They now proceed. So mov'd the host of Heav'n On Phlegra's plains to meet the giant sons Of Earth and Titan. From Olympus march'd The deities embattled; while their king Tow'r'd in the front with thunder in his grasp. Thus through the streets of Lacedæmon pass'd Leonidas. Before his footsteps bow The multitude, exulting. Rever'd. Unsated, their enraptur'd sight Pursues his graceful stature, and their tongues Extol and hail him as their guardian god. Firm in his nervous hand he gripes the spear. Low, as the ankles, from his shoulders hangs The massy shield; and o'er his burnish'd helm The purple plumage nods. Harmonious youths, Around whose brows entwining laurels play, In lofty-sounding strains his praise record; While snowy-finger'd virgins all the way Bestrew with od'rous garlands. Now his breast Is all possess'd by glory, which dispell'd Whate'er of grief remain'd, or vain regret For those he left behind. The rev'rend train Of Lacedæmon's senate last appear To take their final, solemn leave, and grace Their hero's parting steps. Around him flow In civil pomp their venerable robes,
Mix'd with the blaze of arms. The shining troop Of warriors press behind him, Maron here With Menalippus warm in flow'ry prime, There Agis, there Megistias, and the chief, Dieneces. Laconia's dames ascend The loftiest mansions; thronging o'er the roofs, Applaud their sons, their husbands, as they march: So parted Argo from th' Iölchian strand To plough the foaming surge. Thessalia's nymphs, Rang'd on the cliffs, o'ershading Neptune's face, Still on the distant vessel fix'd their eyes Admiring, still in pæans bless'd the helm, By Greece entrusted with her chosen sons For high adventures on the Colchian shore. Swift on his course Leonidas proceeds. Soon is Eurotas pass'd, and Lerna's bank, Where his victorious ancestor subdu'd The many-headed Hydra, and the lake
To endless fame consign'd. Th' unweary'd bands Next through the pines of Mænalus he led, And down Partheuius urg'd the rapid toil. Six days incessant was their march pursu'd, When to their ear the hoarse-resounding waves Beat on the isthmus. Here the tents are spread. Below the wide horizon then the Sun
Had dipp'd his beamy locks. The queen of night Gleam'd from the centre of th' ethereal vault, And o'er the raven plumes of darkness shed Her placid light. Leonidas detains Dieneces and Agis. Open stands The tall pavilion, and admits the Moon. As here they sit conversing, from the hill, Which rose before them, one of noble port Is seen descending. Lightly down the slope He treads. He calls aloud. They heard, they knew The voice of Alpheus, whom the king address'd. "O thou, with swiftness by the gods endu'd To match the ardour of thy daring soul, What from the isthmus draws thee? Do the Greeks Neglect to arm and face the public foe?"
"Good news give wings," said Alpheus. "Greece
The neighb'ring isthmus holds th' Arcadian bands. From Mantinea, Diophantus leads
Five hundred spears; nor less from Tegea's walls With Hegesauder move. A thousand more, Who in Orchomenus reside, and range Along Parrhasius, or Cyllene's brow; Who near the foot of Erymanthus dwell, Or on Alphean banks, with various chiefs Expect thy presence. Most is Clonius fam'd, Of stature huge, unshaken rock of war. Four hundred warriors brave Alcmæon draws From stately Corinth's tow'rs. Two hundred march From Phlius. Them Eupalamus commands. An equal number of Mycena's race Aristobulus heads. Through fear alone
Of thee, and threat'ning Greece, the Thebans arm. A few in Thebes authority and rule Usurp. Corrupted with Barbarian gold, They quench the gen'rous, eleutherian flame In ev'ry heart. The eloquent they bribe. By specious tales the multitude they cheat, Establishing base measures on the plea Of public safety. Others are immers'd In all the sloth of plenty, who, unmov'd In shameful ease, behold the state betray'd. Aw'd by thy name, four hundred took the field. The wily Anaxander is their chief
With Leontiades. To see their march
I staid, then hasten'd to survey the straits, Which thou shalt render sacred to renown.
"For ever mingled with a crumbling soil, Which moulders round th' indented Malian coast, The sea rolls slimy. On a solid rock, Which forms the inmost limit of a bay, Thermopyla is stretch'd. Where broadest spread, It measures threescore paces, bounded here By the salt ooze, which underneath presents A dreary surface; there the lofty cliffs Of woody'd Eta overlook the pass, Aud far beyond o'er half the surge below Their horrid umbrage cast. Across the mouth An ancient bulwark of the Phocians stands, A wall with gates and tow'rs. The Locrian force Was marching forward. Them I pass'd to greet Demophilus of Thespia, who had pitch'd Seven hundred spears before th' important fence. His brother's son attends the rev'rend chief, Young Dithyrambus. He for noble deeds, Yet more for temperance of mind renown'd, In early bloom with brightest honours shines Nor wantons in the blaze." Here Agis spake.
"Well hast thou painted that illustrious youth. He is my host at Thespia. Though adorn'd With various wreaths, by Fame, by Fortune bless'd, His gentle virtues take from Envy's lips Their blasting venom; and her baneful eye Strives on his worth to smile." In silence all Again remain, when Alpheus thus proceeds. "Platæa's chosen veterans I saw,
Small in their number, matchless in their fame, Diomedon the leader. Keen his sword At Marathon was felt, where Asia bled. These guard Thermopyla. Among the hills, Unknown to strangers, winds an upper strait, Which by a thousand Phocians is secur'd.
"Ere these brave Greeks I quitted, in the bay A stately chieftain of th' Athenian fleet Arriv'd. I join'd him. Copious in thy praise He utter'd rapture, but austerely blam'd Laconia's tardy counsels; while the ships Of Athens long had stemm'd Eubœan tides, Which flow not distant from our future post.
This was the far-fam'd Æschylus, by Mars, By Phoebus lov'd. Parnassus him proclaims The first of Attic poets, him the plains Of Marathon a soldier, try'd in arms."
"Well may Athenians murmur," said the king. "Too long hath Sparta slumber'd on her shield. By morn beyond the isthmus we will spread A gen'rous banner. In Laconian strains Of Aleman and Terpander lives the fame Of our forefathers. Let our deeds attract The brighter Muse of Athens in the song Of Eschylus divine. Now frame thy choice. Share in our fate; or, hast'ning home, report, How much already thy discerning mind, Thy active limbs have merited from me, How serv'd thy country." From th' impatient lips Of Alpheus swift these fervid accents broke.
"I have not measur'd such a tract of land, Have not, untir'd, beheld the setting Sun, Nor through the shade of midnight urg'd my steps To animate the Grecians, that myself Might be exempt from warlike toil, or death. Return? Ah! no. A second time my speed Shall visit thee, Thermopylæ. My limbs Shall at thy side, Leonidas, obtain An honourable grave. And oh! amid His country's perils if a Spartan breast May feel a private sorrow, fierce revenge I seek not only for th' insulted state,
But for a brother's wrongs. A younger hope Than I, and Maron, bless'd our father's years, Child of his age, and Polydorus nam'd. His mind, while tender in his op'ning prime, Was bent to strenuous virtue. Gen'rous scorn Of pain or danger, taught his early strength To struggle patient with severest toils. Oft, when inclement winter chill'd the air, When frozen show'rs had swoln Eurotus' stream, Amid th' impetuous channel would he plunge To breast the torrent. On a fatal day, As in the sea his active limbs he bath'd, A savage corsair of the Persian king My brother naked and defenceless bore, Ev'n in my sight, to Asia; there to waste With all the promise of its growing worth His youth in bondage. Tedious were the tale, Should I recount my pains, my father's woes, The days he wept, the sleepless nights he beat His aged bosom. And shall Alpheus' spear Be absent from Thermopylæ, nor claim, O Polydorus, vengeance for thy wrongs In that first slaughter of the barb'rous foe?" Here interpos'd Dieneces. Their hands He grasp'd, and cordial transport thus express'd. "O that Lycurgus from the shades might rise To praise the virtue, which his laws inspire!"
Thus till the dead of night these heroes pass'd The hours in friendly converse, and enjoy'd Each other's virtue. Happiest of men! At length with gentle heaviness the pow'r Of sleep invades their eyelids, and constrains Their magnanimity and zeal to rest: When, sliding down the hemisphere, the Moon Immers'd in midnight shade her silver head.
Leonidas on his approach to the isthmus is met by the leaders of the troops, sent from other Grecian states, and by the deputies who composed the isthmian council. He harangues them; then proceeds in conjunction with these forces towards Thermopyla. On the first day he is joined by Dithyrambus; on the third he reaches a valley in Locris, where he is entertained by Oïleus, the public host, of the Lacedæmonian state; and the next morning is accompanied by him in a car to the temple of Pan: he finds Medon there, the son of Oïleus, and commander of two thousand Locrians, already posted at Thermopyla, and by him is informed, that the army of Xerxes is in sight of the pass.
AURORA Spreads her purple beams around, When move the Spartans. Their approach is known. The isthmian council, and the diff'rent chiefs, Who lead th' auxiliar bands, advance to meet Leonidas; Eupalamus the strong, Alcmæon, Clonius, Diophantus brave With Hegesander. At their head is seen Aristobulus, whom Mycena's ranks Obey, Mycena once august in pow'r, In splendid wealth, and vaunting still the name Of Agamemnon. To Laconia's king The chieftain spake. "Leonidas, survey Mycena's race. Should ev'ry other Greek Be aw'd by Xerxes, and his eastern host, Believe not, we can fear, deriv'd from those, Who once conducted o'er the foaming surge The strength of Greece; who desert left the fields Of ravag'd Asia, and her proudest walls From their foundations levell'd to the ground." Leonidas replies not, but his voice Directs to all. "Illustrious warriors, hail! Who thus undaunted signalize your faith, Your gen'rous ardour in the common cause. But you, whose counsels prop the Grecian state, O venerable synod, who consign
To our protecting sword the gate of Greece, Thrice hail! Whate'er by valour we obtain, Your wisdom must preserve. With piercing eyes Contemplate ev'ry city, and discern
Their various tempers. Some with partial care To guard their own, neglect the public weal. Unmov'd and cold are others. Terrour here, Corruption there presides. O fire the brave To gen'ral efforts in the gen'ral cause. Confirm the wav'ring. Animate the cold, The timid. Watch the faithless. Some betray Themselves and Greece. Their perfidy prevent, Or call them back to honour. Let us all
Be link'd in sacred union, and this land May face the world's whole multitude in arms. If for the spoil, by Paris borne to Troy,
A thousand keels the Hellespont o'erspread;
Shall not again confederated Greece. Be rous'd to battle, and to freedom give What once she gave to fame? Behold, we haste
To stop th' invading tyrant. Till we fall, He shall not pour his myriads on your plains. But as the gods conceal, how long our strength May stand unvanquish'd, or how soon may yield; Waste not a moment, till consenting Greece Range all her free-born numbers in the field." Leonidas concluded. Awful stepp'd Before the sage assembly one supreme And old in office, who address'd the king.
"Thy bright example ev'ry heart unites. From thee her happiest omens Greece derives Of concord, safety, liberty, and fame. Go then, O first of mortals, go, impress Amaze and terrour on the barb'rous host; The free-born Greeks instructing life to deem Less dear than honour, and their country's cause." This heard, Leonidas, thy secret soul, Exulting, tasted of the sweet reward
Due to thy name through endless time. Once more His eyes he turn'd, and view'd in rapt'rous thought His native land, which he alone can save; Then summon'd all his majesty, and o'er The isthmus trod. The phalanx moves behind In deep arrangement. So th' imperial ship With stately bulk along the heaving tide In military pomp conducts the pow'r Of some proud navy, bounding from the port To bear the vengeance of a mighty state Against a tyrant's walls. Till sultry noon They march; when halting, as they take repast, Across the plain before them they descry A troop of Thespians. One above the rest In eminence precedes. His glitt❜ring shield, Whose gold-emblazon'd orb collects the beams, Cast by meridian Phœbus from his throne, Flames like another Sun. A snowy plume, With wanton curls disporting in the breeze, Floats o'er his dazzling casque. On nearer view, Beneath the radiant honours of his crest A countenance of youth in rosy prime, And manly sweetness, won the fix'd regard Of each beholder. With a modest grace
He came respectful tow'rd the king, and show'd, That all ideas of his own desert Were sunk in veneration.
Of light salutes his empyreal sire; When from his altar in th' embow'ring grove Of palmy Delos, or the hallow'd bound Of Tenedos, or Claros, where he hears
In hymns his praises from the sons of men,, He reascends the high Olympian seats: Such reverential homage on his brow, O'ershading, softens his effulgent bloom With loveliness and grace. The king receives Th' illustrious Thespian thus. “ My willing tongue Would style thee Dithyrambus. Thou dost bear All in thy aspect to become that name, Renown'd for worth and valour. Thy birth, thy charge. Whoe'er thou art, my soul Desires to know thee, and would call thee friend." To him the youth. O bulwark of our weal, My name is Dithyrambus; which the lips Of some benevolent, some gen'rous friend To thee have sounded in a partial strain, And thou hast heard with favour. In thy sight I stand, deputed by the Thespian chief, The Theban, Locrian, by the fam'd in war, Diomedon, to hasten thy approach.
Three days will bring the hostile pow'rs in view." He said. The ready standards are uprear'd.
By zeal enforc'd, till ev'ning shadows fall, The march continues, then by day-spring sweeps The earliest dews. The van, by Agis led, Displays the grisly face of battle rough With spears, obliquely trail'd in dreadful length Along th' indented way. Beside him march'd His gallant Thespian host. The centre boasts Leonidas the leader, who retains
The good Megistias near him. In the rear Dieneces commanded, who in charge Kept Menalippus, offspring of his friend, For these instructions. "Let thine eye, young man, Dwell on the order of our varying march; As champaign, valley, mountain, or defile Require a change. The eastern tyrant thus Conducts not his barbarians, like the sands In number. Yet the discipline of Greece They will encounter feeble, as the sands, Dash'd on a rock, and scatter'd in their fall."
To him th' inquiring youth. "The martial tread, The flute's slow warble, both in just accord, Entrance my senses; but let wonder ask, Why is that tender vehicle of sound Preferr'd in war by Sparta? Other Greeks To more sonorous music rush in fight."
"Son of my friend," Dieneces rejoins, "Well dost thou note. I praise thee. Sparta's law With human passions, source of human woes, Maintains perpetual strife. She sternly curbs Our infant hearts, till passion yields its seat To principle and order. Music too,
By Spartans lov'd, is temper'd by the law; Still to her plan subservient melts in notes, Which cool and soothe, not irritate and warm. Thus by habitual abstinence, apply'd To ev'ry sense, suppressing Nature's fire, By modes of duty, not by ardour sway'd, O'er each impetuous enemy abroad, At home o'er vice and pleasure we prevail." "O might I merit a Laconian name!" The Arcanian answer'd. "But explain, What is the land we traverse? What the hill, Whose parted summit in a spacious void Admits a bed of clouds? And gracious tell, Whose are those suits of armour, which I see Borne by two Helots?" At the questions pleas'd, Dieneces continues. "Those belong
To Alpheus and his brother. Light of foot They, disencumber'd, all at large precede This pond'rous band. They guide a troop of slaves, Our missile-weapon'd Helots, to observe, Provide, forewarn, and obstacles remove. This tract is Phocis. That divided hill Is fam'd Parnassus. Thence the voice divine Was sent by Phoebus, summoning to death The king of Sparta. From his fruitful blood A crop will spring of victory to Greece." "And these three hundred high in birth and rank, All citizens of Sparta" cries the youth. They all must bleed," Dieneces subjoins, "All with their leader. So the law decrees." To him with earnest looks the gen'rous youth. "Wilt thou not place me in that glorious hour Close to thy buckler? Gratitude will brace Thy pupil's arm to manifest the force Of thy instruction."-" Menalippus, no," Return'd the chief. "Not thou of Spartan breed, Nor call'd to perish. Thou unwedded too Wouldst leave no race behind thee. Live to praise, Live to enjoy our salutary fall.
Reply is needless. See, the Sun descends. The army halts. I trust thee with a charge, Son of Megistias. In my name command Th' attendant Helots to erect our camp. We pitch our tents in Locris." Quick the youth His charge accomplish'd. From a gen'rous meal, Where, at the call of Alphens, Locris shower'd Her Amalthean plenty on her friends, The fated warriors soon in slumber lose The memory of toil. His watchful round Dieneces with Menalippus takes.
The Moon rode high and clear. Her light benign To their pleas'd eyes a rural dwelling show'd, All unadorn'd, but seemly. Either side Was fenc'd by trees high-shadowing. The front Look'd on a crystal pool, by feather'd tribes At ev'ry dawn frequented. From the springs A small redundance fed a shallow brook, O'er smoothest pebbles rippling just to wake, Not startle Silence, and the ear of Night Entice to listen undisturb'd. Around, The grass was cover'd by reposing sheep, Whose drowsy guard no longer bay'd the Moon. The warriors stopp'd, contemplating the seat Of rural quiet. Suddenly a swain Steps forth.
His fingers touch the breathing reed. Uprise the fleecy train. Each faithful dog Is rous'd. All heedful of the wonted sound Their known conductor follow. Slow behind Th' observing warriors move.
Ere long they reach A broad and verdant circle, thick enclos'd With birches straight and tall, whose glossy rind Is clad in silver from Diana's car.
The ground was holy, and the central spot An altar bore to Pan. Beyond the orb
Of skreening trees th' external circuit swarm'd With sheep and beeves, each neighb'ring hamlet's wealth
Collected. Thither soon the swain arriv'd, Whom, by the name of Melibus hail'd, A peasant throng surrounded. As their chief, He nigh the altar to his rural friends Address'd these words. "O sent from diff'rent lords With contribution to the public wants, Time presses. God of peasants, bless our course! Speed to the slow-pac'd ox, for once impart ! That o'er these vaļlies, cool'd by dewy night, We to our summons true, ere noontide blaze, May join Oileus, and his praise obtain."
He ceas'd. To rustic madrigals and pipes, Combin'd with bleating notes, and tinkling bells, With clamour shrill from busy tongues of dogs, Or hollow-sounding from the deep-mouth'd ox, Along the valley herd and flock are driv'n Successive, halting oft to harmless spoil Of flow'rs and herbage, springing in their sight. While Melibœus marshall'd with address The inoffensive host, unseen in shades Dieneces applauded, and the youth Of Menalippus caution'd. "Let no word Impede the careful peasant. On his charge Depends our welfare. Diligent and staid He suits his godlike master. Thou wilt see That righteous hero soon. Now sleep demands Our debt to nature. On a carpet dry
Of moss beneath a wholesome beech they lay, Arm'd as they were. Their slumber short retires With night's last shadow. At their warning rous'd, The troops proceed. Th' admiring eye of youth In Menalippus caught the morning rays
To guide its travel o'er the landscape wide Of cultivated hillocks, dales, and lawns, Where mansions, hamlets interpos'd; where domes Rose to their gods through consecrated shades. He then exclaims. "O say, can Jove devote These fields to ravage, those abodes to flames?" The Spartan answers. "Ravage, sword, and fire Must be endur'd, as incidental ills.
Suffice it, these invaders, soon or late, Will leave this soil more fertile by their blood With spoils abundant to rebuild the fanes. Precarious benefits are these, thou seest, So fram'd by Heav'n; but virtue is a good, No foe can spoil, and lasting to the grave." Beside the public way an oval fount Of marble sparkled with a silver spray Of falling rills, collected from above. The army halted, and their hollow casques Dipp'd in the limpid stream. Behind it rose An edifice, compos'd of native roots, And oaken trunks of knotted girth unwrought. Within were beds of moss. Old, batter'd arms Hung from the roof. The curious chiefs approach. These words, engraven on a tablet rude, Megistias reads; the rest in silence hear. "Yon marble fountain, by Oileus plac'd, To thirsty lips in living water flows; For weary steps he fram'd this cool retrea; A grateful off'ring here to rural peace, His dinted shield, his helmet he resign'd. O passenger, if born to noble deeds Thou wouldst obtain perpetual grace from Jove, Devote thy vigour to heroic toils,
And thy decline to hospitable cares.
Rest here; then seek Oileus in his vale."
"O Jove," burst forth Leonidas, "thy grace Is large and various. Length of days and bliss To him thon giv'st, to me a shorten'd term, Nor yet less happy. Grateful we confess Thy diff'rent bounties, measur'd full to both. Come let us seek Oïleus in his vale."
The word is giv'n. The heavy phalanx moves. The light-pac'd Helots long, ere inorning dawn'd, Had recommenc'd their progress They o'ertook Blithe Melibus in a spacious vale, The fruitfullest in Locris, ere the Sun Shot forth his noontide beams. On either side A surface scarce perceptibly ascends. Luxuriant vegetation crowds the soil
With trees close-rang'd and mingling. Rich the loads Of native fruitage to the sight reveal Their vig'rous nurture. There the flushing peach, The apple, citron, almond, pear, and date, Pomegranates, purple mulberry, and fig, From interlacing branches mix their hues And scents, the passenger's delight; but leave In the mid-vale a pasture long and large, Exuberant in vivid verdure cropp'd
By herds, by flocks innum'rous. Neighb'ring knolls Are speckled o'er with cots, whose humble roofs To herdsmen, shepherds, and laborious hinds Once yielded rest unbroken, till the name Of Xerxes shook their quiet. Yet this day Was festive. Swains and damsels, youth and age, From toil, from home enlarg'd, disporting, fill'd Th' enliven'd meadow. Under ev'ry shade A hoary minstrel sat; the maidens danc'd; Flocks bleated; oxen low'd; the horses neigh'd; With joy the vale resounded; terrour fled; Leonidas was nigh. The welcome news
By Melibus, hast'ning to his lord, Was loudly told. The Helots too appear'd. While with his brother Alpheus thus discours'd. "In this fair valley old Oïleus dwells, The first of Locrians, of Laconia's state The public host. Yon large pavilions mark. They promise welcome. Thither let us bend, There tell our charge." This said, they both ad-
A hoary band receives them. One, who seem'd In rank, in age superior, wav'd his hand To Melibus, standing near, and spake.
"By this my faithful messenger I learn, That you are friends. Nor yet th' invader's foot Hath pass'd our confines. Else, o'ercast by time, My sight would scarce distinguish friend, or foe, A Grecian, or Barbarian." Alpheus then.
"We come from Lacedæmon, of our king Leonidas forerunners."-" Is he nigh?" The cordial senior tenderly exclaims. "I am Oileus. Him a beardless boy I knew in Lacedæmon. Twenty years Are since elaps'd. He scarce remembers me. But I will feast him, as becomes my zeal, Him and his army. You, my friends, repose." They sit. He still discourses. "Spartan guests, In me an aged soldier you behold. From Ajax, fam'd in Agamemnon's war, Oilean Ajax, flows my vital stream, Unmix'd with his presumption. I have borne The highest functions in the Locrian state, Not with dishonour. Self-dismiss'd, my age 1 Hath in this valley on my own demesne Liv'd tranquil, not recluse. My comrades these, Old magistrates and warriors like myself, Releas'd from public care, with me retir'd To rural quiet. Through our last remains Of time in sweet garrulity we slide, Recounting pass'd achievements of our prime ; Nor wanting lib'ral means for lib'ral deeds, Here bless'd, here blessing, we reside. These flocks, These herds and pastures, these our num'rous hinds, And poverty, hence exil'd, may divulge Our generous abundance. We can spread A banquet for an army. By the state Once more entreated, we accept a charge, To age well-suited. By our watchful care The goddess Plenty in your tents shall dwell."
He scarce had finish'd, when the ensigns broad Of Lacedæmon's phalanx down the vale Were seen to wave, unfolding at the sound Of flutes, soft-warbling in th' expressive mood Of Dorian sweetness, unadorn'd. Around, In notes of welcome ev'ry shepherd tun'd
"Thrice bail! Oileus, Sparta's noble host. Thou art of old acquainted with her sons, Their laws, their manners. Musical, as brave, Train'd to delight in smooth Terpander's lay, In Alcman's Dorian measure, we enjoy In thy melodious vale th' unlabour'd strains Of rural pipes, to nightingales attun'd. Our heart-felt gladness deems the golden age Subsisting, where thou governst. Still these tones Of joy continu'd may thy dwellings hear! Still may this plenty, unmolested, crown The favour'd district! May thy rev'rend dust Have peaceful shelter in thy father's tomb ! Kind Heav'n, that merit to my sword impart!" By joy uplifted, forth Oileus broke. "Thou dost recall me then! O sent to guard These fruits from spoil, these hoary locks from Permit thy weary'd soldiers to partake [shame, Of Locrian plenty. Enter thou my tents, Thon and thy captains. I salute them all." The hero full of dignity and years, Once bold in action, placed now in ease, Ev'n by his look, benignly cast around, Gives lassitude relief. With native grace, With heart-effus'd complacency, the king Accepts the lib'ral welcome; while his troops, To relaxation and repast dismiss'd,
Pitch on the wounded green their bristling spears. Still is the evening. Under chesnut shades With interweaving poplars spacious stands A well-fram'd tent. There calm the heroes sit, The genial board enjoy, and feast the mind On sage discourse; which thus Oïleus clos'd.
"Behold, Night lifts her signal to invoke That friendly god, who owns the drowsy wand. To Mercury this last libation flows. Farewell till morn." They separate, they sleep All, but Oileus, who forsakes the tent.
On Melibus in these words he calls. [swain. Approach my faithful friend." To him the "Thy bondman hears thy call." The chief replies Loud for the gath'ring peasantry to heed.
"Come, Melibus, it is surely time, That my repeated gift, the name of friend, Thou shouldst accept. The name of bondman
My ear. Be free. No longer, best of men, Reject that boon, nor let my feeble head, To thee a debtor, as to gracious Heav'n, Descend and sleep unthankful in the grave. Though yielding nature daily feels decay; Thou dost prevent all care. The gods estrange Pain from my pillow, have secur'd my breast From weeds too oft in aged soils profuse,
His sprightly reed. The damsels show'd their hair, From self-tormenting petulance and pride,
Diversify'd with flowrets. Garlands gay, Rush-woven baskets, glowing with the dies Of amaranths, of jasmin, roses, pinks, And violets they carry, tripping light Before the steps of grimly-featur'd Mars To blend the smiles of Flora with his frown. Leonidas they chant in sylvan lays,
Him the defender of their meads and groves, Him more than Pan a guardian to their flocks. While Philomela, in her poplar shade Awaken'd, strains her emulating throat, And joins with liquid trills the swelling sounds. Behold, Oileus and his ancient train Accost Laconia's king, whose looks and words Confess remembrance of the Locrian chief.
From jealousy and envy at the fame Of younger men. Leonidas will dim My former lustre, as that silver orb Outshines the meanest star; and I rejoice. O Melibæus, these elect of Jove To certain death advance. Immortal pow'rs! How social, how endearing is their speech! How flow in lib'ral cheerfulness their hearts! To such a period verging men like these Age well may envy, and that envy take The genuine shape of virtue. Let their span Of earthly being, while it lasts, contain Each earthly joy. Till bless'd Elysium spread Her ever-blooming, inexhausted stores To their glad sight, be mine the grateful task
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