous folds, that beam'd with gold, with shields, Tiaras, helms environ'd, and with spears In number equal to the bladed grass,Line 200 Whose living green in vernal beauty cloaths Thessalia's vale. What pow'rs of sounding verse Can to the mind present th' amazing scene? Not thee, whom Rumour's fabling voice delights, Poetic Fancy, to my aid I call;Line 205 But thou, historic Truth, support my song, Which shall the various multitude display, Their arms, their manners, and their native seats.

THE Persians first in scaly corselets shone With colours varying on the gorgeous sleeves,Line 210 A gen'rous nation. From their infant age

Their tongues were practic'd in the love of truth, Their limbs inur'd to ev'ry manly toil, To brace the bow, to rule th' impetuous steed, And dart the javelin; worthy to enjoyLine 215 The liberty, their injur'd fathers lost, Whose arms for Cyrus overturn'd the strength Of Babylon and Sardis, and advanc'd The victors head above his country's laws. Such were the Persians; but untaught to formLine 220 The ranks of battle, with unequal force Against the phalanx of the Greeks they stood, And to the massy shield, and weighty spear A target light, and slender lance oppos'd. On ev'ry head tiaras rose, like tow'rs,Line 225 Impenetrable. All with burnish'd gold Blaz'd their gay sandals, and the floating reins Of each proud courser. Daggers from their thighs,

A well-stor'd quiver from their shoulders hung, And strongest bows of mighty size they bore.Line 230 Next, with resembling arms the Medes are seen, The Cissians, and Hyrcanians. Media once From her bleak mountains aw'd the subject East. Her kings in cold Ecbatana were thron'd. The Cissians march'd from Susa's regal walls,Line 235 From sultry fields o'erspread with branching palms, And white with lillies, water'd by the tides Of fam'd Choaspes, whose transparent waves The golden goblet wafts to Persia's kings. No other stream the royal lip bedews.Line 240 Hyrcania's race forsook their fruitful clime Dark with the verdure of expanding oaks, To Ceres dear and Bacchus. There the corn Bent by its golden burthen sheds unreap'd Its plenteous seed impregnating the soilLine 245

With future harvests; while the bees reside Among th' intwining branches of the groves, Where with their labours they enrich the leaves, Which flow with sweetness. Next, Assyria's sons Their brazen helms display, th'unskilful workLine 250 Of rude Barbarians. Thick-wove flax defends Their chest and loins. A buckler guards their arm. Girt with a falchion each a mace sustains O'erlaid with iron. On Euphrates' banks In Babylon's stupendous walls they dwell,Line 255 And o'er the plains, where once with mightier tow'rs Old Ninus rear'd its head, th' imperial seat Of eldest tyrants. These Chaldaea joins, The land of shepherds. On the pastures wide There Belus first discern'd the various courseLine 260 Of heav'n's bright planets, and the clust'ring stars With names distinguish'd, whence himself was deem'd

The chief of Gods. His heav'n-ascending fane In Babylon the proud Assyrians rais'd. Drawn from the fertile soil, which Ochus laves,Line 265 The Bactrians stood, like Persia's bands attir'd, Though less their javelins, and their bows of cane; The Paricanians next all rough with hides Of shaggy goats, with bows and daggers arm'd. Alike in horrid garb the Caspian trainLine 270 From barren mountains, and the dreary coast, Which bounds the stormy lake, that bears their name, With cany bows, and scymetars were led. The Indians then a threefold band appear'd. Part guide the horse, and part the rapid car;Line 275 The rest on foot within the bending cane For slaughter held their iron-pointed reeds. These o'er the Indus from the distant floods Of Ganges pass'd, and left a region lov'd Line 280

By lavish Nature. There the plenteous yearLine 280 Twice crown'd with harvests smiles. The honey'd shrub, The cinnamon, and spikenard bless their fields. Array'd in native wealth the warriours shone. Their ears were grac'd with pendants, and their hands Incircled wore a bracelet starr'd with gems.Line 285 These were the nations, who to Xerxes sent Their mingled aids of infantry and horse.

NOW, Muse, recount what numbers yet untold On foot obscur'd the surface of the shore; Or who in chariots, or on camels beatLine 290 The loosen'd sand. The Parthians first advance, Then weak in numbers o'er the Malian strand Far from their lonely vales, and woody hills, Not yet renown'd for warlike steeds, they trod. With them the Sogdians, Dadices arrang'd,Line 295

Gandarians, and Chorasmians, all attir'd, Like Bactria's sons. To these the Saces join, From cold Imaüs drawn, from Oxus' waves, And Cyra built on Iäxartes' brink, The bound of Persia's Empire. Wild, untam'd,Line 300 And prone to rage, their desarts they forsook. A bow, a falchion, and a pond'rous ax The savage legions arm'd. A pointed cask O'er each grim visage rear'd its iron cone. In arms, like Persians, the Saranges stood.Line 305 High as the knee their buskins stretch'd, and clung Around their ham. With glowing colours dy'd Gay shone their varied garments. Next are seen The Pactyan, Mycian, and the Utian train In skins of goats, all horrid. Bows they wieldLine 310 Of springy reed, with poynards at their sides. With spotted hides of leopards all array'd,

Or with the spoil from tawny lions torn, In graceful range the Aethiopians stand Of equal stature, and a beauteous frame;Line 315 Though scorching Phoebus had imbrown'd their face, And curl'd their crisped locks. In ancient song Renown'd for justice, riches they disdain'd, As foes to virtue. From their seat remote On Nilus' verge above th' Aegyptian bound,Line 320 Forc'd by their kings' malignity and pride These friends of hospitality and peace, Themselves uninjur'd, wag'd reluctant war Against a land, whose climate, and whose name To them were strange. With hardest stone they point The rapid arrow. Bows of hideous length,Line 326 Form'd with th'elastic branches of the palm, They bore, and lances arm'd with horns of goats, And maces strong with iron. Now, O Muse, Line 330

Recite the nations, who in helmets fram'dLine 330 Of various parts, and close-connected joints, With darts, and poynards, shields, and lances weak, A feeble train, attend their tyrant's will, All victims destin'd to imbrue with gore The Grecian spears; the Paphlagonians firstLine 335 From where Carambis with projected brows O'erlooks the dusky Euxine wrapt in mists, And where through flow'rs, that paint its various banks, Parthenius flows; the Mariandynians next, The Matienian, and the Ligyan bands,Line 340 With them the Syrian multitudes, who dwell Near Daphne's grove, who cultivate the glebe Wide-water'd by Orontes, who along Th' extended ridge of Libanus are nurs'd Among the cedars, or with foodful datesLine 345 Pluckt from the palms, whose fruitage grac'd the plains

Around Damascus: all, who bear the name Of Cappadocians, swell the Syrian host, With those who gather from the fragrant shrub The aromatic balsam, and extractLine 350 Its milky juice along the lovely side Of winding Jordan, till immers'd it sleep Beneath the pitchy surface, which obscures Th' Asphaltic lake. The Phrygians then advance. To them their ancient colony is join'd,Line 355 Th' Armenian bands. These see the bursting springs Of strong Euphrates cleave the yielding earth, And wide in lakes expanding hide the plain. Thence with collected waters fierce and deep Its passage rending through diminish'd rocksLine 360 To Babylon it foams. Not so the wave Of soft Araxes to the Caspian glides. But stealing imperceptibly it laves

The fruitful herbage of Armenia's meads. Next, strange to view, in similar attire,Line 365 Though far unlike in manners to the Greeks, Appear the Lydians. Wantonness and sport Were all their care. Beside Caÿster's stream, Or smooth Maeander winding silent by, Or near Pactolus' wave among the vinesLine 370 Of Tmolus rising, or the wealthy tide Of golden-sanded Hermus they allure The sight enchanted with the graceful dance, Or with melodious sweetness charm the air, And melt to softest languishment the soul.Line 375 What to the battle's danger could incite These tender sons of luxury? The lash Of their stern monarch urg'd their shiv'ring limbs Through all the tempests, which enrag'd the main, And shook beneath their trembling steps the pile,Line 380

That join'd the Asian and the western worlds. To these Maeonia hot with sulph'rous mines Unites her troops. No tree adorns their fields Unbless'd with verdure, and with ashes strewn. Black are the rocks, and ev'ry hill deform'dLine 385 With conflagration. Helmets press'd their brows. Two darts they brandish'd. Round their woolly vest A sword was girt, and hairy hides compos'd Their bucklers round and light. The Mysians left Olympus wood-envelop'd, and the soilLine 390 Wash'd by Caïcus, and the baneful tide Of Lycus, nurse of serpents. Targets, helms, And wooden javelins harden'd in the flames They bore. By these, imbattled next are seen An ancient nation, who in early times,Line 395 By Trojan arms assail'd, their native land Esteem'd less dear than freedom, and exchang'd

Their seat on Strymon, where in Thrace it pours Its freezing current, for the distant shores Of fishy Sangar. These Bithynians nam'dLine 400 Their habitations to the sacred feet Of Dindymus extend. Yet there they groan'd Beneath oppression, and their freedom mourn'd On Sangar now, as once on Strymon lost. The ruddy skins of foxes form'd their cask;Line 405 Their shields were fashion'd like the horned moon; A dart, and slender poynard arm'd their hands; A vest embrac'd their bodies, while abroad Ting'd with unnumber'd hues a mantle flow'd. But other Thracians, who their former nameLine 410 Retain'd in Asia, stood with shining helms. The horns of bulls in imitating brass Adorn'd the lofty crest. Phoenician cloth Their legs infolds, with brightest purple stain'd; Line 415

And through the forest wont to chase the boar,Line 415 A hunter's spear they grasp. What nations still On either side of Xerxes, while he pass'd, Present their huge array, and swell his soul With more than mortal pride? The num'rous train Of Moschians and Macronians now succeed,Line 420 And Mosynoecians, who, with berries fed, In wooden tow'rs along the Pontic shore Repose their painted limbs; the mirthful race Of Tibarenians next, whose wanton minds Delight in sport, and laughter: all in casksLine 425 Of wood, with shields, and lances small, whose points Beyond proportion lengthen. Then approach, In garments o'er their spacious bosom clasp'd, And part with javelins, part with Lycian bows, A people destin'd in eternal verse,Line 430 Ev'n thine, sublime Maeonides, to live.

These are the Milyans, Solymi their name In thy celestial strains, Pifidia's hills Their dwelling. Once a formidable train, They fac'd the great Bellerophon in war,Line 440 Now doom'd a more tremendous foe to meet, Themselves unnerv'd with bondage, and to leave Their putrid bodies for the dogs of Greece. Next are the Marian legions furnish'd all With shields of skins, with darts, and helmets woveLine 445 Of strongest texture. Aria's host protend The Bactrian lance, and brace the Persian bow, Drawn from a region horrid all with thorn, One hideous waste of sands, which mock the toil Of patient culture; save one favour'd spot,Line 450 Which, like an isle, emerges from the wild, In verdure clad, and interspers'd with vines, Whose gen'rous clusters yield a juice, that scorns

The injuries of Time. Yet Nature's hand Had sown their rocks with coral, and enrich'dLine 455 Their desert hills with veins of sapphirs blue, And those, whose azure sparks of gold adorn. These from the turbant flame. On ev'ry neck The coral blushes through the num'rous throng. The Allarodians, and Sasperian bandsLine 460 Were arm'd with poniards, like the Cholchian host; Their heads were guarded with a helm of wood. Short were their spears, of hides undress'd their shields. The Cholchians march'd from Phasis, and the shores, Where once Medea fair enchantress stood,Line 465 And wondring view'd the first advent'rous bark, That stem'd the Pontic foam. From Argo's side The demigods descended, and repair'd To her fell sire's inhospitable walls. His blooming graces Jason there display'd.Line 470

With ev'ry art of eloquence divine He claim'd the golden fleece. The virgin heard, She gaz'd with fatal ravishment, and lov'd. Then to the hero she resigns her heart; Her magic tames the brazen-footed bulls;Line 475 She lulls the sleepless dragon, and to Greece With faithless Jason wafts the radiant prize. The Cholchians then pursu'd their steps with war, And now with antient enmity inflam'd, Or else compell'd by Xerxes to recalLine 480 The long-forgotten wrong, they menace Greece With desolation. Next in Persian guise A croud advanc'd, who left the various isles In Persia's gulph, and round Arabia known. Some in their native topaz were adorn'd,Line 485 From Ophiodes, and Topazos sprung; And some with shells of tortoises, which brood

Around Casitis' verge. To them were join'd Those, who reside, where Erythras intomb'd Lies all beset with palms, a pow'rful king,Line 490 Who nam'd of old the Erythraean main. The Lybians next are plac'd. In chariots scyth'd They sat terrific, cloath'd in skins, with darts Of wood well-temper'd in the hardning flames. Not Libya's deserts from tyrannic swayLine 495 Could hide her sons; much less could freedom dwell Amid the plenty of Arabia's fields: Where spicy cassia, and the fragrant reed, And myrrh, and hallow'd frankincense perfume The zephir's wing. A bow of largest sizeLine 500 Th' Arabians wield, and o'er their lucid vest Loose floats a mantle on their shoulder clasp'd. Of these two myriads on the lofty back Of camels rode, that match'd the swiftest horse.

SUCH were the numbers, which from Asia ledLine 505 Bow'd down with low prostration to the wheels Of Xerxes' chariot. Yet what legions more Expand their mighty range? What banners still The Malian sands o'ershadow? Forward rolls The regal car through nations, which in arms,Line 510 And order'd ranks unlike the eastern throng Upheld the spear and buckler. Yet untaught To bend the servile knee erect they stood; Unless that mourning o'er the shameful weight Of their new bondage some their brows depress'd,Line 515 And stain'd their arms with sorrow. Europe's race Were these, whom Xerxes by resistless force Had gather'd to his standards. Murm'ring here The sons of Thrace, and Macedonia stood, Here on his steed the brave Thessalian frown'd.Line 520

There pin'd reluctant multitudes, who bore The name of Greeks, and peopled all the coast Between Byzantium, and the Malian bay.

THROUGH all the numbers, which ador'd his pride, Or fear'd his pow'r, the monarch now was pass'd;Line 525 Nor yet among those myriads could be found One, who with Xerxes' self in tow'ring size, Or beauteous features might compare. O wretch! Possess'd of all, but virtue; doom'd to shew, How mean without her is unbounded pow'r,Line 530 The charm of beauty, and the blaze of state, How insecure of happiness, how vain. Thou, who couldst mourn the common lot, which heav'n From none withholds; which oft to thousands proves Their only refuge from a tyrant's rage;Line 535 And which by pining sickness, age, or pain

Becomes at last a soothing hope to all; Thou, who couldst weep, that Nature's gentle hand Should lay her wearied offspring in the tomb, Yet couldst remorseless from their peaceful seatsLine 540 Lead half the nations in a clime unknown To fall the victims of thy ruthless pride; What didst thou merit from the injur'd world? What suff'rings to compensate for the tears Of Asia's mothers, for unpeopled realms,Line 545 And all this waste of nature? On his host The king exulting bends his haughty sight, When thus to Demaratus he began.

NOW Demaratus to thy soul recal My father great Darius, who receiv'dLine 550 Thy wandring steps expell'd their native home. Ill would it then become thee to beguile

Thy benefactors, and the truth disguise, Look back on all those thousands, and declare, If yonder Grecians will oppose their march.Line 555

THE exile answer'd. Deem not mighty lord, I will deceive thy goodness by a tale Forg'd for their glory, whose deluded minds Perversely hearken'd to the sland'rer's tongue; Who forc'd me with unmerited disgraceLine 560 To tread the paths of banishment and woe. Nor be the king offended, while I speak The words of truth. The Spartans never fly.

HERE with contemptuous smiles the king return'd. Wilt thou, who once wert Lacedaemon's chief,Line 565 Encounter twenty Persians? Yet those Greeks With greater disproportion must confront Our host to-morrow. Demaratus thus.

BY single combat were the tryal vain, And vainer still by my unworthy sword,Line 570 To prove the merit of united force, Which oft by military skill surmounts The strength of numbers. Nor in fields of war The Greeks excel by discipline alone, But from their manners. Grant thy ear, O king,Line 575 The diff'rence learn of Grecian bands, and thine. The flow'r, the bulwark of thy pow'rful host Are mercenaries. These are canton'd round Thy provinces. No fertile field demands Their painful hand to turn the fallow glebe.Line 580 Them to the noon-day toil no harvest calls. The stubborn oak along the mountains brow Sinks not beneath their stroke. With careful eyes They mark not how the flocks, or heifers feed. Line 585

To them of wealth, and all possessions voidLine 585 The name of country with an empty sound Flies o'er the ear, nor warms their joyless hearts, Who share no country. Needy, yet with scorn Rejecting labour, wretched by their wants, Yet profligate through indolence, with limbsLine 590 Soft and enervate, and with minds corrupt; From misery, debauchery, and sloth Are these to battle drawn against a foe Inur'd to hardship, and the child of toil, Wont through the freezing show'r, and wintry stormLine 595 O'er his own glebe the tardy ox to goad; Or in the sun's impetuous heat to glow Beneath the burthen of the yellow sheaves: Whence on himself, on her, whose faithful arms Infold him joyful, and a num'rous race,Line 600

Which glads his dwelling, plenty he bestows With independence; and when call'd to war For these his dearest comfort, and his care, And for the harvest promis'd to his toil, He lifts the shield, nor shuns unequal force.Line 605 Such are the pow'rs of ev'ry state in Greece One only breeds a race more warlike still, Ev'n those, who now defend that rocky pass, The sons of Lacedaemon. They untaught To break the glebe, or bind the golden sheaves,Line 610 To far severer labours are inur'd. Alone for war, their sole delight, and care. From infancy to manhood, are they form'd To want, and danger, to th' unwholesome ground, To winter watches, and inclement skies,Line 615 To plunge through torrents, brave the tusky boar, To arms, and wounds; an exercise of pain

So fierce and constant, that to them a camp With all its hardships is the seat of rest, And war itself remission from their toils.Line 620

THY words are folly, scornful here replied The Persian monarch. Does not freedom dwell Among the Grecians? Therefore will they shun Superiour foes, for whosoe'er is free Will fly from danger; while the Persians know,Line 625 If from th' allotted station they retreat, The scourge awaits them, and my heavy wrath.

CONCEIVE not, Xerxes, Sparta's chief return'd, The Grecians want an object, where to fix Their eyes with rev'rence, and obedient dread.Line 630 To them more aweful than the name of king To Asia's trembling millions is the law,

Whose sacred voice injoins them to confront Unnumber'd foes, to vanquish, or to die.

IN silence now the banish'd king remain'd.Line 635 While near the straits the chariot roll'd; it chanc'd, The Spartans then were station'd out on guard. These in gymnastic exercise employ'd, Nor heed the monarch, nor his gaudy train; But toss'd the spear, and whirl'd the rapid dart,Line 640 Or met with adverse shields in single war, Or trooping swiftly rush'd on ev'ry side With ranks unbroken, and with equal feet: While others calm beneath their polish'd helms Drew down their hair, which hung in sable curls,Line 645 And spread their necks with terrour. Xerxes here The exile questions. What do these intend, Who thus with careful hands adjust their hair?

TO whom the Spartan. O imperial lord, Such is their custom, to adorn their heads,Line 650 When with determin'd valour they present Their dauntless breasts before the jaws of death. Bring down thy myriads all in glitt'ring steel, Arm, if thou canst, the gen'ral race of man; All, who possess the regions unexplor'dLine 655 Beyond the Ganges, all, whose wand'ring steps Behind the Caspian range the Scythian wild, With those, who drink the secret fount of Nile, Yet to the breasts of Sparta's sons shall fear Be still a stranger. Thus with fervour spakeLine 660 The exil'd king, when gushing from his eyes Resistless grief o'erflow'd his cheek. Aside His head he turn'd, and wept in copious streams. The sad remembrance of his former state, Line 665

His dignity, his greatness, and the sightLine 665 Of those brave ranks, which thus unshaken stood, And spread amazement through the world in arms, Excite those sorrows. Oft with eager eyes He views the godlike warriours, who beneath His standard once victorious fought, who call'dLine 670 Him once their king and leader. Then again His head he bows with anguish, and bedews His breast with tears; in agony bemoans His faded honours, his illustrious name Forgotten now, his majesty defil'dLine 675 With exile and dependence. So obscur'd By creeping ivy, and by sordid moss Some lordly palace, or stupendous fane, Magnificent in ruin stands; where time Wide-wasting from the nodding roof hath mow'dLine 680 The column down, and cleft the pond'rous dome.

NOT unobserv'd by Hyperanthes mourn'd Th' unhappy Spartan. Kindly to his own Th' exile's hand he joins, and thus humane. O Demaratus, this thy grief confirms,Line 685 How well the Greeks deserve thy gen'rous praise, Who still repining dost their loss deplore, Though cherish'd here with universal love. But O let indignation in thy breast Revive thy wrongs! then bless th' auspicious fate,Line 690 Which led thee far from calumny and fraud To share the favour of the highest king.

AS Demaratus with a grateful mind Address'd himself to answer, Persia's king Thus interrupted. Soon, as morning shines,Line 695

Do thou Tigranes and Phraortes head The Medes and Saces. Bring those Grecians bound. This said. The monarch to his tent return'd.

End of the Third Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK IV.

The argument.

Leonidas rising by break of day commands a body of Arcadians, with the Thespians, and Plataeans to be drawn out for battle in that part of Thermopylae, which lay under the Phocian wall, from whence he harangues them. The enemy approaches. Diomedon kills Tigranes in single combat. Both armies join battle. Dithyrambus kills Phraortes. The Persians, entirely defeated, are pursued with great slaughter by Diomedon and Dithyrambus to the extremity of the pass. The Grecian commanders, after the pursuit retire for refreshment to a cave in the side of mount Oeta. Leonidas recals them to the camp, and sends down fresh forces. Diomedon, and Dithyrambus, with the Plataeans are permitted to continue in the field. By the advice of Diomedon the Grecians advance to the broadest part of Thermo|pylae, where they form a line of thirty in depth, consisting of the Plataeans, Mantinéans, Tegaeans, Thebans, Corinthians, Phliasians, and Mycenaeans. The attack is renew'd with great violence by Hy|peranthes, Abrocomes, and the principal Persian leaders at the head of some chosen troops.

LACONIA's leader with the morning rose, When thus to Alpheus. From Arcadia's bands Select a thousand spears. To these unite The Thespians and Plataeans. Range their lines Before the wall, which fortifies the pass:Line 5 There close-imbodied will their might repulse The num'rous foe. Obedient to his will Th' appointed legions issuing from their tents With deep'ning ranks Leonidas inclose. So round their monarch in his stormy caveLine 10 The winds assemble, from his sable throne When Aeolus sends forth his dread command To swell the main, or heav'n with clouds deform, Or bend the forest from the mountain's brow. The chief of Sparta from the rampart's heightLine 15 Thus to the fight the list'ning host inflames.

THIS day, O Grecians, countrymen, and friends, Your wives, your offspring, your paternal seats, Your fathers, country, liberty, and laws Have sent you hither, from your infant ageLine 20 Vers'd in the various discipline of Mars, Laborious, active, virtuous, brave, and free, To match your valour with ignoble foes In war unskilful, nature's basest dross, The foes of all utility and worth,Line 25 And thence a monarch's mercenary slaves; With spirits broke by servitude and want, With limbs relax'd by sloth, and wanton ease, With minds debauch'd by vices, uninspir'd By all th'indearing cares in free-born hearts,Line 30 Who cold and drooping fight without a cause, To whom defeat is neither grief, nor shame,

Who seek no fruit from victory, but spoil. These are the flow'r of Asia's host. The rest, Who fill their boasted numbers, are a croudLine 35 Forc'd from their dwellings to the bloody field, From whom till now with jealous care their lord Has still withheld the instruments of war. These are the people taught with patient grief To bear the rapine, cruelty, and spurnsLine 40 Of Xerxes' mercenary bands, and pine In servitude to slaves. With terrour sounds The trumpet's clangor in their trembling ears. Unwonted loads, the buckler and the lance Their hands sustain incumber'd, and presentLine 45 The mockery of war.—But ev'ry eye Flames with impatient ardour, and your breasts Too long their swelling spirit have confin'd. Go then, ye sons of Liberty, and sweep Line 50

These bondmen from the field. Resistless rendLine 50 The glitt'ring standard from their servile hands. Hurl to the ground their ignominious heads The warriour's helm profaning. Think the shades Of your forefathers rear their sacred brows Here to enjoy the glory of their sons.Line 55

HE spake. Loud Paeans burst from all the host. With fierce reply unnumber'd shouts ascend From hostile nations thronging down the pass. Such is the roar of Aetna, when her mouth Displodes combustion from her sulph'rous depths,Line 60 And blasts the smiles of Nature. Dauntless stood In deep array before the Phocian wall The Greeks close-wedg'd with implicated shields, And spears protended, like the graceful range Of arduous elms, whose interwoven boughsLine 65

Before some rural palace wide expand Their venerable umbrage to retard The North's impetuous wing. As o'er the main In lucid rows the rising waves reflect The sun's effulgence, so the Grecian helmsLine 70 Return'd his light, which o'er their convex pour'd, And scatter'd splendour on the dancing plumes. Down rush'd the foe. Exulting in the van Their haughty leader shakes his threatning lance, And frowns defiance. Bursting from his rankLine 75 Diomedon with instant fury fac'd Th' impending foes. Meantime he loudly calls Their chief Tigranes, whom he thus defies.

NOW thou art met, Barbarian. Wouldst thou prove Thy actions equal to thy vaunts, commandLine 80 Thy troops to halt, while thou and I engage.

TIGRANES turning to the Persians spake. My friends, and soldiers, check your ardent haste, While my strong lance yon Grecian's pride confounds.

HE ceas'd. In dreadful opposition nowLine 85 Each combatant advanc'd. With sinewy hand They gripe their spears high-brandish'd. Thrice they drove With well-directed force the pointed steel At either's throat, and thrice their shields repel The destin'd wound. At length the Eastern chiefLine 90 With all his pow'rs collected for the stroke His javelin rivets in the Grecian targe. Aside Diomedon inclines, and shuns Approaching fate. Then all his martial skill Undaunted summons. His forsaken lanceLine 95 Beside him cast, his falchion he unsheaths. The blade descending on Tigranes' arm,

That instant struggling to redeem his spear, The shiv'ring hand dissevers. Pale affright Unmans the Persian, while his active foeLine 100 Full on his neck discharg'd the rapid sword, And open'd wide the purple gates of life. Low sinks Tigranes in eternal shade. The conqueror bestrides the prostrate dead, Then in the clotted ringlets of the hairLine 105 His hand intwining from the bleeding trunk The head disjoin'd, and whirl'd with sudden rage Amid the hostile numbers. All with dread Recoil, where'er the ghastly visage flew In sanguine circles, and pursu'd its trackLine 110 Of horrour through the air. Not less amaz'd A barb'rous nation, whom the chearful dawn Of science ne'er illumin'd, view on high A meteor waving with portentous blaze; Line 115

Where oft, as superstition vainly dreams,Line 115 Some daemon sits amid the baneful fires, Dispersing plagues and desolation round. A while the stern Diomedon remains Triumphant o'er the dire dismay, which froze The hearts of Persia, then with haughty port,Line 120 And sullen joy among his gladsome friends Resumes his station. Still the Asian bands With consternation motionless behold Their foes with terrour, and suspend the fight; When thus Phraortes animates their breasts.Line 125

HEAV'NS! can one leader's death appal this host, Which counts a train of monarchs for its chiefs! Behold Phraortes! from Imaüs' ridge I draw my subject files. With hardy toil I through the pathless forest have explor'dLine 130

The tiger's cavern. This unconquer'd arm Hath from the lion rent the shaggy spoil. So through this field of slaughter will I chase Yon vaunting Greek with ruin on his head For great Tigranes slain. His words reviveLine 135 The flame of valour through the drooping van, Then on the rear he brandishes his lance. Before him shrink th' affrighted croud, and roll Their numbers headlong on the Grecian steel With loose arrangement, and uncertain feet.Line 140 Thus with his trident Ocean's angry God From its vast bottom turns the hideous mass Of waters upward, and o'erwhelms the beach. Terrific stood the fierce Plataean chief Amid the Grecian van. His ample targe,Line 145 Like a strong bulwark, prominent he rais'd Before the line. There thunder'd all the storm

Of darts and arrows. His undaunted train With emulating ardour charge the foe. Where'er they turn the formidable spears,Line 150 Which drench'd the glebe of Marathon with gore, The Persians heap the plain. Diomedon Leads on the slaughter. From his nodding crest The sable plumes shook terrour. Asia's bands All shudder backward at the dreadful beamsLine 155 Of that unconquerable sword, which falls With lightning's swiftness o'er their trembling heads, And reeking still with slain Tigranes' blood Their shatter'd ranks o'erturns. The furious chief Incompass'd round with carnage, and besmear'dLine 160 With sanguine drops, inflames his warlike friends.

O DITHYRAMBUS! let thy deeds this day Surmount their wonted lustre! Thou in arms,

Demophilus, worn grey, thy youth recal! Behold these slaves without resistance bleed.Line 165 Advance, my ancient friend. Propitious Fame Smiles on thy years, and gives thy aged hand To pluck fresh laurels for thy honour'd brow.

AS, when indu'd with Promethéan heat, The molten clay respir'd; with sudden warmthLine 170 So glows the venerable Thespian's age, With new-born vigour ev'ry sinew swells. His falchion thund'ring on Cherasmes' helm The forehead clove. Ecbatana to war Sent forth Cherasmes. From her potent gatesLine 175 He proud in hope her swarming numbers led, With Ariazus and Pencestes join'd, His martial brothers. They attend his doom By Dithyrambus foil'd. Their hoary sire Line 180

Shall o'er his solitary palace roam,Line 180 Lamenting loud his childless years, and curse Ambition's fury, and the lust of war, Then pining bow with anguish to the grave. Next by the fierce Plataean's matchless sword Expires Damates, once the host and friendLine 185 Of fall'n Tigranes; him that day he join'd, And left his native bands. Of Syrian birth In Daphne he resided near the grove, Whose hospitable laurels in their shade Conceal'd the virgin fugitive, that scorn'dLine 190 Th' embrace of Phoebus; hither she repair'd Far from her parent stream, in fables feign'd Herself a laurel to have rear'd her head With verdant bloom in this retreat, the grove Of Daphne call'd, the seat of rural bliss,Line 195 Fan'd by the wing of zephirs, and with rills

Of bubbling founts irriguous, Syria's boast, And happy rival of Thessalia's vale; Now hid for ever from Damates' eyes. Nor with unactive spears th' Arcadians stood.Line 200 Gigantic Clonius unresisted press'd The yielding Persians, who before him sunk, Crush'd like vile stubble underneath the steps Of some glad hind, who visits o'er the plain His new-shorn harvest. With a fearless eyeLine 205 Phraortes saw the gen'ral rout. He sprung O'er hills of carnage to confront the Greeks, Reproaching thus his own inglorious friends.

FLY then ye cowards, and desert your chief; Yet single here my falchion shall opposeLine 210 The might of thousands. Raging thus, he drove The deathful steel through Aristander's breast.

Him Dithyrambus lov'd, a sacred bard Rever'd for justice, for his verse renown'd, Which sung the deeds of heroes, those, who fell,Line 215 Or those, who conquer'd in their country's cause, Th' inraptur'd soul inspiring with the thirst Of glory won by virtue. His high strain The Muses favour'd from their neighb'ring groves, And bless'd with heav'nly melody his lyre.Line 220 No more from Thespia shall his feet ascend The shady steep of Helicon. No more The streams divine of Aganippe's fount His tuneful lip shall moisten, nor his hands Present their off'rings in the Muses bow'r,Line 225 The prostrate shield and unforsaken lance Now feebly grasping, never more to swell His lofty numbers on the sounding string. Lo! Dithyrambus weeps. Amid the rage Line 230

Of war and conquest a swift-gushing tearLine 230 Finds one sad moment's interval to fall On his pale friend. But soon the victor proves His fierce revenge. Through shield and corselet plung'd, His furious javelin tore the Persian's chest.Line 235 Phraortes sinks, nor yet expiring, sees With indignation Persia's myriads fly. Swift through their broken legions, side by side, Urg'd by the voice of Victory and Fame, Diomedon and Dithyrambus rang'd.Line 240 So, where Alphéus heard the rattling car, And sounding hoofs along his echoing banks, Two gen'rous coursers link'd in mutual reins With equal speed and ardour beat the dust To reach the glories of th' Olympic goal.Line 245

THIS from his lofty chariot Xerxes saw. He saw his numbers pouring from the straits In crouded flight, then spreading o'er the field, All broke and scatter'd; as a river bursts Impetuous from its fountain, then expandsLine 250 Its limpid surface o'er the pastures broad. Thrice started from his seat th' astonish'd king, Shame, fear, and indignation rend his breast; As ruin irresistible were near To overwhelm his millions. Haste (he callsLine 255 To Hyperanthes) haste and meet the Greeks; Their daring rage and insolence repel, And from dishonour vindicate our name.

THE godlike Hyperanthes through the tents Obedient moves. Deliberate and braveLine 260

Each active prince he summons, and with care Collects the hardiest troops. Around him soon Innumerable javelins flame. His voice Demands attention, when he thus began.

NOW friends divide, and form two equal bands.Line 265 One with the great Abrocomes, with me, With Intaphernes, and Hydarnes bold, With Mindus and Pandates shall advance, And snatch this short-liv'd victory from Greece. You Abradates with Pharnuchus join'd,Line 270 Orontes, and Mazaeus, keep the rest Imbattel'd ready to impart their aid, Shou'd envious Fate exhaust our num'rous ranks; For, O great Mithra, may thy radiant eye Ne'er see us, yielding to ignoble flight,Line 275 The Persian fame dishonour, and the praise

Of our renown'd progenitors, who led By Cyrus gave a monarch to the world. Think, O ye princes, flow'r of Asia's realms, What endless infamy will blast your names,Line 280 Should Greece, that narrow portion of the globe, Your arms defy; when Babylon hath low'r'd Its tow'ring head, when Lydia's pride is quell'd, And from Ecbatana its empire torn. Think too, ye warlike bands, our army's boast,Line 285 What deeds are ask'd from your superiour swords; You, who our monarch's largest bounty share, You, to whose faith and valour he commits Himself, his queens, his realms, and now his fame.

WHILE Hyperanthes marshall'd thus his host,Line 290 Far as th' extremest limit of the pass, Diomedon and Dithyrambus hung

Upon the rear of Persia. Now they turn Victorious, striding o'er th' impurpled heaps Of arms, and mangled dead, themselves with goreLine 295 Distain'd; like two grim tigers, who have forc'd A nightly mansion on the desart rais'd By some lone-wandring traveller, and dy'd With human slaughter through the forest deep Back to their covert's dreary gloom retire.Line 300 So pass'd these heroes o'er the crimson rock, Approaching now, where gasping on his shield Phraortes lay recumbent. Thespia's youth Advancing, thus his gen'rous soul express'd.

LIV'ST thou, brave Persian? By propitious Jove, From whom the pleasing sense of mercy flowsLine 306 Through mortal bosoms, less my soul rejoic'd,

When Fortune gave the victory before Than now to raise thee from this field of death.

THE dying prince his languid sight unclos'd,Line 310 And thus with trembling lips. Vain man, forbear To proffer me, what soon thyself must crave. The day is now extinguish'd in these orbs, Nor shall my heart beat longer than to scorn Thy mercy, Grecian; then resign to fate.Line 315

HE ceas'd. The great, and haughty spirit fled. Demophilus drew nigh. The hoary chief Long o'er Phraortes' corse his head inclin'd, Poiz'd on his lance, and thus address'd the slain.

ALAS! how glorious were that bleeding breast,Line 320 Had Justice giv'n the buckler to thy arm,

And to preserve a people bade thee die! Who now shall mourn thee! Thy ungrateful king Will soon forget thy worth. For thee no tears Among thy native countrymen shall tellLine 325 The public sorrow; what to them avail'd Thy might and dauntless spirit? Not to guard Their wives and offspring from the spoil of war, Not from their walls repel the hostile blaze, Nor desolation from their fruitful fields,Line 330 But to extend oppression didst thou fall; Perhaps with inborn virtues in thy heart, Which, but thy angry destiny forbade, By freedom cherish'd might have bless'd mankind. All-bounteous Nature! thy impartial lawsLine 335 To no selected race of men confine The sense of glory, fortitude, and all The nobler passions, which inspire the mind,

And render life illustrious. These thou plant'st In ev'ry soil. But freedom, like the sun,Line 340 Must warm the gen'rous seeds. By her alone They bloom and flourish; while oppression blasts The tender virtues: hence a spurious growth, False honour, savage valour taint the soul, And wild ambition: hence rapacious pow'rLine 345 The ravag'd earth unpeoples, and the brave, A feast for dogs, bestrew th' insanguin'd plain,

HE said. Around the venerable man The Grecians throng'd attentive. Conquest hush'd Its joyful transports. O'er the horrid field,Line 350 Late the rude scene of tumult, all was calm. So, when the song of Thracian Orpheus drew To Hebrus' margin from their dreary seats The savage race, which Haemus wrapt in clouds, Line 355

Pangaeus cold, and Rhodopeian snowsLine 355 In blood and discord nurs'd; the soothing strain Flow'd with enchantment through their ravish'd ears: Their fierceness melted, and amaz'd they learn'd The sacred laws of justice, which the bard Mix'd with the musick of his heav'nly string.Line 360

NOT from the field of slaughter far remote In Oeta's rugged side had Nature clove A rocky cavern. This with moss she spread, And o'er the entrance downward from the roots She hung the shaggy trunks of branching firrsLine 365 To heav'n's hot ray impervious. From the sides The vivid laurel spread before the sun Its broad and glitt'ring foliage; and, above, The hill was darken'd with a solemn shade Cast from the sable cypress. This retreatLine 370

Cool, as the grot of Thetis, hid beneath The vaulted ocean, with the murm'ring sound Of waters trickling from the riven stone The Grecian leaders to its gloom invites. Their helms they loosen, from their glowing cheeks.Line 375 Against the rock their bucklers they repose. Propt on their spears they stood, when Agis thus, Sent by Leonidas, accosts the chiefs.

O EVER-WORTHY of undying names! Leonidas recals you from your toil,Line 380 Which has already fill'd our mouths with praise, Our eyes with wonder, that from yonder tow'r On your unequall'd deeds incessant gaz'd.

TO whom the bold Diomedon return'd. Go Agis, say to Lacedaemon's king,Line 385

As yet untir'd my hand can poize the spear, Nor hangs the buckler heavy on my arm. And shall I then retire? And once again Shall not the sun, before he sink, behold The slaves of Xerxes tremble at my lance.Line 390

TO him the Thespian youth. My friend and guide To noble actions, since thy gen'rous mind Intent on fame disdains to rest, O grant, I too thy glorious labours may partake, And learn once more to imitate thy deeds.Line 395 Thou, gentlest Agis, Sparta's chief intreat Not to command us from the field of war.

THEN interpos'd Demophilus. O friend, And thou, lov'd offspring of the dearest man, Who dost restore my brother to my eyes,Line 400 My soul your magnanimity applauds.

But, O reflect, that unabating toil Subdues the mightiest. Valour then will sigh, When the weak hand obeys the heart no more. Yet I declining with the weight of yearsLine 405 Will not assign a measure to your strength; If still you find your vigour undecay'd, Stay and augment your glory. So, when time Your heads shall whiten, and your feeble arms Round the high temple's peaceful vault have hungLine 410 Their consecrated shields, your native land Shall then with honours doubled on your age Requite the gen'rous labours of your prime. So spake the Senior, and forsook the cave.

NOW from the bubbling spring DiomedonLine 415 Receives the waters in his concave helm; And thus address'd the genius of the flood.

WHOE'ER thou art, whose deity presides O'er this fair fountain, bounteous are thy streams; Though ill shall I repay thee: for againLine 420 Will I this day pollute thy silver wave, Which mix'd with gore shall tinge the Malian surge.

SO saying from his brimming cask he quaff'd The clear, refreshing moisture. Thus repairs The spotted panther to Hydaspes' side,Line 425 Or eastern Indus, feasted with the blood Of some torn deer, which nigh his cruel grasp Had roam'd unheeding through the secret grove: Rapacious o'er the humid brink he stoops, And in the pure and fluid crystal coolsLine 430 His reeking jaws. The Thespian warriour here.

SEE, valiant friend, Leonidas hath fill'd The pass with fresh battalions. O survey Yon line of plumed helms, and glitt'ring shields, Which emulate the mid-day sun. What joy!Line 435 What ardent hope enlightens ev'ry face! O let us wait no longer, lest they cry, Our wearied limbs retard us. Let us arm, And take our station in the glorious van.

THUS Dithyrambus. The Plataean chiefLine 440 Approves the counsel, and resumes his arms. Them as a splendid recompense he bore From grateful Athens, when his conqu'ring sword Her domes with great Miltiades redeem'd From Asiatic flames. Th' insculptur'd helmLine 445 Now press'd his manly temples. From on high

A fourfold plumage nodded, and, beneath, A golden dragon with effulgent scales The gorgeous crest illumin'd. On his arm His shield he brac'd. Gorgonian serpents twin'dLine 450 Around the spacious verge. Within, the form Of Pallas, martial goddess, was impress'd. Low, as her feet, the graceful tunic flow'd. Betwixt two gryffins on her helmet sat A sphinx with wings expanded, while the faceLine 455 Of dire Medusa on her bosom frown'd. One hand supports her javelin, which confounds The pride of kings; the other leads along A blooming virgin, Victory, whose brows A crown incircles; laurels she presents;Line 460 But from her shoulders all her plumes were shorn, With favour'd Athens ever now to rest. This, Asia's terrour, on his mighty arm

Diomedon uprear'd, then snatch'd his lance, And thus to Dithyrambus. Lo! my friend,Line 465 Alone of all the Grecians, who sustain'd The morning's battle, still unwearied stand Plataea's sons, and well may keep the field, They, who endur'd the Marathonian toil. Then charge with us. Amid the foremost rankLine 470 Thy valour shall be plac'd, and share, this day, Command and honour with Plataea's chief.

THE hero ceas'd, and tow'rd the Grecian van Strides with impetuous steps. Nor slow behind The boast of Thespia, Dithyrambus mov'd;Line 475 Like blooming Hermes in celestial arms, When lightly graceful with his feather'd feet Along Scamander's flow'ry verge he pass'd, To aid th' incens'd divinities of Greece Line 480

Against the Phrygian tow'rs. With eager speedLine 480 The heroes soon th' imbattled Greeks attain'd, To whom the brave Diomedon began.

NOT to contend, but vanquish are you come, And in the blood of fugitives to stain Your lances unoppos'd. My friends, behold,Line 485 Where furthest from the Malian gulf remov'd The crags of Oeta less confine the straits. There let us bend extending wide our front. There with more ample scope may havoc range.

ALL with assent gave ear. The various bandsLine 490 Move on successive. The Plataeans first Against the rock are station'd. To their head Is Dithyrambus brought. Exulting joy Distends their hearts, and flashes in their eyes. Thanks to the great Diomedon, they cry,Line 495

Who to our troop this godlike hero joins. Hail! Dithyrambus. Hail! illustrious chief. Well dost thou merit to have reap'd renown At Marathon. Amid the glorious front With conscious gladness blushing on his cheekLine 500 The youth his post assumes. Around him croud The hoary warriours their unnumber'd scars Before his sight presenting, and recount Their various dangers. He their wounds surveys With veneration, nor disdains to hearLine 505 The oft-repeated tale. From Sparta's king Returning, Agis here the chiefs address'd, Leonidas permits you still to brave The hostile numbers, with Plataea's band, If yet by toil unconquer'd. But I see,Line 510 That all unwearied ask the promis'd fight. Hail! glorious veterans. This signal day

May your victorious swords augment the wreaths Around your venerable brows, and make Thermopylae, like Marathon, renown'd.Line 515

THIS said, he hastens back. Meantime advanc'd The Mantinéan Diophantus brave, And Hegesander, Tegea's dauntless chief, With all their troops imbattled; by their side The Thebans form; to them their native filesLine 520 Alcmaeon and Eupalamus unite; Last on the margin of the Malian bay Mycenae's youth Aristobulus drew; In one impenetrable phalanx stretch'd Across the pass. With close-connected forceLine 525 An hundred warriours form'd th' expanded ranks, And thirty bucklers ev'ry file condens'd. In strong reserve Dieneces behind

Dispos'd the Spartans, and the Locrian line. There too with Maron Alpheus dauntless stood,Line 530 And godlike Agis. There Megistias plac'd His blooming heir, and thus his valour fires.

O MENALIPPUS! born of foreign race, Yet by these heroes not unworthy deem'd With them to fight for Sparta! lo! the hourLine 535 Is come, my son, to shew thy gen'rous heart; That not with thee the buckler and the spear Are ill intrusted to maintain a cause So great and sacred. O remember well, Leonidas on yonder bulwark stands,Line 540 Who all the war contemplates, and discerns The bold and fearful. O propitious heav'n! Grant me to hear Leonidas this day Applaud my son, and let Megistias die!

WHILE thus he spake, the animated soulLine 545 Of Menalippus struggling in his breast Demands the fight. This saw the tender sire, And thus with tears rejoin'd. Remember too! Thy father sees thy danger. Oh! my child! To me thy honour as to thee is dear;Line 550 Yet court not death! By all thy filial love, By all my cares and fondness I implore! Amid the combat, or the warm pursuit, Still by the wise Dieneces abide: His prudent valour knows th' unerring pathsLine 555 Of glory; he will guide thy youthful steps. This said, to Sparta's leader he retires.

NOW are the enemies descried. The van Abrocomes and Hyperanthes led, Line 560

With them Pandates, Intaphernes proud,Line 560 Hydarnes, Mindus. Violent their march With sounding footsteps swept the stony way. So, where th' unequal globe in mountains swells, A river pours its thund'ring surge between The steep-erected cliffs; tumultuous rollLine 565 The torrents bursting o'er the pointed crags: The mountains roar, the marble channel foams. With obvious arms th' intrepid Greeks withstand The dire encounter. Soon th' impetuous shock Of thousands and of myriads shakes the ground.Line 570 Stupendous scene of terrour! Under hills, Whose nodding summits vaulted o'er their heads, In unextinguishable fury join'd The dreadful conflict. With inverted trunks Obliquely bending from the shagged ridgeLine 575 The sylvan horrours overshade the fight.

The shrill-mouth'd trumpet, and the deep-tun'd horn, Mix'd with the crash of intermingling spears, The clanging shields, and war's discordant shouts Awake the echoes through the neighb'ring groves;Line 580 And rocks and shores return the hideous sound.

End of the Fourth Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK V.

The argument.

Hyperanthes discontinuing the fight, while he waits for reinforce|ments, Teribazus, a Persian remarkable for his merit and learning, and highly belov'd by Hyperanthes, but unhappy in his passion for Ariana, a daughter of Darius, advances from the rest of the army to the rescue of a friend in distress, who lay wounded on the field of battle. Teribazus, is attack'd by Diophantus, the Mantinéan, whom he overcomes, then engaging with Dithyrambus, is himself slain. Hype|ranthes hastens to his succour. A general battle ensues. Hyperanthes and Abrocomes, partly by their own valour, and partly by the perfidy of the Thebans, who desert the line, being on the point of forcing the Grecians, are repuls'd by the Lacedaemonians. Hyperanthes composes a select body out of the Persian standing forces, and making an im|provement in their discipline renews the attack; upon which Leonidas changes the disposition of his army: Hyperanthes and the ablest Persian generals are driven out of the field, and several thousands of the Barbarians, circumvented in the pass, are entirely destroy'd.

AMID the van of Persia was a youth Nam'd Teribazus, not for golden stores, Not for wide pastures travers'd o'er with herds, With bleating thousands, or with bounding steeds, Nor yet for pow'r, nor splendid honours fam'd.Line 5 Rich was his mind in ev'ry art divine, And through the paths of science had he walk'd The votary of wisdom. In the years, When tender down invests the ruddy cheek, He with the Magi turn'd the hallow'd pageLine 10 Of Zoroastres; then his tow'ring soul High on the plumes of contemplation soar'd, And from the lofty Babylonian fane With learn'd Chaldaeans trac'd the mystic sphere; There number'd o'er the vivid fires, that gleamLine 15 Upon the dusky bosom of the night.

Nor on the sands of Ganges were unheard The Indian sages, from sequester'd bow'rs While, as attention wonder'd, they disclos'd The pow'rs of nature; whether in the woods,Line 20 The fruitful glebe, or flow'r, or healing plant, The limpid waters, or the ambient air, Or in the purer element of fire. The fertile plains, where great Sesostris reign'd, Mysterious Aegypt next the youth survey'd,Line 25 From Elephantis, where impetuous Nile Precipitates his waters, to the sea, Which far below receives the sev'nfold stream. Thence o'er th' Ionic coast he stray'd, nor pass'd Milétus by, which once inraptur'd heardLine 30 The tongue of Thales, nor Priene's walls, Where Wisdom dwelt with Bias, nor the seat Of Pittacus along the Lesbian shore.

Here too melodious numbers charm'd his ear, Which flow'd from Orpheus, and Musaeus old,Line 35 And thee, O father of immortal verse, Maeonides, whose strains through ev'ry age Time with his own eternal lip shall sing. Back to his native Susa then he turn'd His wandring steps. His merit soon was dearLine 40 To Hyperanthes generous and good. And Ariana from Darius sprung With Hyperanthes, of th' imperial race, Which rul'd th' extent of Asia, in disdain Of all her greatness oft an humble earLine 45 To him would bend, and listen to his voice. Her charms, her mind, her virtue he explor'd Admiring. Soon was admiration chang'd To love, nor lov'd he sooner, than despair'd. But unreveal'd and silent was his pain;Line 50

Nor yet in solitary shades he roam'd, Nor shun'd resort: but o'er his sorrows cast A sickly dawn of gladness, and in smiles Conceal'd his anguish; while the secret flame Rag'd in his bosom, and its peace consum'd:Line 55 His heart still brooding o'er these mournful thoughts.

CAN I, O wisdom, seek relief from thee, Who dost approve my passion? From the pow'r Of beauty only thou wouldst guard my heart. But here thyself art charm'd, where softness, grace,Line 60 And ev'ry virtue dignify desire; Yet thus to love despairing is to prove The sharpest sorrow, which relentless Fate Can from her store of woes inflict on life: But dost not thou this moment warn my soulLine 65 To fly the fatal charmer? Do I pause?

Back to the wise Chaldaeans will I go, Or wander on the Ganges; where to heav'n With thee my elevated soul shall tow'r, With thee the secrets of the earth unveil.Line 70 There no tumultuous passion shall molest My tranquil hours, and ev'ry thought be calm. O wretched Teribazus! all conspires Against thy peace. Our mighty lord prepares To overwhelm the Grecians. Ev'ry youthLine 75 Attends the war, and I, who late have poiz'd With no inglorious arm the soldier's lance, And near the side of Hyperanthes fought, Must join the throng. How therefore can I fly From Ariana! who with Asia's queensLine 80 The splendid camp of Xerxes will adorn. Then be it so. Again I will adore Her gentle virtue. Her delightful tongue,

Her graceful sweetness shall again diffuse Resistless magic through my ravish'd heart;Line 85 And thus when love with double rage inflam'd Swells to distraction in my tortur'd breast, Then—But in vain through darkness do I search My fate: despair and fortune be my guides.

THE hour arriv'd, when Xerxes first advanc'dLine 90 His arms from Susa's gates. The Persian dames (So were accustom'd all the eastern fair) In sumptuous cars accompanied his march; And Ariana grac'd the beauteous train. From morn till ev'ning Teribazus guardsLine 95 Her passing wheels; his arm her weight sustains With trembling pleasure often, as she mounts Th' imperial chariot; his assiduous hand From each pure fountain wafts the living flood: Line 100

Nor seldom by the fair-one's soft commandLine 100 Would he repose him at her feet reclin'd, While o'er his lips her lovely forehead bow'd Won with his grateful eloquence, that sooth'd With sweet variety the tedious march, Beguiling time. He too would then forgetLine 105 His cares awhile, in raptures vain intranc'd, Delusion all, and fleeting rays of joy Soon overcast with more intense despair; Like wintry clouds, which op'ning for a time Tinge their black skirts with scatter'd beams of day;Line 110 Then swiftly closing, on the brows of Morn Condense their horrours, and in thickest gloom The ruddy beauty veil. Such woes oppress'd The Persian's heart, not soften'd; for this day His daring valour from the bleeding vanLine 115 Oppos'd the frown of adamantine Mars.

With no tiara were his temples bound, The slender lance of Asia he disdain'd, And her light target. Eminent he mov'd In Grecian arms the wonder of his foes.Line 120 Among th' Ionians had his strenuous limbs In war been practic'd. A resplendent cask Flam'd on his head. Before his face and chest Down to the knees his ample shield was spread. A pond'rous ash with skillful hands he grasp'd.Line 125 Thus arm'd, tremendous in the front he stood. Beneath his might two bold Phliasians died, And three Tegeans, whose indignant chief, Brave Hegesander, vengeance breath'd in vain With streaming wounds repuls'd. Thus far unmatch'd His strength prevail'd, when Hyperanthes' voiceLine 131 Recall'd his fainting legions. Now each band Their languid courage reinforc'd with rest.

Meantime with Teribazus thus confer'd The godlike prince. Thou much-deserving youth!Line 135 O had thy deeds with emulation warm'd The frozen hearts of Persia, Greece had wept Her prostrate ranks, not triumph'd in our shame. Relaxing now the wearied fight I wait, Till from the camp with Abradates strongLine 140 The brave Pharnuchus and Mazaeus move, And with fresh pow'rs renew the drooping war. For since surpass'd in valour, we must waste By endless numbers, and continual toil The matchless ardour of our gallant foes.Line 145

HE said. Immers'd in sadness scarce replied, But to himself thus plain'd the am'rous youth.

STILL do I languish mourning o'er the fame, My arm acquires. O wretched heart! thou seat Of constant sorrow, what deceitful smilesLine 150 Yet canst thou borrow from illusive hope To flatter life. At Ariana's feet What if with supplicating knees I bow'd, Implor'd her pity, and reveal'd my love? Wretch, canst thou climb to yon effulgent orb,Line 155 And share the splendours which irradiate heav'n? Dost thou aspire to that exalted maid, Great Xerxes' sister, rivalling the hopes Of Asia's purpled potentates and kings? Unless within her bosom I inspir'dLine 160 A passion fervent as my own, nay more, Such as might dissipate each virgin fear, And unrestrain'd disclose its fond desire,

My hopes are fruitless. Plung'd in black despair He thus revolv'd, when suddenly the criesLine 165 Of Aribaeus smote his pensive ear. By mutual danger, and by friendship join'd, They had been long companions in the toils Of war. Together with victorious steps The sons of Nile they chas'd, when Aegypt's prideLine 170 Before the arms of Hyperanthes fell. Stretch'd on the plain, and cover'd o'er with wounds, By all abandon'd, Teribazus views His gallant friend. His languid soul awakes, And forth he issues from the Persian line.Line 175 The bleeding warriour in his strong embrace Swift he conveys. By indignation fir'd Fierce from the Grecians Diophantus rush'd With loud defiance. Teribazus leaves His rescu'd friend. His massy targe he rears,Line 180

Advances high his formidable spear, And turns intrepid on th' approaching foe. Amazement follow'd. On he strode, and shook The plumed honours of his shining crest. Th' ill-fated Greek awaits th' unequal fight;Line 185 Pierc'd in the throat with sounding arms he falls; Through ev'ry band the Mantinéans mourn. Upon the slain the victor fix'd his sight, And thus reflected. By thy splendid arms Thou art a Greek of no ignoble rank,Line 190 And from thy fall perhaps am I adorn'd With more conspicuous lustre. What if heav'n Should add new victims, like thyself, to grace My undeserving hand, who knows, but she Might smile upon my trophies. Oh! vain thought!Line 195 Disperse ye fantome hopes! Too long, my heart, Hast thou in vain contended with thy woes!

I stand this moment on the verge of life, By fame invited, by despair impell'd To pass th' irremeable bound. No moreLine 200 Shall Teribazus backward turn his steps, But here decide his fate. Then beat no more, Thou troubled heart, and ev'ry grief be still Now at th' approach of everlasting peace.

HE ended, when a mighty foe drew nigh;Line 205 Not less than Dithyrambus. E'er they join'd, The Persian thus the Thespian youth address'd.

SAY, art not thou th' unconquerable Greek, Whose dauntless valour mow'd our battle down, And scatter'd nations? To attempt thy forceLine 210 This day I purpos'd, when our chiefs from fight Their host withdrew? That now my single arm

Thou deign'st to meet, receive my thanks; and know, The thought of conquest less employs my mind, Than that by thee I cannot fall with shame.Line 215

HE ceas'd. These words the Thespian chief return'd. Of all the praises from thy gen'rous mouth The only share, which justice bids me claim, Is, that I here adventure to confront Thy matchless strength. Believe not, that unmark'dLine 220 Were thy great deeds. From you unbounded camp None yet hath equall'd thy victorious hand. But whence thy armour of the Grecian form? Whence thy tall spear? thy helmet? whence the weight Of that strong shield unlike thy eastern friends?Line 225 O if thou be'st some fugitive, who, lost To liberty and virtue, art become A tyrant's vile stipendiary; with grief

That valour, thus triumphant, I behold, Which after all its danger, and brave toilLine 230 Deserves no honour from the Gods, or men.

HERE Teribazus with a sigh return'd. I am to Greece a stranger, and a wretch To thee unknown, who seek, this hour, to die; Though not ignobly, but in death to raiseLine 235 My name from darkness, while I end my woes.

THE Grecian then. I view thee, and I mourn. A dignity, which virtue only bears, And resolution on thy brow enthron'd (Though grief hath dim'd thy drooping eye) demand My veneration; and whatever beLine 241 The malice of thy fortune, what the cares, Which thus infest thy quiet, they create

Within my breast the pity of a friend: Why hast thou then compell'd me to opposeLine 245 My arm against thee, while thy might supports Th' unjust ambition of malignant kings, The foes to virtue, liberty, and peace? Yet free from rage, or enmity I lift My adverse javelin. Victory I ask,Line 250 Thy life may fate for happier hours reserve.

THIS said, their beaming lances they protend, Of hostile hate, or fury both devoid; As on the Isthmian, or Olympic sand For fame alone contending. Either hostLine 255 Pois'd on their spears in silent wonder gaz'd. The fight begins, when soon the Grecian lance, Which all the day in constant battle worn Unnumber'd shields and corselets had transfix'd, Line 260

Against the Persian target, shiv'ring breaks,Line 260 Its master's hand disarming. Then began▪ The sense of honour, and the dread of shame To swell in Dithyrambus. Undismay'd He grapples with the foe, and instant seiz'd The threatning javelin, e'er th'uplifted armLine 265 Could execute the meditated wound. The weapon burst betwixt their struggling hands. They loose their grasp, and bare their shining swords. With equal swiftness to defend, or charge, Each active youth advances, or recedes.Line 270 On ev'ry side they traverse, now direct, Obliquely now the wheeling blades descend. Still is the conflict dubious, when the Greek Dissembling points his falchion to the earth, His arm depress'd, as overcome with toil;Line 275 While with his buckler cautious he repels

The blows repeated from th' exulting foe. Greece trembles for her hero. Joy pervades The Asian ranks, and Hyperanthes strides Before the line, preparing to receiveLine 280 His friend triumphant. Teribazus now Press'd with redoubled efforts. Still the Greek Sustains th' assault defensive, and at last, As with unguarded fury of his strokes Th' unwary Persian sideways swung his targe,Line 285 The fatal moment Dithyrambus watch'd, And darting forward with his feet outstretch'd His falchion buries in th' obnoxious side. Affection, grief, and terrour wing the speed Of Hyperanthes. From his bleeding foeLine 290 The Greek retires, not distant, and awaits The eastern prince. But he with wat'ry cheeks, And dumb with sorrow clasps his dying friend,

From whose cold lip with interrupted phrase These accents broke. O dearest, best of men!Line 295 My heart is fruitful with ten thousand thoughts Of gratitude and love to thee; but fate Denies my voice the utt'rance. O my friend! O Hyperanthes! hear my tongue unfold. What thou shouldst ne'er have known before this hour; When, as I open all my secret soul,Line 301 I may at once retire, and veil my eyes In endless night: nor thou presumption deem What with my dying breath I here divulge. I love thy sister. With despair I lov'd,Line 305 And thence perhaps untimely is my date; Though, witness heav'n, without regret I bleed With honour thus in Persia's sight and thine.

HE ceas'd: th' inexorable hand of Fate Weigh'd down his eyelids, and the gloom of deathLine 310 His fleeting sight eternally o'ershades. Him on Choaspes o'er the blooming verge His frantic mother shall bewail, and strew Her silver tresses in the crystal tide; While all the shore re-echoes to the nameLine 315 Of Teribazus lost. Th' afflicted prince The pallid corse contemplating with tears, Thus in the bitterness of grief exclaims.

OH! Teribazus. Oh! my friend, whose loss I will deplore for ever. Oh! what pow'rLine 320 To me and thee averse thus clos'd thy breast To Hyperanthes with distrust unkind. She should, she must have lov'd thee. Now no more

Thy friendly aspect shall delight my eyes, While in remembrance thy unequall'd worthLine 325 Will live for ever to remind my grief Of what I lost. O Susa, if again Thee I revisit from this hostile land, Far from the clamours of tumultuous war, Then shall my hours be vacant to complaint,Line 330 Whole years shalt thou be witness, while I mourn, And Ariana shall assist my woes. Let fiercest vengeance now possess my soul.

HE said, and ardent rushes on the Greek, Who, while his noble enemy expir'd,Line 335 And Hyperanthes snatch'd with tender arms The last embraces from his gasping friend, Stood near reclin'd in sadness o'er his shield, And in the pride of victory repin'd,

Nor mark'd his threatning foe: when swift approach'd Diomedon. Before the Thespian youthLine 341 Aloft he rais'd his targe, and loudly thus.

HOLD thee, Barbarian, from a life more worth, Than thee, and Xerxes, with his host of slaves.

HIS words he seconds with his rapid lance.Line 345 Soon a tremendous conflict had ensu'd, But Intaphernes, Mindus, and the half Of Persia's leaders anxious for the life Of Hyperanthes pour'd with all their bands Betwixt th' encountring chiefs. With mutual wrathLine 350 They strove in vain the combat to renew. So rage two bulls upon th' opposing banks Of some deep flood, which parts the fruitful mead;

Defiance thunders from their angry mouths In vain; in vain the furrow'd earth they rend:Line 355 Wide rolls the stream, and intercepts the war. The fierce Plataean satiates his revenge On vulgar lives. Before his dreaded arm Whole ranks are scatter'd. But the Persian prince Borne down the stress of battle gains the shore,Line 360 Where then the brave Abrocomes advanc'd; With him Orontes and Pharnuchus stood, Mazaeus, Abradates fam'd in arms, And all the boldest of the eastern chiefs Begirt with fresh battalions: here with speedLine 365 Abrocomes his brother thus bespake.

TO Intaphernes is Pandates sent With charge to harrass in perpetual fight The Grecians next the mountains. Thou with me Line 370

And these unite thy valour. Here the flow'rLine 370 Of all our army is together drawn, Here all the weight of battle will impend. He said. The godlike Hyperanthes seeks The dang'rous van. He heads the splendid throng Of satraps, princes, and imperial pow'rs;Line 375 Themselves the lords of nations, who before The throne of Xerxes tributary bow'd. Now mix'd the war. Th' inverted javelins gleam From ev'ry part, and fell Bellona roars.

WHO first distain'd with Persian blood his sword?Line 380 Eupalamus. Artembares he slew And Derdas fierce, whom Caucasus had rear'd On its tempestuous brow, the savage sons Of violence and rapine; but their doom Great Hyperanthes marks: his angry lanceLine 385

Arrests the victor in his haughty course. Beneath the strong Abrocomes o'erwhelm'd, Melissus swells the number of the dead. None could Mycenae boast of prouder birth Than young Melissus; blooming, as the sonLine 390 Of Maia, all in radiant arms he grac'd The front of battle; he in Cirrha's vale, Where high Parnassus from its double top O'ershades the Pythian games, the envied prize Of fame obtain'd: low sinks his laurell'd headLine 395 In death's cold night, and horrid gore deforms His graceful locks. Impatient for revenge Aristobulus strides before the van. A storm of fury darkens all his brow. Around he rolls his gloomy eye, and marksLine 400 Achaemenes for death, of regal blood Deriv'd from Croesus, once th' imperial lord

Of nations; him the nymphs of Halys wept, When with delusive oracles beguil'd By Delphi's God, he pass'd their fatal wavesLine 405 A mighty empire to dissolve: nor knew Th' ill-destin'd king, that envious Fortune watch'd That dreadful moment from his hand to wrest The scepter of his fathers. In the shade Of humble life his race on Tmolus' browLine 410 Lay hid, 'till rous'd to battle here his breath Achaemenes resigns. Then Lycis bled For horrid war ill-chosen. He was skill'd To tune the lulling flute, and melt the heart; Or with his pipe's awak'ning strains inviteLine 415 The lovely dames of Lydia to the dance: They graceful o'er the verdant level mov'd In varied measures, while the cooling breeze Beneath their swelling garments wanton'd o'er Line 420

Their snowy breasts, and smooth Cayster's waveLine 420 Soft-gliding murmur'd by. His op'ning chest Pours forth his entrails, and supine he falls. Not long the Grecian triumphs. From the slain In all the pride of conquest as he rends His reeking javelin, Hyperanthes' steelLine 425 His knee invades, and bursts the sinewy cords. The Mycenaeans with uplifted shields, Corinthians, and Phliasians gather round The wounded Grecian. With redoubled rage The conflict glows. Abrocomes incitesLine 430 Each Persian leader; all obey his voice; Here Abradates, there Mazaeus press'd, Orontes, and Hydarnes; none retire From toil, or peril: urg'd on ev'ry side The Greeks at length th' abandon'd chief resign.Line 435 Despairing, raging, destitute he stands

Propt on his spear; his wound forbids retreat. None, but his brother Eumenes, abide The dire extremity. His shield defends The fainting chief, till Hyperanthes' swordLine 440 Full on his arm its dreadful weight discharg'd. Down with the buckler drops the sever'd hand, Nor quits its grasp. Now sink the wretched pair Beneath the Persian's unresisted steel: From both their breasts the vital currents flow,Line 445 And mix their streams. Elate the Persians roll Their deepning legions on the foes dismay'd. The Greeks their station painfully maintain. This soon the faithless Anaxander saw, When thus to Leontiades he spake.Line 450

THIS is the time to aid our Persian friends. Behold the Greeks are press'd. Let Thebes retire, And yield a bloodless conquest to the king.

THE Thebans streight desert the broken line Not with unpunish'd treachery; the spearsLine 455 Of fierce Orontes, and Pharnuchus join'd With Mindus gor'd their shameful flight, and thin'd Their bleeding files. Meantime, as he who rul'd Than Jove more antient on the throne of heav'n, When from the womb of Chaos dark the worldLine 460 Emerg'd to birth, where'er he view'd the jar Of atoms yet discordant and unform'd, Confusion thence with pow'rful voice dispell'd, Till light and order universal reign'd; So from the wall Leonidas explor'dLine 465 The various war. He saw the Theban rout, That Corinth, Phlius, and Mycenae look'd Affrighted backward; instantly he charg'd The sons of Lacedaemon to repair Line 470

The disunited phalanx. E'er they moveLine 470 Dieneces inspires them. Fame, my friends, Calls forth your valour in a signal hour; For you this glorious period she reserv'd To vindicate the Spartan name. He spake. On either side supported by the mightLine 475 Of Agis and of Alpheus he conducts His gen'rous troop, who riveting their shields In dense array indissolubly firm Confront the Persians, and with death repulse Their scatter'd numbers; when with efforts vainLine 480 They oft renew'd the contest, and recoil'd As oft confounded with diminish'd ranks, Thus Hyperanthes counsell'd. Learn, O chiefs, From whence alone success can grace our arms. These are a band selected from the Greeks,Line 485 Unlike the others, whom we lately chas'd;

Perhaps the Spartans, whom we oft have heard By Demaratus prais'd. To break their line False is the hope, while unarray'd, and lax, And wanting union singly we assailLine 490 Their strength collected. Do not we preside O'er Asia's myriads, and our valour boast, And martial arts above the vulgar herd? Let us, ye chiefs, attempt in order'd ranks To join our force, and emulate the foe.Line 495

THEY wait not dubious. Soon a dreadful line From Oeta's mountain to the shore extends, Compos'd of all the leaders, Mindus bold, Pharnuchus, and Mazaeus, and the strength Of fierce Abrocomes, with each, who boreLine 500 The highest honours, and excell'd in war. To these succeed a chosen number drawn

From those, whom Asia boasts her bravest sons, Who from their king perpetual stipends share; And station'd round his provinces by armsLine 505 His tyranny sustain. In ev'ry part Is Hyperanthes seen with active care To form the huge battalion. Soon they stand In just array, when cautious, lest their march Might still relax their order, Persia's princeLine 510 Amid the center of the foremost rank Orontes plac'd, committing to his hand Th' imperial standard; whose expanded folds Glow'd in the air, presenting to the sun The richest dye of Tyre: the royal birdLine 515 Amid the gorgeous tincture shone exprest In flaming gold. On this the eastern chief Commands each Persian station'd in the front To turn his eyes regardful, and to guide Line 520

His slow and equal feet by this aloneLine 520 Retiring, or advancing. Next he charg'd, That ev'ry warriour through the num'rous files, Observing none but those before him rang'd, Should watch their motions, and their steps pursue. Close by the standard then th' intrepid chiefLine 525 His post assumes, and animates the band.

ILLUSTRIOUS warriours, whose unconquer'd arms Rebellious Aegypt, and the Libyan felt, Think what the splendour of your former deeds From you demands; remember, from the greatLine 530 Heroic actions are a debt to fame. No middle course remains for them to tread, Whom she hath once ennobled; and this hour Or with fresh trophies will enlarge your praise, Or will for ever with dishonour blast.Line 535

THE hero said, and all to fight proceed. As when tempestuous Eurus stems the weight Of western Neptune struggling through the straits, Which bound Alcides' labours; here the storm With rapid wing reverberates the tide,Line 540 There the contending surge with furrow'd tops To mountains swells, and whelming o'er the beach On either coast invests with hoary foam The Mauritanian and Iberian strand: Not with less rage in hideous onset meetLine 545 The Grecians and Barbarians. These preserve Their formost ranks unbroken, where was drawn The prime of Asia's warriours; and the croud, Though still promiscuous pouring from behind, Yet added pressure to th' imbattled chiefsLine 550 With endless numbers. Like the mural strength

Of some proud city bulwark'd round, and arm'd With rising tow'rs to guard her wealthy stores; Immoveable, impenetrable stood The serried phalanx of the Greeks. Behind,Line 555 Their country spread, their fields with plenty crown'd, Their native walls and habitations lay With each dear pledge of friendship and of love. High in the Persian van th' exalted lance Of Hyperanthes flam'd. Beside him press'dLine 560 Abrocomes, Hydarnes, and the bulk Of Abradates terrible in war. And here the great Dieneces upheld His shield's expanded surface, and alone Firm, as a Memphian pyramid, sustain'dLine 565 The stress of thousands. Alpheus here unmov'd, And Agis there connect their spacious orbs, With Menalippus wise Megisthias' heir

In one impervious line. Long time the hosts Maintain in strong and unrelax'd arrayLine 570 The conflict undecided; nor could Greece Repel the adverse numbers, nor the force Of Asia's myriads could remove the Greeks.

BUT now from Sparta's king, who soon discern'd The Persian's new arrangement, Medon hastes,Line 575 Th' illustrious chief of Locris, from the race Of Ajax sprung in Trojan fields renown'd: To wife Dieneces he thus began.

LEONIDAS commands the Grecian line To yield before the Persians, and with speedLine 580 To measure back some paces. Soon, he deems, The unexperienc'd foe in wild pursuit Will break their order. Then the charge renew;

Let Agis, join'd with Alpheus, from the line Rush with Laconia's troop imbattled deep,Line 585 And force a passage through the Barb'rous host; Thou with a strong battalion from the sons Of Locris drawn must follow swift, and reach The Spartans led by Agis; with the rest Of Locris' youth shall I advance to fillLine 590 Your vacant station, and the line maintain; While in the narrow entrance, where the pass Looks o'er the Malian plain on Persia's camp, Do thou arrange to intercept the foe, Should Asia pour fresh succours from her tents:Line 595 Then Xerxes soon the slaughter shall deplore Of all these thousands in the straits inclos'd For sure destruction; and the Gods of Greece Behold their temples with profusion grac'd Line 600

Of splendid off'rings from Barbarian spoilsLine 600 Won by their free-born supplicants this day.

THIS heard, Dieneces obedient gave Through ev'ry band the signal of retreat, When all at once drew backward. Persia stop'd, As with amazement rooted to the earthLine 605 At unexpected conquest; 'till the voice Of fierce Abrocomes their minds awakes With these triumphant accents. By the sun They fly before us. My victorious friends, Delay you then to enter Greece? Away,Line 610 Rush on undaunted. I already hear, Our horse and chariots thund'ring o'er their plains, And view their towns involv'd in Persian fires.

HE said. With hurried violence they roll Tumultuous forward. All with headlong paceLine 615 Wide from their ranks expatiate in pursuit, Disjoin their order, and the line dissolve. This when the sage Dieneces descries, The Grecians halt returning to the charge With sudden onset. In a moment, pierc'dLine 620 By Lacedaemon's chief, Orontes falls, And quits th' imperial banner; this the Greek In triumph waves, and gives the dreadful sign. At once with Agis tow'ring in the front, And rapid Alpheus all Laconia's bandLine 625 In deep arrangement bursting from the line Bear down with irresistible career The eastern legions, shatter'd and o'erturn'd With all their standards trampled on the plain. Line 630

As the swift vessel, when a rising galeLine 630 Distends the canvass, its resistless course Impells through millions of opposing waves; Through the Barbarian multitudes so pierc'd The Spartan wedge. Invincible o'er hills Of arms, and mangled corses they impressLine 635 Their crimson footsteps. Persia's bravest chiefs, Ev'n Hyperanthes from the line is driv'n; And flying thousands through the pass are swept Before the Spartans. With a Locrian troop Of hideous depth Dieneces pursuesLine 640 His conqu'ring friends, and hews his purple way Through Asia's numbers, which again were clos'd In vain: himself unconquerable leads Destruction on, and heaps the rock with death. But on the broken foe what ruin fallsLine 645 From Alpheus' sword? O'er all in swift pursuit

Was he renown'd. His rapid feet had match'd The son of Peleus in the dusty course, Or had he run for Atalanta's love, He had rejected Cytheraea's aid;Line 650 Nor of her swiftness to beguile the fair Before her steps had thrown the golden balls. But now the wrongs, the long-remember'd wrongs Of Polydorus animate his strength With tenfold vigour; guided by revengeLine 655 His falchion reddens with Barbarian blood; The gory drops besprinkled all his shield, Like crimson poppies o'er the yellow plain. As when with horrour wing'd a whirlwind rends A shatter'd navy; from the ocean cast,Line 660 Th' enormous fragments hide the sandy beach: Thus o'er the rock the Persians lay bestrewn By Alpheus raging in the swift pursuit.

Not with severer pangs the God of day The Theban queen afflicted, when incens'dLine 665 With her proud vaunts he hurl'd her blooming race From youth and beauty to the pale abodes; Than now distracted Hyperanthes' soul, As round him, bleeding by the Spartan's lance, His noblest friends lay gasping. Oft he stroveLine 670 To turn his flying legions, oft the fight With Abradates and his brother's force Renews, against insuperable foes In vain repugnant; till by all around Deserted, mixing with the gen'ral routLine 675 He yields to fortune, and the field forsakes. So with relapsing waves the ebbing tide Beats for a time against the shelving strand, Still by degrees retiring, and at last Within the bosom of the main subsides.Line 680

NOW at Thermopylae's extremest bound The Spartans check'd their progress. Soon approach'd Dieneces, and thus began. Behold, What numbers have we pass'd of Perfia's sons. Be swift, my friends, and form. He said, and fill'd The narrow straits with order'd files, a depthLine 686 Of fifty warriours; half on Asia's host, Half tow'rd the pass were turn'd, a double front, Where ev'ry rank with twenty javelins flam'd. The Locrian band to Agis is assign'd,Line 690 Who stands prepar'd to stop the flying foes; Dieneces himself to Persia's camp Presents the terrours of the Spartan steel.

NOW, Muse, the wond'rous stratagem display, Which Sparta's hero, whose presiding careLine 695

Mark'd all the great vicissitudes of fight, And rul'd the course of slaughter, had conceiv'd To whelm the num'rous, long-resisting foe In hideous death, and signalize the day With horrours new to war. As o'er the wall,Line 700 His constant station, darting through the straits His watchful eye, e'er yet the battle clos'd, He view'd the hostile myriads swarming down, And nations still succeeding from the camp Immense, exhaustless, by an horrid lengthLine 705 Of clust'ring helms, and shields, and threatning spears Join'd to the Grecian van; the wary chief, Lest by the long-protracted fight his Greeks Might yield o'erlabour'd, from the Locrians chose A thousand warriours. These by Maron ledLine 710 Ascend the mountain, which o'erhung the pass. His charge he soon reveals. A thousand hands

At once with restless pains assemble stones Of hugest bulk, and wither'd trunks uptorn In elder times by whirlwinds from the grove.Line 715 Unwearied then they loosen from the rocks Broad, craggy fragments; from the mountain hew'd Its venerable firs, and aged oaks Of wide circumference, and knotted strength, Which of their branches by the lightning bared,Line 720 Presented still against its blasting flame Their hoary pride unshaken. These the Greeks Roll heavy on, with massy leavers heave, Or drag with strong-knit cables, till they reach, Where o'er the Persian multitudes inclin'dLine 725 The mountain's edge; so lofty, that the voice Of war below there lost its deafning roar, And soften'd into murmurs. Still his post, Though Hyperanthes from the field was driv'n, Line 730

With thronging numbers Intaphernes boldLine 730 Beneath the shade of this incumbent hill Against the fierce Diomedon maintain'd; Great Intaphernes, progeny of kings, Whom o'er Damascus, and the Syrian palms Had Xerxes seated with despotic swayLine 735 His substitute. This Maron from on high Surveys, and gives the signal; downward sinks The nodding pile, stupendous heap of death! Trees roll'd on trees with mingled rock descend, Unintermitted ruin. Loud resoundLine 740 The hollow trunks against the mountain's side, Swift bounds each craggy mass. The foes beneath Look up aghast, with horrour shrink, and die; Whole legions crush'd beneath the dreadful heaps Lie hid and lost, as never they had knownLine 745 A name, or being; while around them grew

A hill of ruin. Numbers still survive, Who shun destruction with impetuous flight; But Agis stops them: Intaphernes falls Before his thund'ring arm. Again they turnLine 750 To meet resistless ruin. From behind With twice two hundred Locrians Agis pours.

MEANTIME the Grecian line (so Sparta's king Decreed) had left its station, and beyond The heaps of dreadful carnage was advanc'd;Line 755 There, stretch'd from Oeta to the Malian bay, The Locrians led by Medon had dispos'd, With Corinth, Phlius and Mycenae's train Their hostile phalanx o'er the less'ning pass. Along the mountain's side Plataea's troop,Line 760 The Mantinéans, and Tegaeans stood,

An horrid length of war. Th' unwearied swords Of Dithyrambus and Diomedon Still blaz'd the terrour of the Barb'rous host. Before them fled the Persians to the shore,Line 765 All in a moment by the various bands Of Greece surrounded. From the gulph profound Perdition here inevitable frowns, And there, incircled by a grove of spears, They stand devoted hecatombs to Mars.Line 770 Now not a moment's interval delays Their gen'ral doom, but down the Malian steep Prone are they hurried to th' expanded arms Of Horrour rising from the op'ning deep, And grasping all their numbers, as they fall.Line 775 The dire confusion, like a storm, invades The chafing billows; loud resounds the shore:

And o'er whole troops by fell Bellona roll'd In one vast ruin from the craggy ridge, O'er all their arms and ensigns deep ingulph'd,Line 780 With hideous roar the surge for ever clos'd.

End of the Fifth Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK VI.

The argument.

Night coming on, the Grecians retire to their tents. A guard is plac'd on the Phocian wall under the command of Agis. He admits into the camp a lady accompanied by a single slave, and conducts them to Leonidas; when she discovers herself to be Ariana, sister of Xerxes and Hyperanthes, and sues for the body of Teribazus; which being found among the slain, she kills herself upon it. The slave, who at|tended her, proves to be Polydorus, brother of Alpheus and Maron, and who had been formerly carried into captivity by a Phoenician pirate. He relates before an assembly of the chiefs a message from Demaratus to the Spartans, which discloses the treachery of the The|bans, and of Epialtes, the Malian, who had undertaken to lead part of the Persian army through a pass among the mountains of Oeta. This information throws the council into a great tumult, which is pacified by Leonidas, who sends Alpheus to observe the motions of these Persians, and Dieneces with a party of Lacedaemonians to support the Phocians, with whom the defence of these passages in the hills had been intrusted. In the mean time Agis sends the bodies of Teribazus and Ariana to the camp of Xerxes.

IN sable pomp with all her starry train The night assum'd her throne. Recall'd from war Her long-protracted labours Greece forgets, Dissolv'd in silent slumber; all but those, Who watch'd th' uncertain perils of the dark,Line 5 An hundred warriours: Agis was their chief. High on the wall intent the hero sat, As o'er the surface of the tranquil main Along its undulating breast the wind The various din of Asia's host convey'dLine 10 In one deep murmur swelling in his ear: When by the sound of footsteps down the pass Alarm'd he calls aloud. What feet are those, Which beat the echoing pavement of the rock? With speed reply, nor tempt your instant fate.Line 15

HE said, and thus return'd a voice unknown. Not with the feet of enemies we come, But crave admittance with a friendly tongue.

THE Spartan answers. Through the midnight shade What purpose draws your wandring steps abroad?Line 20

TO whom the stranger. We are friends to Greece, And to the presence of the Spartan king Admission we implore. The cautious chief Of Lacedaemon hesitates again. When thus with accents musically sweetLine 25 A tender voice his wondring ear allur'd.

O GEN'ROUS Grecian, listen to the pray'r Of one distress'd! whom grief alone hath led

In this dark hour to these victorious tents, A wretched woman innocent of fraud.Line 30

THE Greek descending through th'unfolded gates Upheld a flaming brand. One first appear'd In servile garb attir'd; but near his side A woman graceful and majestic stood; Not with an aspect rivalling the powerLine 35 Of fatal Hellen, or the wanton charms Of Love's soft queen; but such as far excell'd, Whate'er the lilly blending with the rose Paints on the cheek of beauty soon to fade; Such as express'd a mind, which wisdom rul'd,Line 40 And sweetness temper'd, virtue's purest light Illumining the countenance divine, Yet could not sooth remorseless fate, nor teach Malignant Fortune to revere the good, Line 45

Which oft with anguish rends the spotless heart,Line 45 And oft associates wisdom with despair. In courteous phrase began the chief humane.

EXALTED fair, who thus adorn'st the night, Forbear to blame the vigilance of war, And to the laws of rigid Mars impute,Line 50 That I thus long unwilling have delay'd Before the great Leonidas to place This your apparent dignity and worth.

HE spake, and gently to the lofty tent Of Sparta's king the lovely stranger guides.Line 55 At Agis' summons with a mantle broad His mighty limbs Leonidas infolds, And quits his couch. In wonder he surveys Th' illustrious virgin, whom his presence aw'd: Line 60

Her eye submissive to the ground inclin'dLine 60 With veneration of the godlike man. But soon his voice her anxious dread dispell'd, Benevolent and hospitable thus.

THY form alone, thus amiable and great, Thy mind delineates, and from all commandsLine 65 Supreme regard. Relate, thou noble dame, By what relentless destiny compell'd, Thy tender feet the paths of darkness tread. Rehearse th' afflictions, whence thy virtue mourns.

ON her wan cheek a sudden blush arose,Line 70 Like day's first dawn upon the twilight pale, And wrapt in grief these words a passage broke.

IF to be most unhappy, and to know, That hope is irrecoverably fled; If to be great and wretched may deserveLine 75 Commiseration from the good; behold, Thou glorious leader of unconquer'd bands, Behold descended from Darius' loins Th' afflicted Ariana, and my pray'r Accept with pity, nor my tears disdain!Line 80 First, that I lov'd the best of human race, By nature's hand with ev'ry virtue form'd, Heroic, wise, adorn'd with ev'ry art; Of shame unconscious does my heart reveal. This day in Grecian arms conspicuous cladLine 85 He fought, he fell. A passion long conceal'd For me alas! within my brother's arms His dying breath resigning, he disclos'd.

—OH I will stay my sorrows! will forbid My eyes to stream before thee, and my heart,Line 90 Thus full of anguish, will from sighs restrain! For why should thy humanity be griev'd With my distress, and learn from me to mourn The lot of nature doom'd to care and pain! Hear then, O king, and grant my sole request,Line 95 To seek his body in the heaps of slain.

THUS to the Spartan su'd the regal maid Resembling Ceres in majestic woe, When, supplicant at Jove's resplendent throne, From dreary Pluto, and th'infernal gloomLine 100 Her lov'd and lost Proserpina she sought. Fix'd on the weeping queen with stedfast eyes, Laconia's chief these tender thoughts recall'd.

SUCH are thy sorrows, O for ever dear! Who now at Lacedaemon dost deploreLine 105 My everlasting absence! then inclin'd His head, and sigh'd; nor yet forgot to charge His friend, the gentle Agis, through the straits The Persian princess to attend and aid. With careful steps they seek her lover's corse.Line 110 The Greeks remember'd, where by Fate repress'd His arm first ceas'd to mow their legions down, And from beneath a mass of Persian slain Soon drew the hero by his armour known. To Agis' high pavilion they resort.Line 115 Now, Ariana, what transcending pangs Thy soul involv'd? What horrour clasp'd thy heart? But love grew mightiest, and her beauteous limbs On the cold breast of Teribazus threw Line 120

The grief-distracted maid. The clotted goreLine 120 Deform'd her snowy bosom. O'er his wounds Loose flow'd her hair, and bubbling from her eyes Impetuous sorrow lav'd the purple clay. When forth in groans her lamentations broke.

O TORN for ever from my weeping eyes!Line 125 Thou, who despairing to obtain her heart, Who then most lov'd thee, didst untimely yield Thy life to Fate's inevitable dart For her, who now in agony unfolds Her tender bosom, and repeats her vowsLine 130 To thy deaf ear, who fondly to her own Now clasps thy breast insensible and cold. Alas! do those unmoving, ghastly orbs Perceive my gushing anguish! Does that heart, Which Death's inanimating hand hath chill'd,Line 135

Share in my suff'rings, and return my sighs! —Oh! bitter unsurmountable distress! Lo! on thy breast is Ariana bow'd, Hangs o'er thy face, unites her cheek to thine Not now to listen with enchanted earsLine 140 To thy persuasive eloquence, no more Charm'd with the wisdom of thy copious mind!

SHE could no more. Invincible despair Suppress'd her utt'rance. As a marble form Fix'd on the solemn sepulcher, unmov'dLine 145 O'er some dead hero, whom his country lov'd, Bends down the head with imitated woe: So paus'd the princess o'er the breathless clay, Intranc'd in sorrow. On the dreary wound, Where Dithyrambus' sword was deepest plung'd,Line 150 Mute for a space and motionless she gaz'd.

Then with a look unchang'd, nor trembling hand Drew forth a poniard, which her garment veil'd, And sheathing in her heart th' abhorred steel, On her slain lover, silent sinks in death.Line 155 In vain the Spartan interven'd. With tears He view'd the prostrate lovers, and exclaim'd.

OH! most unhappy, heavy on your heads Hath sorrow fall'n, which o'er your pale remains Commands this pity from a stranger's eye!Line 160 Illustrious ruins, may the grave impart That peace, which life denied! And now receive This pious office from a hand unknown.

SO saying, from his shoulders he unclasp'd His ample robe, and strew'd the waving foldsLine 165 O'er the pale dead. Then turning, he bespake

The slave, who stood beside him. Thou, who ledst Thy queen ill-destin'd to the fatal tents Of Lacedaemon, now returning bear Her bleeding reliques to the Persian lord;Line 170 Thou, and these captives, whom I free from bonds.

ART thou a Spartan (interrupts the slave) And dost thou counsel me to seek again A clime unbless'd, where freedom never dwells? No. Bear me to Leonidas. AloneLine 175 Shall he decide, if wretched, as I seem, I may not claim protection from this camp.

WHOE'ER thou art (amaz'd the chief replies) Thou may'st indeed a better lot demand, Than I, a stranger to thy hidden worth,Line 180 Unconscious offer'd. Thy ignoble garb

Conceal'd a virtue, which I now revere. And since thy suff'ring soul hath long indur'd The gloom of bondage, and the hated face Of tyrants view'd, now change the horrid scene;Line 185 Here freedom reigns, and justice: come and seek With me their great protector. Ending here, Swift he conducts him to Laconia's king, When Agis thus Leonidas address'd.

LO! far superiour to the name, which marksLine 190 His habit with dishonour, one, who sues For thy protection! Here the slave subjoin'd. I stand thy suppliant now. Thou soon shalt learn, If I deserve thy favour. I intreat To see th' assembled leaders of your host,Line 195 For I am fraught with tydings, which import The weal of all the Grecians. Agis streight

Appointed by Leonidas convenes The various leaders. To the tent they throng, Amidst them plac'd, the stranger thus began.Line 200

O ALPHEUS! Maron! hither turn your sight, And know your brothers. From their seats they start. From either burst, with tears of transport mix'd, The name of Polydorus. On his breast Each fondly strives to rush, but he withstands;Line 205 While down his cheek a stream of anguish pours From his dejected eyes in torture bent On that vile garb, which sham'd his free-born limbs. At length these accents intermix'd with groans Broke from his heart, while all stood wond'ring round.

YOU first shall know, if this unhappy slaveLine 211 Yet merits your embraces. Now approach'd

Leonidas. Before him all recede, Ev'n Alpheus' self; and yields his brother's hand, Which in his own the gen'rous hero press'd:Line 215 Then with majestic goodness thus bespake Th' afflicted youth, and mitigates his pains.

FORBEAR to mourn, thou unexampled youth. Thy friends, thy country, all on thee shall gaze With veneration, whose unshaken mindLine 220 The chains of Asia never could debase. Lo! ev'ry breast is open to thy worth, Each tongue prepares to hail thee with applause, Who hast thy country honour'd ev'n in bonds.

HE ceas'd, when Alpheus with an eager handLine 225 Divests his brother of his base attire, And his own mantle o'er the shoulders threw

Of Polydorus. Agis too advanc'd, With friendly arms infolds him, and began.

Now, in thy native liberty secure,Line 235 Smile on thy past afflictions, and relate, What chance restor'd thy virtue to the Greeks.

THEN Polydorus to the list'ning chiefs. I was a Spartan. When my tender prime On manhood border'd, from my native shoreLine 240 Snatch'd by Phoenician pirates, I was sold, To Ariana, sister to the king And Hyperanthes. Fortune there was kind My bonds committing to that gentle hand. Yet was I still a captive, and estrang'dLine 245 From Lacedaemon. Demaratus oft With friendly sorrows would my lot deplore,

Nor less his own ill-fated virtue mourn'd Lost to his country in a servile court, The center of corruption; where in smilesLine 250 Is envy painted, treachery, and hate, And rankling malice; where alone sincere The dissolute seeks no disguise: where he Who all possesses, that a king can give, Is far less happy than the meanest sonLine 255 Of liberty, and groveling, as the slave, Who serves his cruel pride. Yet here the sun Ten times his annual period hath renew'd, Since Polydorus hath in bondage groan'd. My bloom now past, or else by pining careLine 260 Untimely wither'd, I at last return, And to my native land the tydings bear Of instant desolation. Here in grief He paus'd, when thus Leonidas. Proceed. Line 265

Though from thy lips inevitable fateLine 265 To all be threaten'd, thou art heard by none, Whose dauntless souls can entertain a thought, But how to fall the noblest. Thus the chief. The rest in speechless expectation wait. Such was the solemn silence, which o'erspreadLine 270 The shrine of Ammon, or Dodona's shades, When anxious mortals from the mouth of Jove Their doom explor'd. Nor Polydorus long Suspends the Grecians, but resumes his tale.

AS I this night accompanied the stepsLine 275 Of Ariana, e'er we reach'd the straits Before our view then op'ning, one appear'd With hasty feet now traversing the way, Now fix'd intensely tow'rds the Grecian wall; Then on a sudden starting would renewLine 280

His restless pace. As nearer we approach'd, He by the moon, which glimmer'd o'er our heads, Descried us, when advancing he demands Where bent our midnight course. I knew the voice Of Demaratus. To my breast I clasp'dLine 285 The venerable exile, and replied. Our purpose ask not. Sparta's camp we seek, And oh! farewel for ever! He rejoin'd. Thrice happy Polydorus! Thou again Shalt visit Sparta to these eyes denied.Line 290 Upon your paths may heav'n's protection smile. Soon as you mix with yon triumphant tents, Say to the Spartans, whose unconquer'd arms Defend those rocks, you saw their exil'd king; Say, though their blind credulity depriv'dLine 295 The wretched Demaratus of his home, From ev'ry joy secluded, which awaits

The parent and the husband, from his wife, His offspring torn, his friends, and native gates, Him from his virtue could they ne'er divide:Line 300 Say, that ev'n here, where all are kings, or slaves, Amid the riot of flagitious courts Not quite extinct the Spartan spirit glows Within his breast, though grief hath dim'd its fires. Remembring this to Lacedaemon's chiefLine 305 Report, that newly to the Persian host Return'd a Malian, Epialtes nam'd, Who as a spy had sought the Grecian tents. He to the tyrant magnified his art, Which with delusive eloquence had wroughtLine 310 The Greeks to such despair, that Asia's king Had been e'er now their sov'reign master own'd, Had not the spirit of their single chief, By fear unconquer'd, and on death resolv'd, Line 315

Restor'd their valour: therefore would the kingLine 315 Trust to his guidance a selected band, They soon should pierce th' unguarded bounds of Greece, Led through a secret passage o'er the hills, Where no Leonidas should bar their way. Meantime by him the treach'rous Thebans sentLine 320 Assurance of their aid. Th' assenting king At once decreed two myriads to advance With Hyperanthes, with Abrocomes, And bold Hydarnes. Ev'ry chief besides, Whom youth, or valour, or ambition warms,Line 325 Rous'd by the traitor's eloquence, attends From all the nations, fir'd with eager zeal The first to enter Greece. In silence now The youth remains. Tremendous from his seat Uprose Plataea's chief. His eyes were flames,Line 330

And thus on trembling Anaxander burst The furious accents from his livid lips.

YET e'er we fall, O traitor, shall this arm To hell's avenging furies sink thy head.

ALL now is tumult, ev'ry bosom swellsLine 335 With rage untam'd, and vengeance. Half unsheath'd Diomedon's impetuous falchion blaz'd. But, as the Cholchian sorceress renown'd In fables old, or Circe, when they fram'd A potent spell from Erebus to wakeLine 340 The dead in dark and fleeting forms to glide Before the moon's dim twilight, with their charms Smooth'd all the sea, and silenc'd each rude blast; Till not a billow heav'd against the shore, Nor ev'n the wanton-winged zephir breath'dLine 345

The lightest whisper through the magic air: So, when thy voice, Leonidas, is heard, Fell Discord listens; Rage with sacred awe Subsides in silence; while Confusion slept.

WITHHOLD this rashness (interpos'd the king)Line 350 Before we punish, let us find the guilt. Not yet hath Persia overturn'd our tents, Not yet her Barb'rous shouts our ears alarm. We still have time for vengeance, and to know, If yet our swords destruction may repel,Line 355 Or how to die most glorious. Then arose Dieneces, and thus the Greeks bespake.

E'ER yet they pass our borders, Xerxes' host Must learn to conquer, and the Greeks to fly. The spears of Phocis guard the secret pass.Line 360

Let instant messengers be thither sent To know the Persians progress. Alpheus here.

LEONIDAS, behold, my willing feet Shall to the Phocians bear thy great commands, Or climb the hills to mark th' approaching foe.Line 365

THOU active son of valour (thus returns The chief of Lacedaemon) in my thoughts For ever present, when the public cause Demands the swift, the vigilant, and bold! Go and surmount the rocks aërial height.Line 370 And while, around, Dieneces conducts An hundred Spartans to the Phocians aid, Thou from the hills observe the Persians march.

BEFORE the purple-winged morn the night Retiring warn'd their conference to cease.Line 375

They all disperse. When hastning on his course, And ready now to climb the lofty crags, O Polydorus, Alpheus thus exclaims, Long lost and late recover'd! we must part Once more, and now for ever. Thou return,Line 380 And kiss the sacred soil, which gave thee birth, Which calls thee back to freedom? Dearest youth I should have tears to give thee—but farewel! My country chides me loit'ring in thy arms.

THIS said, he quits his brother, and ascends,Line 385 While Polydorus answers. Alpheus no. I have the marks of bondage to erase, My blood must wash the shameful stain away.

WE have a father (Maron interpos'd) Thy unexpected presence will reviveLine 390

His heavy age, that childless else will mourn. Here Polydorus with a gloomy smile.

ILL should I comfort others. View these eyes; Faint is their light, and vanish'd is my bloom Before its hour of ripeness. In my breastLine 395 Grief as a native will for ever dwell, Nor yield to time. Unceasing shall my soul Brood o'er the dire remembrance of my youth In servitude thus wasted. Life with me Hath lost its savour. Then in silent woeLine 400 He hangs his head. His brother pleads in vain. He answers only with repeated groans. Now in his view Dieneces advanc'd With Sparta's band. On them his eyes are fix'd Immoveable, and thus his mind revolves.Line 405

I TOO, like these, in Lacedaemon sprung, Instructed once, like these, to poize the spear, And lift the pond'rous shield. Ill-destin'd wretch! Thy arm is now enervate, and would fail Beneath the buckler's weight. O cruel Heav'n!Line 410 Who didst compel my free-born hand to change The warriour's arms for ignominious bonds; Wouldst thou compensate for my chains, my shame, My ten years sorrows, and the black despair, Which on my youth has prey'd; propitious onceLine 415 Grant, I may bear my buckler to the field, And known a Spartan seek the shades below.

HE ceas'd, and sudden turn'd his steps aside To find the tent of Agis; there the youth Line 420

With grateful sorrow ministers his aid,Line 420 While with a kind and hospitable hand The gentle Agis by her lover's corse On one sad bier the pallid beauties laid Of Ariana. He from shackles frees Two Persian captives, whom his gen'rous armLine 425 That day preserv'd from slaughter, then began.

TO you I give that freedom, which you sought To snatch from me. This recompense I ask, And this alone. Transport to Asia's camp These bleeding reliques; bid the Persian kingLine 430 Weep o'er this flow'r thus blasted in its pride; Then say, th' all-judging Gods have thus ordain'd: Thou, whose ambition o'er the groaning earth Leads desolation, o'er the nations spreads Line 435

Calamity and tears, thou first shalt mourn,Line 435 And through thy house destruction first shall range.

THUS charg'd, to Asia's host the captives bend. They soon attain the Phocian wall, where now Was Dithyrambus station'd. He perceives The mournful bier approach. To him the fateLine 440 Of Ariana was already told. He meets the captives, when, with weeping eyes On Teribazus turn'd, he thus exclaims.

O! AS thy arms present thee, hadst thou been Indeed a Grecian! then thy gen'rous heartLine 445 Its valour ne'er had wasted to support A king's injustice; then a gentler fate, Had bless'd thy life, or bleeding thou hadst known,

How sweet is death for liberty. A Greek This friendly wish affords thee, though his headLine 450 Had lost the honours gather'd from thy fall; When fortune favour'd, or propitious heav'n Smil'd on the better cause. Ill-fated pair! Whom with this stream of pity here I lave; But that my hostile hands imbru'd with goreLine 455 Must be ungrateful to your loathing shades, From all the neighb'ring valleys would I cull Their fairest growth, and strew your hearse with flow'rs. Yet O accept these tears and pious pray'rs! May peace attend your ashes! may your shadesLine 460 Pass o'er the silent pool to happier seats, Where tyrants ne'er can enter to molest The blissful region; but are far remov'd

To realms of horrour, where from righteous heav'n They bear those pains, they merit from mankind!Line 465

HE ceas'd in tears. The captives leave the wall, And slowly down Thermopylae proceed.

End of the Sixth Book.

LEONIDAS. 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 Thermopylae, upon which Leonidas offers to send away all the army except his three hundred Spartans; but Diomedon, Demo|philus, Dithyrambus, and Megistias refuse to depart: he then dis|misses 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.

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 toldLine 5 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,Line 10 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 longLine 15 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 stoodLine 20 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 madeLine 25 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 stillLine 30 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! unfoldLine 35 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 GreeksLine 40 Arrang'd within Thermopylae, 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?Line 45

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 streamLine 50 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 knewLine 55 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,Line 60 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 wilesLine 65 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 possessLine 70 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 shoreLine 75 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 Lacedaemon's chief, What may thy own munificence declare,Line 80

And win his sword to aid thee. Xerxes here, 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,Line 85 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 Lacedaemon's king. Retreated thereLine 90 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,Line 95

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.Line 100 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.Line 105 Look on th' Ionic and Aeolian 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 headLine 110 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 rejoiceLine 115 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!Line 120

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,Line 125 Surrounded soon by all the Grecian bands; When him the godlike Spartan thus bespake.

HERE, Persian, tell thy ambassy, repeat, That to obtain my friendship Asia's lord Bids me accept the sov'reignty of Greece;Line 130 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.Line 135

THE hero ceas'd, when suddenly return'd 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'dLine 140 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 daemon, enemy to Greece, The Phocians quit their station. Through the passLine 145 An inundation of Barbarians pours, The traitor Epialtes is their guide, And to Thermopylae directs their course.

HE here concludes. Unutterable fear In horrid silence wrapt the list'ning throng,Line 150 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,Line 155 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!Line 160 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,Line 165 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,Line 170 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,Line 175 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 Plataean chief.Line 180 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.Line 185 Did I not face the Marathonian war? Have I not seen Thermopylae? O Fame, What more canst thou bestow, or I receive? Where can I living purchase brighter praise, Line 190

Than dying here? A more illustrious tombLine 190 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,Line 195 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,Line 200 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 closeLine 205

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,Line 210 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 againLine 215 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,Line 220 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,Line 225 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 choseLine 230 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!Line 230

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,Line 240 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 exaltLine 245 Above mankind in virtue and renown, O call not me presumptuous, who implore Among these heroes thy regardful ear! To Lacedaemon I a stranger came. You there preserv'd me, there with honours clad;Line 250 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.

NOT so Megistias (interpos'd the king)Line 255 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.Line 260 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 findLine 262 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,Line 270 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,Line 275 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;Line 280 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 faceLine 285 Of Virtue turns to horrour. But the chief Of Lacedaemon 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,Line 290 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.Line 295

HE said, the Persian hastens through the pass. But now once more Diomedon arose. Wrath overcasts his forehead, while he spake.

YET more must stay and bleed. Inglorious Thebes Ne'er shall receive her traitors back, but hereLine 300 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 heapsLine 305 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,Line 310 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 Line 315

On the pale Thebans sentence he pronounc'd,Line 315 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 shookLine 320 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,Line 325 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;Line 330

Accus'd by one alone, a banish'd wretch, Whom Lacedaemon 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 beforeLine 335 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.Line 340

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 rudeLine 345 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'dLine 350 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,Line 355 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,Line 360 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,Line 365 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:Line 370 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 chargeLine 375 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 Line 380

And Mycenaeans must not yet return,Line 380 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.Line 385

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:Line 390 Nor yet with us the faithless band must join. Not with such base associates must we trust Our great design. Their perfidy might soon Find means to rouse the unsuspecting foe, Line 395

And all our glorious enterprise confound.Line 395 Then, O my faithful Agis, e'er we move, While on the solemn sacrifice intent, As Lacedaemon's sacred laws ordain, Our pray'rs we offer to the tuneful nine, Do thou in whispers charge the Theban trainLine 400 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 chuseLine 405 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 sereneLine 410

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 reverseLine 415 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,Line 420 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 admitLine 425 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 timeLine 430 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,Line 435 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.Line 440 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.Line 445

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.

End of the Seventh Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK VIII.

The argument.

Leonidas rising about three hours before midnight relates to an assembly of the leaders a dream, which is interpreted by Megistias; he then arms himself, and marches in procession with his whole troop to an altar newly rais'd on a neighbouring meadow, and there offers a sacrifice to the Muses: he invokes the assistance of those Goddesses, he animates his companions, and then placing himself at their head leads them against the enemy in the dead of the night.

SCARCE was begun the second watch of night, When his pavilion Agis left, and sought The chief of Lacedaemon. Him he found Spread on his tranquil couch, while, o'er his face Line 5

Diffus'd, a glad serenity with smilesLine 5 His slumber painted; like an ev'ning sky Yet streak'd with ruddy light, when summer suns Have veil'd their beaming foreheads. Transport fill'd The eye of Agis. Friendship swell'd his heart, And veneration. On his knee inclin'dLine 10 The hero's hand he kiss'd, and thus began.

O THOU with more than human virtues great, Accept this homage! and may gentle sleep Yet longer close thy eyelids, that unblam'd I thus may bow before thee. Thus he spake,Line 15 And, prostrate bent, his godlike friend rever'd, Whose eye the shades of slumber now forsake. So, when new rising heav'n's resplendent orb Illumines first the sable skirts of night, The white-rob'd Magi, or the Indian seersLine 20

Are seen from Ganges, or Euphrates' side, Before th' emerging glory bow'd to hail The radiant emblem of th' immortal mind.

BOTH heroes rose, and mix'd their friendly arms, And now to Agis had the Spartan kingLine 25 Disclos'd his soul; when lo! the Grecian chiefs, All rous'd, advancing with the sudden gleam Of armour pierc'd the twilight shade. With joy Leonidas accosts them. O thrice hail! My virtuous friends. Approach, and all attend,Line 30 While I relate, and you with wonder hear. This night no sooner sleep oppress'd my brows, But o'er my head the empyreal form Of my great sire Alcides seem'd display'd. I saw his magnitude divine; his voiceLine 35 I heard, his solemn mandate to arise.

I rose. He bade me follow: I obey'd. Up to a mountain, whose ethereal brow Th' involving clouds divided, we ascend. E'er long we rested, suddenly the howlLine 40 Of wolves, and dogs, the vulture's piercing shriek, The yell of ev'ry beast and fowl of prey, Within my ears discordant broke. I turn'd. When lo! a surface all with gore deform'd Beyond my view illimitable stretch'd,Line 45 One vast expanse of horrour. There a corse, Which with its huge dimensions seem'd to hide Th' unbounded plain, lay welt'ring, red with wounds Delv'd in th' enormous limbs, which bleeding gorg'd The vulture's famine. Wond'ring I beheld,Line 50 When from behind I heard a second sound, Like surges trembling o'er a craggy shore. Again I turn'd. An ocean there appear'd

With riven keels, and shrouds, and shiver'd oars, With arms, and mangled carcases bestrewnLine 55 Innumerous. The billows foam'd with blood, And whelm'd a crimson deluge o'er the strand. But where the waters unobserv'd before Between two adverse shores contracting roll'd A stormy tide, upon the beach, forlorn,Line 60 One of majestic stature I descried In ornaments imperial. Oft on me He bent his clouded eye-balls. On my name With imprecations oft he call'd aloud, Then rent his splendid garments, and his headLine 65 In rage divested of its graceful hairs. Impatient now he ey'd a slender skiff, Which mounted on the curling foam approach'd. With indignation, and reluctant grief Once more his sight reverting, he embark'dLine 70

Amid the perils of the frowning waves. O thou, whose virtue rank'd thee with the Gods (I here exclaim'd) instruct me what produc'd This desolation; when the God return'd. Let thy astonish'd eye again reviewLine 75 What thou didst late abhor. I look'd and saw A land, where Plenty with disporting hand Pour'd all the fruits of Amalthea's horn; Where bloom'd the olive, and the clustring vine With its broad foliage mantled ev'ry hill;Line 80 Where Ceres with exuberance inrob'd The pregnant bosom of the fields in gold; Where spacious towns, whose circuits proud contain'd The dazling works of wealth, unnumber'd shone, The strength and splendour of the peopled land.Line 85 Then in a moment clouds obscur'd my sight, And all was vanish'd from my waking eyes.

THRICE we salute the omen (thus began The sage Megistias) in thy mystic dream I see the Grecian victories. The earth,Line 90 The deep shall own their triumphs; and the tears Of Asia, and of Lybia shall bewail Their offspring cast before the vulture's beak, And all the monstrous natives of the main. Those joyous fields of plenty shall be GreeceLine 95 Enrich'd with conquest, and Barbarian spoils. And whom thou saw'st in regal vesture clad Print on the sands his solitary steps, Is Xerxes foil'd and fugitive from Greece.

MEGISTIAS thus, while ev'ry bosom feltLine 100 Enthusiastic rapture, joy beyond All sense, and all conception but of those,

Who die to save their country. Here again Leonidas th' exulting chiefs address'd.

SINCE happiness from virtue is deriv'd,Line 105 Who for his country dies, that moment proves Most happy, as most virtuous. Such our lot. To this the gods shall add eternal fame. But now go forth, Megistias, and with speed Prepare the victim, and the sacred flames;Line 110 That to the Muses, as the Spartan law Commands, our pray'rs and off'rings may be paid, E'er to yon camp our hostile feet we bend. But, O remember, from the solemn rites Let ev'ry sound be absent, not the pipe,Line 115 Nor ev'n the music-breathing flute be heard. Meantime, ye leaders, ev'ry band instruct To move in silence, nor with shouts alarm

The midnight stillness. Mindful of their charge The chiefs depart. Leonidas providesLine 120 His various armour. First the breastplate arms His ample chest. O'er this the hero spreads The mailed cuirass from his shoulders hung. The shining belt infolds his mighty loins. Next on his stately temples he erectsLine 125 The plumed helm, then grasps his pond'rous shield; Where nigh the center on the swelling brass Th' inimitable artist had imboss'd The shape of great Alcides, whom to gain Two Goddesses contended. Pleasure hereLine 130 Won with soft wiles th' attracted eye, and there The form of Virtue dignified the scene. In her majestic sweetness was disclos'd The mind sublime and happy. From her lips Seem'd eloquence to flow. With looks serene,Line 135

But fix'd intent upon the son of Jove, She wav'd her hand, where winding to the skies Her paths ascended. On the summit stood Fame, and protended her eternal trump, Incumbent on a trophy near to heav'n.Line 140 The youth attentive to her wisdom own'd The prevalence of Virtue; while his eye With all the spirit, which redeem'd the world From tyranny and monsters, ardent flam'd; Not undescried by Pleasure, where she layLine 145 Stretch'd on a gorgeous carpet, which bespread The meadow with magnificence. Around Were flourets strewn, and wantonly in rills Soft streams maeander'd. All relax'd her limbs: Nor wanting yet solicitude to gain,Line 150 What lost she fear'd, as struggling with despair She seem'd collecting all her power of charms,

And with excess of sweet allurement smil'd: In vain; for Virtue sway'd Alcides' mind. Hence all his labours. Trac'd with various artLine 155 They fill'd the surface of the spacious targe. This portraiture of glory on his arm Leonidas supports. Then forth he tow'rs From his pavilion. With their troops array'd The chiefs attended. Flaming torches blaz'dLine 160 In ev'ry hand. And now with silent pace All to the solemn sacrifice proceed. First Polydorus with the hallow'd knife, And barley strew'd with sacred salt advanc'd. Diomedon beside him, in his graspLine 165 A weighty mace sustaining. Like the rest All bright in armour with his shield and spear Megistias follow'd, an unspotted priest, And dauntless warriour. From on high his helm Line 170

With wreaths around the shining crest reveal'dLine 170 His sacerdotal honours. By the horns, Where laurels twin'd, with Alpheus Maron leads The consecrated ox. And lo! behind Leonidas approaches. Ne'er before With such transcending majesty he trod,Line 175 Nor his own virtue, as that hour, enjoy'd. Then venerable moves the Thespian chief, And great Dieneces. To them the bloom Of Dithyrambus glowing with the sense Of future praise succeeds, with graceful stepsLine 180 The gen'rous Agis next; the Thebans last Repining and inglorious. Then slow march The host all mute, nor shake their brazen arms.

NOT from Thermopylae remote the hills Of Oeta yielding to a fruitful daleLine 185

Within their side half-circling had inclos'd A fair expanse with verdure smooth. The bounds Were edg'd with wood o'erlook'd by snowy cliffs, Which from the clouds bent frowning. From a rock Above the loftiest summit of the grovesLine 190 A tumbling torrent wore the shagged stone, Then gleaming through the interwoven shade The valley water'd. O'er the level shone Its glassy bosom, and with placid waves The smiling lawn divided. Near the banks,Line 195 Which flow'rs made various, new-erected stood A rustic altar, which a chosen train, Appointed by Megistias, rais'd with turf Cut by their falchions from the verdant mead: Broad was the surface, high with piles of wood,Line 200 The plenteous tribute of th' adjacent groves, All interspers'd with laurel. Here a vase

Fill'd with the briny waters of the sea, (More pure than ev'ry stream, or fountain, deem'd) Was plac'd beside the altar. There with wineLine 205 Unmix'd capacious goblets stood arrang'd. Here is the victim brought. Megistias streight His helm unloosens. With his hoary head Uncover'd round the solemn pile he treads, And with a branch of laurel scatters wideLine 210 The sacred moisture of the main. His hand With mingled salt and barley next bestrews The altar, and the victim. O'er the horns Th' inverted goblet foaming with the grape Diffus'd the rich libation. Now advanc'dLine 215 Diomedon. Megistias gave command. Down sunk the victim with a deathful stroke, Nor groan'd. Megistias buries in the throat The hallow'd steel. A crimson deluge flows. Line 220

Swift from the limbs the fuming hide is torn,Line 220 The flesh dissever'd on the altar heap'd. Now smoaks the pile, then sudden flames abroad. A burst of splendour dissipates the dark. Greece throngs around. Each lifts a sparkling brand With beaming javelins intermix'd, and shields,Line 225 And polish'd helms, which multiply the blaze. Meantime the great Leonidas drew nigh, And stood before the altar. There his helm Unclasp'd to Agis he commits, his shield And spear to Dithyrambus, then his armsLine 230 Extending thus in supplication spoke.

HARMONIOUS daughters of Olympian Jove, Who on the top of Helicon ador'd, And high Parnassus, with delighted ears Bend to the warble of Castalia's wave,Line 235

And Aganippe's murmurs, if from thence We must invoke your presence; or along The ridge of neighb'ring Pindus if your steps Now wander through your consecrated bow'rs, Thence turn, ye Muses, nor for once disdainLine 240 Each with her beauteous form these hills to grace, And stand th' immortal witness of our fate! But with you bring fair Liberty, whom Jove And you most honour. Let her sacred eyes Approve her dying Grecians, let her voiceLine 245 With exultation tell the earth and heav'ns, These are her sons; then strike your tuneful shells, And with our praise bid harmony rejoice. Record us guardians of our parents age, Our matrons virtue, and our infants bloom,Line 250 And glorious bulwarks of our country's laws, Who shall enoble the historian's page,

Or on the joyous festival inspire With loftier strains the virgins choral song. Then, O celestial maids, on yonder campLine 255 Let night sit heavy, and a sleep, like death, Weigh down the eye of Asia! O infuse A cool, untroubled spirit in our breasts, Which may in silence guide our daring feet Through all the paths of slaughter, nor affrightLine 260 The dark with tumult, till the dying groans Of gasping tyrants into horrour wake The midnight calm! Then turn Destruction wild. Bid Terrour and Confusion revel round, And in one carnage heap the Barb'rous ranks,Line 265 Their horse, and chariots. Let the spurning steed Imbrue his hoofs with blood, and shatter'd cars Crush with their brazen weight the prostrate necks Of kings, and purpled chiefs incircled round Line 270

By nations fall'n.—You, countrymen and friends,Line 270 My last commands attend. Your gen'ral's voice Once more salutes you, not to rouse the brave, Or minds resolv'd and dauntless to confirm. Too well by this expiring blaze I view Impatient valour flash from ev'ry eye.Line 275 But temper well your ardour, and your lips Close on the rising transport. Lo! how sleep Hath folded millions in its black embrace. No sound is wasted from th' unnumber'd foe. The winds themselves are silent. All conspiresLine 280 To this great sacrifice, where thousands soon Shall only wake to die. Perhaps our swords This night may send ev'n Xerxes' self to lead Th' innumerable train of Persian ghosts To Pluto's dreery shade, unless reserv'dLine 285 From all this ruin, to lament his shame,

And future flight, when Greece confounds that pow'r, Which we will shake. But now the second watch Is verging to its period, and the moon Prepares to glimmer on our darksome steps.Line 290 Let each his head distinguish with a wreath Of twining laurel, then the goblet crown, And share the victim. Take your last repast, For with your fathers, and the heroes old You next shall banquet in the blest abodes.Line 295

WHILE thus the hero, through the thronging files Presenting round a hideous depth of war All shook with ardour their erected spears Thick, as the fruitful growth of lofty pines, Which from high Pelion's cloud-invested browLine 300 To heav'n's blue vault their stately honours bear. Megistias soon through all the band divides The sacred laurel: snatch'd with eager zeal,

By ev'ry hand, and round each helmet wove It blends its verdure with the floating plumes.Line 305 Then is the victim portion'd, while the bowl Flows with the vine's impurpled stream. Aloof The Theban train in wan dejection mute Brood o'er their shame, or cast a frighted eye On that determin'd virtue, which unmov'dLine 310 At fate's approach with chearful lips could taste The sparkling goblet, and with joy partake That last and glorious banquet. Ev'n the heart Of Anaxander now forgets its wiles, Its fear no more dissembling. Agis hereLine 315 For ever mindful of his friend's command Mix'd with the Thebans, and in whispers thus.

LEONIDAS permits you to retire. While in the rites of sacrifice employ'd Line 320

None heed your motions. Separate, and flyLine 320 With silent steps. At once the Theban troop Its ranks dissolving from the Greeks withdraws. Unseen it moulders from the host, like snow, Which from the mountains in ten thousand rills, Soon as the sun exerts his orient beam,Line 325 Descends soft-trickling, while the hoary heap Insensibly decays. The Grecians soon Conclude the solemn banquet, and their chief Now reassumes his arms. Before his step The croud rolls backward. In their gladden'd sightLine 330 His crest irradiate with th' uplifted brands Its purple splendour shakes. The tow'ring oak Thus from a lofty promontory waves Its majesty of verdure, while with joy The sailor marks its heav'n-ascending pride,Line 335 Which from afar directs his foamy course

Along the pathless Ocean: so the Greeks Exulting gaz'd, as down their op'ning ranks Their chief proceeds; from whose majestic grace A soul like thine, O Phidias, might conceiveLine 340 In Parian marble, or effulgent brass, The form of great Apollo; when the God, Won by the pray'rs of man's afflicted race, In arms forsook his lucid throne to pierce The monster Python in the Delphian vale.Line 345 Close by the hero Polydorus waits To guide destruction through the Asian tents. As the young eagle near his parent's side In wanton flight essays his vig'rous wings, E'er long with her to penetrate the clouds,Line 350 To dart impetuous on the fleecy train, And dye his beak with gore; by Sparta's king The injur'd Polydorus thus prepares

His arm for death, and feasts his angry soul With promis'd vengeance: his impatient thoughtsLine 355 Ev'n now transport him furious to the seat Of his long sorrows not with shackled hands, But now once more a Spartan with his shield, And dreadful spear to lead his country's bands, And with them vengeance. Nor the rest of GreeceLine 360 Neglect to form. Their helmets now unite Their various plumage, as th' intwining boughs Mix their broad foliage in Dodona's grove; Or like the cedars on the Syrian hills, Which with their shady texture, as with night,Line 365 The gloomy soil o'ercast. In order'd ranks While thus they stand, behold a warlike form In gleaming arms slow-moving through the shade, Led by a slave, approach'd Laconia's king, And thus address'd him. O Leonidas,Line 370

Thou seest before thee Eurytus, a name To thee and ev'ry Spartan not unknown. Thy ruling voice forbade the maim'd to stay; I, whose dark orbs no longer know the sun, Immers'd in sudden blindness since our marchLine 375 From Lacedaemon, with the rest withdrew, Not to revisit Sparta, but, resolv'd To meet the Persians, in the public way I sat; not long, before th' increasing sound Of trampling feet alarm'd me, which I deem'dLine 380 Were Persia's numbers rushing from the hills: I started upward grasping in my hand My spear and buckler, by my slave withheld, Who told me, they were Thebans. Lo! I bear The tydings of their flight. And now, my chiefLine 385 And countrymen, farewel. Do you proceed, With death and terrour fill the hostile camp;

While I the fury of th' exulting foe Descending from the mountains here await To yield the last remains of tedious lifeLine 390 Now to my country useless, and to me, And close these shaded eyes in endless night.

HE ceas'd, when thus Leonidas began. Then stay, my faithful soldier, and obtain Not the least honours in this glorious night;Line 395 And you, my brave associates, all exult; One spirit now inspires us; from our band Doubt, fear, and treason with the Thebans fly: While all with mutual confidence advance, And equal fires. This said, once more the kingLine 400 On the deep phalanx his attentive eye Reverts, and through the ruddy gleam descries One face of gladness; but th' illustrious van

He most contemplates: Agis, Alpheus there, Megistias, Maron, and Plataea's chief,Line 405 Dieneces, Demophilus are drawn, And Dithyrambus. They their fixed sight On him too bend with inexpressive joy, With love, and veneration, till they hear His last command; when instant to the earthLine 410 Are cast th' extinguish'd brands. On all around Drops sudden darkness, on the hills, the woods, The silver stream, the rocks, and floating main. It now was midnight. To the hostile camp With steps compos'd and silent down the passLine 415 The phalanx moves. Each patient bosom hush'd Its struggling spirit, nor in whispers breath'd The rapt'rous ardour, virtue then inspir'd; But all await the moment doom'd to give Line 420

The Barb'rous millions to their deathful steel:Line 420 So low'ring clouds expanding from the north A while suspend their horrours, destin'd soon To blaze in lightnings, and to burst in storms.

End of the Eighth Book.

LEONIDAS. BOOK IX.

The argument.

Leonidas and the Grecians penetrate through the Persian camp to the very pavilion of Xerxes, who avoids destruction by flight. The Bar|barians are slaughter'd in great multitudes, and their camp is set on fire. Leonidas conducts his men back to Thermopylae, engages the Persians, who were descended from the hills, and after numberless proofs of superiour strength and valour sinks down cover'd with wounds, and expires the last of all the Grecian commanders.

THE waining moon display'd her gleaming horns, When o'er th' unguarded bound of Asia's camp Now pass'd the Grecians. Through th' unnumber'd tents, Where all was mute and tranquil, they pursue Line 5

Their silent march. The eastern world aroundLine 5 Lay stretch'd in slumber, motionless, and deaf, Wrapt in the dead security of night, Nor mark'd the steps of Fate. The wary Greeks By Polydorus guided still proceed. Ev'n to the center of th' extensive hostLine 10 Unseen they pierc'd, when now th' imperial tent Yet distant rose before them. Wide around The proud pavilion stretch'd an ample space, Where myriads might imbattle. Here a band Of chosen Persians watchful round their kingLine 15 Held their nocturnal station. As the hearts Of anxious nations menac'd with the waste Of meager famine, and the ruthless sword Sink in their frozen bosoms, while despair Sees fear-ingender'd fantoms in the sky,Line 20 Aërial hosts amid the clouds array'd,

Which seem to shake the firmament with war, Portending woe and death; the Persians thus Are smote with consternation, as the moon By her faint beam discover'd from afarLine 25 The glimpse of Grecian arms. With sudden cries They waken Horrour, which to Xerxes' couch, And o'er th' astonish'd host, swift-winged flew Dispelling sleep and silence. All the camp Pours forth its numbers naked, pale, unarm'd,Line 30 Wild with amazement, blinded by dismay, To ev'ry foe obnoxious; when at once Plung'd in ten thousand breasts the Grecian steel Reeks with destruction. Deluges of blood Float o'er the field, and foam around the heapsLine 35 Of wretches slain unconscious of the hand, Which mows them down by legions. From his couch The lord of Asia and of L••bia st••••••••

(Amaze, affright, distraction in his look) And sees in thought united Greece advance.Line 40 Where then was fled the empty pride of kings, The hope of glory, and the lust of pow'r? What then avail'd th' innumerable range Of thy huge camp save only to conceal Thy trembling steps, O Xerxes, while thou fliest.Line 45 Leonidas before the Grecian van Through bleeding thousands hews his dreadful way. Before him Terrour strides. Gigantic Death, And Desolation at his side attend, With all the Furies of insatiate war.Line 50 To Xerxes' tent the hero speeds, nor finds His victim. Ardent throngs of Grecians fill The stately mansion; to the ground are hurl'd The glitt'ring ensigns of imperial pow'r: The diadem, the scepter, late ador'dLine 55

And fear'd by millions, underneath their feet With mingled rage and scorn the Grecians crush, A sacrifice to Freedom. Now return The furious bands. Leonidas exalts For new destruction his resistless spear,Line 60 When sudden night o'ershrouds the spangled heav'ns, And clouds condensing intercept the moon. Black o'er the furrow'd main the raging east In whirlwinds sweeps the surge. Now roars the coast, The crashing forests, and the cavern'd rocks.Line 65 Swift through the camp the hurricane impells Its dire career, when Asia's numbers, veil'd Amid the shelt'ring horrours of the storm, Evade the Spartan lance. The Grecians halt, By great Leonidas restrain'd, and waitLine 70 Near Xerxes' tent their mighty leader's will.

BESIDE the high pavilion from the time, That Xerxes near Thermopylae had drawn His num'rous bands, perpetual fire had shone; Before whose sacred light the Persian lordLine 75 Was wont among his Magi to adore The power of Oromasdes: piles of wood Lay nigh, prepar'd to feed the constant flame. These on the altar by the Greeks are strewn, So wills Laconia's hero; while the windsLine 80 Excite the blaze, his phalanx he divides; Four bands are form'd by Dithyrambus led, By Alpheus, by Diomedon, the last Himself commands. The word is giv'n; the Greeks Press to the fire; soon shrink the burning heaps;Line 85 Destructive flames they brandish, and, injoin'd

To reassemble at the regal tent, By various paths the hostile camp invade.

RESISTLESS desolation now involves The Malian fields, as o'er the eastern tentsLine 90 From diff'rent stations flew ten thousand brands Hurl'd by the Greeks unrespited. The winds With violence redoubled breathing round Tempestuous rage exasperate the blaze. The conflagration, like a sea, expands;Line 95 Collected now from ev'ry part it forms One waving surface of unbounded fire. In ruddy volumes mount the curling flames To heav'n's dark vault, and paint the midnight clouds. So, when the north emits its purpled lights,Line 100 The undulating radiance streaming wide, As with a burning canopy, invests

Th' ethereal concave. Oeta now disclos'd Its forehead glitt'ring with eternal frost, While down the rocks the foamy torrents shone.Line 105 Far o'er the main the pointed rays were thrown; Night snatch'd her mantle from the ocean's breast; The billows glimmer from the distant shores. But where ascends a pillar huge of smoke With wreathing flames incircled, Horrour thereLine 110 And Death on great Leonidas attend. He bade th' exulting Polydorus lead, Where Asia's horse and chariots stood arrang'd; There at his word devouring Vulcan feasts On all the tribute, which Thessalia's meadsLine 115 Yield to the scythe, and riots on the heaps Of Ceres emptied of the ripen'd grain. A flood of fire envelopes all the ground; The cordage bursts of ev'ry blazing tent; Line 120

Down sink the roofs, and overwhelm the throngLine 120 Of wretches panting from the Spartan sword, Close-wedg'd with fear; the Libyan chariot burns, Th' Arabian camel, and the Persian steed Bound through the fiery deluge; wild with pain They shake their singed manes, with madding hoofsLine 125 Dash through the blood of thousands mix'd with flames, That rage augmented by the whirlwind's blast.

MEANTIME the scepter'd lord of half the globe Through the wide tumult, like a guilty slave, From tent to tent precipitates his flight.Line 130 Dispers'd are all his satraps; Pride itself Shuns his dejected brow; Despair alone With pale Confusion, and with frantic Fear Wait on th' imperial fugitive, and shew, As round the camp his eye distracted roves,Line 135

No limits to destruction. Now was seen Aurora mounting from the eastern hills In rosy sandals, and with dewy locks: The winds subside before her, darkness flies, And streams of light proclaim the chearful day.Line 140 When now at Xerxes' tent the Grecian band Was reunited. What could Fortune more To aid the valiant, and to gorge revenge? Lo! Desolation o'er the Persian host Hath emptied all its horrours; ev'n the handLine 145 Of languid slaughter drops its crimson steel; Nor Nature longer can sustain the toil Of ever-during conquest. Yet what pow'r Among the Grecians once again reviv'd Their drooping warmth; new-brac'd their nerves, and call'd Their wearied swords to deeds of brighter fame?Line 151 What, but th' inspiring hope of glorious death

To crown their labour, and th' auspicious look Of their heroic chief, which still unchang'd, Still with superiour majesty declar'dLine 155 No toil had yet relax'd his matchless strength, Nor worn the vigour of his godlike soul. Down to the pass with gentle march he leads Th' imbattled warriors. There behind the shrubs, Which near the verdant feet of Oeta sprung,Line 160 Beside the entrance of the straits the Greeks In ambush lay. The tempest now was calm'd; Soft breezes only from the Malian wave O'er each grim face besmear'd with smoke and gore Their cool refreshment breath'd. The healing galeLine 165 Dispells the languor from their harass'd limbs, Which swell with strength returning. After all Th' incessant labours of the horrid night Through flames and war continu'd, they prepare Line 170

In order'd battle to confront the pow'rsLine 170 Of Hyperanthes, that selected band From Asia's numbers, destin'd with the morn To pass the mountains in triumphant march With strength unwasted, and with souls elate. Not long the Greeks in expectation stoodLine 175 Impatient. Sudden with tumultuous shouts, Like Nile's swift current, where with deafning roar Prone from the steep of Elephantis falls Its sea of waters, Hyperanthes pours His rapid legions o'er the Grecian campLine 180 Down from the hills precipitant. No foe Is found to stop the torrent; on they roll With thund'ring footsteps o'er the sounding pass.

THAT night no sooner had the Theban train Thermopylae forsaken, but their courseLine 185

They bent along the mountains, till they met The pow'rs of Xerxes. Dusky twilight still Prevailing, Persia with misguided rage Assail'd her friends unknown. Th'impetuous spear Of Hyperanthes clove the faithless heartLine 190 Of Anaxander; on, the hero press'd, And spread destruction through their bleeding ranks; Nor check'd his ardent valour, till he heard The name of Thebes in suppliant cries proclaim'd: The Persians then receive them, in the frontLine 195 As guides they place them, and, amaz'd to learn, That daring Greece should Xerxes' camp invade, Haste from the mountains, rush along the pass, And now tumultuous issue from its mouth. At once Laconia's leader gives the sign,Line 200 When, as th' impulsive ram with dreadful sway O'erturns the nodding rampart from its base,

And strews a town with ruin, so the band Of serried heroes down the Malian steep, An hideous depth, the blended numbers sweptLine 205 Of Thebes and Persia. There no waters flow, But horrid rocks present their craggy sides; There dash'd whole legions. From their mangled limbs A tide of blood rolls foaming to the sea. Again thy voice, Leonidas, is heard;Line 210 The Grecians turn; against the op'ning pass They point their wheeling phalanx; on they rush. Astonish'd Persia stops in full career, Ev'n Hyperanthes starts with terrour back. Confusion drives fresh numbers from the shore,Line 215 Whelm'd in the Malian slime. Th' undaunted king Of Lacedaemon enter'd now the straits, And rang'd for battle. Hyperanthes soon Recall'd his chosen warriours from their fear. Line 220

Swift on the great Leonidas was bentLine 220 A grove of darts; th' incount'ring armies clos'd.

WHOM first, whom last, great Spartan, didst thou foil? What rivers heard along their echoing banks Thy name in curses sounded from the lips Of mothers wailing for their slaughter'd sons!Line 225 What towns with empty monuments were fill'd For those, whom thy unconquerable sword This day to vultures cast! First Bessus died, A haughty satrap, whose tyrannic hand Despoil'd Hyrcania of her golden sheaves,Line 230 And laid her forests waste. For him the bees Among the branches interwove their sweets; For him the fig was ripen'd, and the vine With rich profusion o'er the goblet foam'd. Then Dinis bled. On Hermus' side he reign'd,Line 235

And long had sought with unavailing love Great Artemisia fam'd in Xerxes' fleet, The martial queen of Caria. She disdain'd The lover's soft complaint; her dauntless ear Was taught to mark the tempest, while it rag'd;Line 240 Her sight was practic'd from the rolling deck To brave the chafing billows; doom'd to meet That day of horrour, when the weeping eye Of Xerxes saw the blood of nations flow, And to its bottom tinge the briny floodsLine 245 Of Salamis, whence she with Asia fled, She only not inglorious: low reclines Her lover now, on Hermus' banks no more To sound her name, nor tell the vocal groves His fruitless sorrows. Then Madauces fell,Line 250 A Paphlagonian born amid the sound Of dashing surges, and the roar of winds;

Who o'er th' unhospitable Euxine waves Was wont from high Carambis' cliff to watch Th' ill-fated bark, which cut the Pontic stream,Line 255 Then with his dire associates through the deep For spoil and slaughter guide his hostile prow. With these Tithraustes far from Medus fall'n, His native tide, with blooming strength indu'd, And manly grace, Lilaeus, who had leftLine 260 The balmy fragrance of Arabia's fields, And Babylonian Tenagon expir'd. His bravest friends on ev'ry side o'erthrown With indignation Hyperanthes view'd, And in fierce haste his dauntless arm oppos'd.Line 265 To Sparta's hero. Each his lance protends, But thousands rush with interposing shields, Such sacred lives all anxious to defend; Or thither Fortune urg'd the tide of war, Line 270

Their term protracting for augmented fame.Line 270 So, when two gallies lab'ring through the foam Present for battle their destructive beaks, The billows oft, by hurricanes impell'd, With mountainous commotion dash between, And either bark in black'ning tempests veil'dLine 275 Waft from its distant foe. But fiercer burn'd Thy ardour, mighty Spartan, while in blood Thy falchion rag'd unwearied. Now the steeds Of day were climbing their meridian steep, And o'er the Persian camp the shouts of warLine 280 Burst from Thermopylae. Pharnuchus heard, Who from his couch beyond the Malian plain, Rous'd by the tumult in the neighb'ring tents To aid his lord had left Thessalia's fields With Syria, Cholchis, and Armenia's bands,Line 285 Th' Assyrians, and Chaldaeans. Asia's camp

Was still the seat of terrour and despair. As in some fruitful clime, which late hath known The rage of winds and floods, when now the storm Is heard no longer and the deluge fled,Line 290 Still o'er the wasted region Nature mourns In melancholy silence, through the grove With prostrate glories lie the stately oak And elm uprooted, while the plains are spread With fragments swept from villages o'erthrown,Line 295 And round the pastures flocks and herds are cast In weltring heaps of death; so Persia's host In horrour mute one boundless scene displays Of desolation: half devour'd by fire Its tall pavilions, and its warlike carsLine 300 Hide all the field with ruin; here in gore Its princes lie, and nameless thousands there, Here legions bleeding by the Grecian steel,

There Persians slain by Persians still declare The wild confusion of the direful night,Line 305 When wanting signals, and their leaders care They rush'd to mutual slaughter. Xerxes' tent On its exalted summit, when the dawn First streaks the glowing sky, was wont to bear The golden form of Mithra, clos'd betweenLine 310 Two lucid crystals, to the Barb'rous host An awful signal all in arms to leave Their crouded tents, and numberless to wait Their monarch's presence; this Pharnuchus rears High on the proud pavilion: at the sightLine 315 Their consternation is at length dispell'd, And through th' assembling nations hope revives. Pharnuchus then from all the number forms A chosen train; Thermopylae he seeks; Their march in loudest clamours is proclaim'd.Line 320

His phalanx soon Leonidas commands To circle backward from the Malian shore: Their order changes; now half-orb'd they stand By Oeta's mountains guarded from behind With either flank united to the rock.Line 325 As, by th' excelling architect dispos'd To shield some haven, a stupendous mole Fram'd of the grove and quarry's mingled strength In ocean's bosom penetrates afar; There stands the pride of art against the weightLine 330 Of seas, unmov'd, and breaks the whelming surge: So, when Pharnuchus with innum'rous pow'rs Thermopylae had fill'd, th' unyielding Greeks Oppos'd the hostile deluge, and its rage, Unshaken stem'd. Amid the foremost rankLine 335 Leonidas his dreadful station held. Before him soon an horrid void is seen

Through Persia's legions, and the proud remains Of noblest chiefs th' insanguin'd rock bestrew. Pharnuchus glowing with revenge and wrathLine 340 Discharges full at Lacedaemon's chief His iron-studded mace. Aside it glanc'd, Turn'd by the massy shield, and prone to earth The Persian fell. Alcander to the rock Transfix'd the prostrate satrap through the reins,Line 345 Himself receiving in th' unguarded side The lance of Hyperanthes. Low he lies, The only Theban, who by Sparta's king Abode intrepid, and to Greece preserv'd His faith untainted; a physician sage,Line 350 Who from Cithaeron each benignant herb Was wont to gather, and expatiate o'er The Heliconian pastures, where no plant Of poison springs, but such, whose healing juice Line 355

Expells the venom from the viper's toothLine 355 Fill'd with the sweetness of the soil divine: Him all, who languish on the bed of pain, Him most, the wretch, whom want, and sickness spreads On earth's cold breast neglected, shall deplore. On him the brave Artontes sinks in death,Line 360 Renown'd through wide Bithynia now no more The clam'rous rites of Cybele to share, While Echo murmurs through the hollow caves Of Berecynthian Dindymus. The hand Of Alpheus sent him to the shades of night.Line 365 E'er from the dead he disingag'd his spear, Huge Abradates glorying in his strength, Surpassing all of Cissian race, advanc'd To grapple with the victor; near him now His foremost step the Persian plants, his handLine 370 Grasps at the Spartan's shoulder. Alpheus once

At Nemea's games the wrestlers crown obtain'd. His art he summons, and his rapid foot Obliquely strikes against the Persian's heel; He falling seiz'd on Alpheus' neck, and drag'dLine 375 His foe upon him. Streight an hundred darts Of thronging Persia cleave the Grecian's back. To Abradates' breast the weapons pierce, And rivet both in death. This Maron saw, And Polydorus, who with victims fall'nLine 380 Before their vengeance hide their brother's corse. At length the gen'rous blood of Maron warms The lance of Hyperanthes. On the spear Of Polydorus falls the pond'rous ax Of Sacian Mardus; from the yielding woodLine 385 The steely point is sever'd. Undismay'd The Spartan stoops to rear the knotted mace Of slain Pharnuchus; but thy fatal sword,

Abrocomes, that dreadful instant marks To rend his op'ning side: unconquer'd still,Line 390 Swift he discharges on the Sacian's front An horrid wound, that reach'd the bursting brain. Down his own limbs the while a torrent flows Of vital crimson; smiling he surveys His sorrows ending, and his Spartan nameLine 395 Renew its lustre. Sudden to his side Springs Dithyrambus; through th' uplifted arm Of Mindus pointing his impetuous dart Against the bleeding Spartan he impells His steel resistless. Polydorus nowLine 400 Stretch'd his cold hand to Thespia's friendly chief, Then bow'd his head in everlasting peace; And Mindus wasted by his flowing wound Beside him faints and dies. In Ninus old Had his exalted ancestors sustain'dLine 405

Th' Assyrian scepter. Now to Persia's throne A tributary lord he rul'd the vales, Where Tigris swift between the parted hills Of tall Niphátes draws its foaming tide, Impregnating the glebe. At once a croudLine 410 Of ardent Persians seize the conqu'ror's lance: An hundred arms infold it. Thespia's youth With one strong hand maintains the struggling spear, The other bares his falchion. Through his foes With lightning wing'd it scatters wounds and death. Artáphrenes in torture feels his armLine 416 Lopt from the shoulder. Zatis leaves his hand Yet twining round the long-disputed lance. On Pheron's neck descends the pond'rous blade; Down drops the sever'd head; the vital streamLine 420 Spouts from its purple sluices. Mardon strides Across the pointed ash. His weight o'ercomes

The wearied Grecian, who resigns his hold, Yet cleaves th' exulting Persian to the brain. But now the fierce Abrócomes approach'd,Line 425 And louring shakes his dart. The wary Greek With his broad buckler intercepts the stroke, And closes with the Persian. Then what aid Of mortal force, or interposing heav'n Preserv'd the eastern warrior? Lo! the friendLine 430 Of Teribazus eager to avenge His lov'd companion, and at once to guard A brother's life, beneath the sinewy arm That instant rais'd for slaughter plung'd his lance In Dithyrambus' side. The vital stringsLine 435 At once relax; nor Fame, nor Greece demand More from his valour, and supine he lies In glories ripen'd on his blooming head. Him shall the Thespian virgins in their songs Line 440

Record one loveliest of the youthful train,Line 440 The good, the gentle, generous, and brave; Now fall'n his country's grace, and parent's pride: So sinks the cedar, which in verdant bloom High on the top of Libanus had stood The mountain's boast, and glory of the grove;Line 445 Then to adorn the mansions of the great, Or dignify some God's high-vaulted fane Uprooted low'rs its heav'n-aspiring head. Diomedon bursts forward. Round his friend He heaps destruction. What a troop of ghostsLine 450 Attend thy shade, fall'n hero! Long unmatch'd Prevail'd his vengeful arm, and Persia bled; Till four Assyrians on his shelving lance, E'er yet extracted from a prostrate corse, Their pond'rous maces all discharge. It broke.Line 455 Yet with the truncheon of his shatter'd spear

The Greek sustains the contest. Through his eye The shiver'd fragment penetrates the brain Of one bold warriour; there the splintry wood Infix'd remains: the hero then unsheathsLine 460 His falchion broad; a second views aghast His entrails falling, while Plataea's chief From the gash'd belly draws his reeking sword: Prone sinks a third beneath the falchion's weight; Though with the furious stroke the yielding bladeLine 465 Flew from the hilt, and left the Greek disarm'd: The fourth that instant lifts his knotted mace; It falls resistless on the batter'd helm, And low the great Diomedon extends His mighty limbs. So weaken'd by the forceLine 470 Of some tremendous engine, which the hand Of Mars impells, a stately turret spreads Its disuniting ramparts on the plain;

Joy fills th' assailants, while the battle's tide Whelms o'er the widening breach. The Persians thus O'er the late-fear'd Diomedon had rush'd,Line 476 And swept the Greeks before them; when behold Leonidas! At once their ardour froze. He had a while within the orb retir'd, Oppress'd by labour. Now with strength restor'dLine 480 He pours fresh ruin from the Spartan front. As, long retarded by th' unmoving calm, Soon, as a rising gale fresh-breathing curls The surging main, again the vessel bounds With all her op'ning sails; the hero thusLine 485 His buckler huge, and formidable spear Advancing, through the Asian files renews His course of slaughter. Destiny compells The bold Hydarnes to th' unequal fight, Who proudly vaunting left his weeping brideLine 490

To mourn his absence on the distant verge Of Bactrian Ochus. Victory in vain He parting promis'd. Wanton hope no more Round his cold heart delusive sports, nor paints Th' imagin'd pomp of triumphs, gorgeous spoils,Line 495 And trains of shackled Greeks. The Spartan pierc'd His shield, and bursting corselet. From the slain The victor draws his iron-pointed spear Bent, and infeebled with the forceful blow. Meantime within his buckler's verge, unseenLine 500 Amphistreus stealing in th' unguarded flank His poniard struck. With swift effusion gush'd A crimson torrent, but the scaly mail Immediate death repell'd. Th' indignant king Gripes with resistless might the Persian's throat,Line 505 And drags him prostrate. None in Xerxes' court Was more corrupt, with insolence more base,

With rancour more fallacious. Phrygia pin'd Beneath th' oppression of his ruthless sway. Was there a field once fruitful, or a townLine 510 Once populous and rich? The horrid change To want and desolation there declar'd, The curs'd Amphistreus govern'd. As the spear Of Tyrian Cadmus riveted to earth The pois'nous dragon, whose infectious breathLine 515 Had blasted half Boeotia; so the chief Of Lacedaemon trampling on the neck Of fall'n Amphistreus fixes to the rock The gasping tyrant, and his broken lance Leaves in the panting corse. Meanwhile thy woundLine 520 Incessant flows, great hero, and augments The hopes of Persia. Thou unyielding still Sustain'st the contest, while unnumber'd darts Are shiver'd on thy buckler, and thy feet Line 525

With glitt'ring points bestrew; the Cholchian sword,Line 525 And Persian dagger leave their shatter'd hilts; Bent is the Caspian scymetar; in vain The Sacian wheels his falchion, and their mace The strong Chaldaeans and Assyrians raise: Thou stand'st unshaken, like a Thracian hill,Line 530 Like Rhodopé, or Haemus; where in vain The thund'rer plants his livid bolt, in vain The glancing lightning cleaves th' incrusted snow, And Winter beating with eternal war Shakes from his dreery wings discordant storms,Line 535 Chill sleet, and clatt'ring hail. But now advanc'd Abrocomes, and aim'd his deadly spear Against the forehead of Laconia's chief, Not unperceiv'd; the Spartan's active hand His sword opposing upward rears the blade Against the threatning javelin; o'er his crest

Its fury wastes in air, while swift descends The pond'rous falchion on the Persian's knee: At once the bone is sever'd; prone he falls; Crush'd on the ground beneath ten thousand feetLine 545 The gallant warriour breaths the last remains Of tortur'd life. The Spartan thus maintain'd Th' unequal combat with his single sword. But Agis calls Diéneces, alarms Demophilus, Megistias; they from heapsLine 550 Of Allarodian and Sasperian slain Haste to their leader, and before him raise The brazen bulwark of their massy shields. The foremost line of Asia stands and bleeds; The rest recoil: but Hyperanthes stridesLine 555 From rank to rank throughout his various host, Their dying hopes rekindles, in the brave Excites new valour, and the freezing heart

Of Fear revives. Astaspes first obey'd The hero's voice, a fierce Chaldaean lordLine 560 Vain of his birth from antient Belus drawn, Proud of his wealthy stores, and stately domes; But now more proud by conquest, since his might Had foil'd the strong Diomedon. He seeks The front of battle. His victorious maceLine 565 Against the brave Diéneces he bends; The weighty blow bore down th' opposing shield, And crush'd the Spartan's shoulder: idle hangs The buckler now, and loads th' inactive arm Depriv'd of all its functions. Agis baresLine 570 His vengeful blade, and severs from the foe His hand exalted for a second stroke. The dying fingers with convulsive grasp The falling mace infold. A Sacian chief Springs on the victor. Iäxartes' banksLine 575

To this brave savage gave his name and birth. His looks erect, and fierce deportment spoke A bold and gallant spirit, but untam'd, With dreery wilds familiar, and a race Of rude Barbarians horrid as their clime.Line 580 The hostile spear, against his forehead aim'd, Glanc'd upward, and o'erturn'd his iron cone: The blow renew'd his bursting chest divides. Th' undaunted Sacian writhes along the lance, Which griding passes through his breast and back,Line 585 A barbed arrow from his quiver draws, Deep in the streaming pap of Agis hides The deadly steel, then grimly smiles and dies. From him Fate hastens to a nobler prey; For lo! the brave Diéneces presentsLine 590 His breast obnoxious to a thousand darts. The shield deserts his unsustaining arm,

And slides to earth. A grove of javelins rose On his broad bosom. Still for ev'ry wound He hurl'd a Persian to th'infernal gloom;Line 595 But life at length forfook his riven heart, And o'er the rock the gasping hero stretch'd His dying limbs in gore. Who now can stand The torrent of Barbarians? Agis bleeds, His spear is irrecoverably plung'dLine 600 In Iäxartes' body. Low reclines Diéneces in gore. The Spartan chief Himself o'erlabour'd, of his lance disarm'd The rage of Death can exercise no more. One last and glorious effort age performs.Line 605 Demophilus, Megistias join their might, And stem the floods of conquest; while the spear Of slain Diéneces to Sparta's king The fainting Agis bore. The blazing steel Line 610

In that dire hand again for battle rear'dLine 610 Blasts all the Persian valour. Back in heaps They roll confounded, by their leader's voice In vain exhorted longer to endure The ceaseless waste of that unconquer'd arm. So, when the giants from Olympus chas'dLine 625 Th' inferiour Gods, themselves in terrour shun'd Th' incessant streams of lightning, when the hand Of heav'n's great father with eternal might Sustain'd the direful conflict. O'er the field Awhile Bellona stills the rage of war;Line 620 When Thespia's leader, and Megistias drop At either side of Lacedaemon's king. Beneath the weight of years and labour bend The hoary warriours. Not a groan molests Their parting spirits, but in death's calm night,Line 625 All-silent, bows each venerable head:

Like aged oaks, whose deep-descending roots Had pierc'd resistless through the mountain's side, And there for three long centuries had brav'd Each angry gust of Eurus, and the North;Line 630 Till, sapless now by Time's despoiling hand, Without a blast their mossy trunks recline Before their parent hill. By Sparta's chief None now remains but Agis, who implores The last kind office from his godlike friend,Line 635 The Sacian's arrow from his pap to draw. This done, life issues with the sanguine tide. Thy comely features, Agis, now are pale; Cold are thy graceful limbs, and dim thy eyes, Which now no more with placid beams revealLine 640 The native virtues of thy gentle breast. The noble corse Leonidas surveys. Fate yields him one short interval of peace

To know how lovely are the patriot's wounds, And see those honours grace the man, he lov'd.Line 645 But Hyperanthes with his single spear Forth from the trembling ranks of Asia tow'rs His country's glory to redeem, or fall. The Spartan worn by toil his languid arm Once more uplifting waits the dauntless prince.Line 650 The heroes now stood adverse. Each a while Restrain'd his valour, and his godlike foe Admiring view'd. Such majesty and strength To fierce Pelides all incircled round With Trojan dead; and such to Priam's sonLine 655 By struggling virtue, and by manly shame From flight recall'd, great Homer's fancy gave. O thou exalted o'er the laurel'd train High, as the sweet Calliope is thron'd Above each vigin of the tuneful hill;Line 660

Now let one beam of thy celestial light Dart through my lab'ring mind; lest Freedom mourn Her chosen son dishonour'd in these strains!

NOW Hyperanthes, and Laconia's king With brandish'd points, and targets high uprear'dLine 665 Commence the fatal combat, which must close The long-continu'd horrours of the day. Fix'd with amaze and fear, the Asian files Unmov'd and silent on their bucklers pause. Thus o'er th' expanse of India's wilds contendLine 670 The elephant, and horn'd rhinoceros; Earth groans beneath them, as with wrath untam'd Each hideous bulk in dire encounter meets: With distant terrour gaze the savage throng. Prolong'd by varied art, the dubious fightLine 675 The great event suspended. On the foe

His well-aim'd spear at last the Spartan drove, And pierc'd the shield. Inexorable fate That moment hover'd o'er the eastern prince, When with unmatch'd celerity asideLine 680 He swung his buckler; underneath his arm, Unstain'd with blood the hostile javelin pass'd: Meantime, with joy, and ardent hopes elate Of fame and conquest, sudden he impell'd His rapid lance against the Spartan's throat;Line 685 But he with wary skill his target rais'd, And o'er his shoulder turn'd the glancing steel; For one last effort then his scatter'd strength Recall'd, and wheeling with resistless force His massy buckler dash'd the brazen vergeLine 690 Against the Persian's forehead: down he sunk Without a groan expiring, as o'erwhelm'd

Beneath a marble fragment from its seat Heav'd by a whirlwind sweeping o'er the ridge Of some aspiring mansion. Gen'rous prince!Line 695 What could his valour more? His single might He match'd with great Leonidas, and fell Before his native bands. The Spartan chief Now stands alone. In heaps his slaughter'd friends All stretch'd around him lie. The distant foesLine 700 Show'r on his head innumerable darts. From various sluices gush the vital floods, And stain his fainting limbs. Nor yet with pain His brow is clouded, but those beauteous wounds, The sacred pledges of his own renown,Line 705 And Sparta's safety, with serenest joy His closing eye contemplates. Fame can twine No brighter laurels round his glorious head,

His virtue more to labour Fate forbids, And lays him now in honourable restLine 710 To seal his country's liberty in death.

End of the Ninth and Last Book.

ERRATA.

B.	2.	l.	130.	for sult'ry r. sultry.
			160.	for breasts r. hearts.
	3.		311.	332. 407. for poynard 4. poniard.
			553.	for, put.
			606.	after Greece put:
			611.	dele the full point
	4.		177.	for Pencestes r. Peucestes.
			375.	after loosen dele the comma.
	5.		393.	for from r. with.
	7.		170.	for, put.
	8.		52.	for trembling r. tumbling.
			252.	for enoble r. ennoble.