To drain my plenty. From the vaulted caves
Our vessels large of well-fermented wine,
From all our gran'ries lift the treasur'd corn.
Go, load the groaning axles. Nor forget
With garments new to greet Melissa's nymphs.
To her a triple change of vestments bear
With twenty lambs, and twenty speckled kids.
Be it your care, my peasants, some to aid
Him your director, others to select
Five hundred oxen, thrice a thousand sheep,
Of lusty swains a thousand. Let the Morn,
When first she blushes, see my will perform'd."
They heard. Their lord's injunctions to fulfil
Was their ambition. He, unresting, mounts
A ready car. The coursers had enroll'd
His name in isthmian and Nemean games.
By moonlight, floating on the splendid reins,
He o'er the busy vale intent is borne
From place to place, o'erlooks, directs, forgets
That he is old. Meantime the shades of night,
Retiring, wake Dieneces. He gives
The word. His pupil seconds, Ev'ry band
Is arm'd. Day opens. Sparta's king appears.
Oileus greets him. In his radiant car
The senior stays reluctant; but his guest
So wills in Spartan reverence to age,
Then spake the Locrian. "To assist thy camp
A chosen band of peasants I detach,
I trust thy valour. Doubt not thou my care;
Nor doubt that swain." Oïleus, speaking, look'd
On Melibus. "Skilful he commands
These hinds. Him wise, him faithful I have prov'd
More, than Eumæus to Laertes' son.
To him th' Etæan woods, their devious tracks
Are known, each rill and fountain, Near the pass
Two thousand Locrians wilt thou find encamp'd,
My eldest born their leader, Medon nam'd,
Well exercis'd in arms. My daughter dwells
On Eta. Sage Melissa she is call'd,
Enlighten'd priestess of the tuneful Nine.
She haply may accost thee. Thou wilt lend
An ear. Not fruitless are Melissa's words,
Now, servants, bring the sacred wine." Obey'd,
He, from his seat uprising, thus proceeds.
"Lo! from this chalice a libation pure
To Mars, to Grecian liberty and laws,
To their protector, eleutherian Jove,
To his nine daughters, who record the brave,
To thy renown, Leonidas, I pour;
And take an old man's benediction too."
He stopp'd. Affection, struggling in his heart,
Burst forth again. "Illustrious guest, afford
Another hour. That slender space of time
Yield to my sole possession. While the troops,
Already glitt'ring down the dewy vale,
File through its narrow'd outlet; near my side
Deign to be carry'd, and my talk endure."
The king, well-pleas'd, ascends. Slow move
the steeds
Behind the rear. Oïleus grasps his hand,
Then in the fulness of his soul pursues.
"Thy veneration for Laconia's laws
That I may strengthen, may to rapture warm,
Hear me display the melancholy fruits
Of lawless will. When o'er the Lydian plains
Th' innumerable tents of Xerxes spread,
His vassal, Pythius, who in affluent means
Surpasses me, as that Barbarian prince
Thou dost in virtue, entertain'd the host,
And proffer'd all his treasures, These the king
VOL. XVII '
Refusing, ev'n augmented from his own.
An act of fancy, not habitual grace,
A sparkling vapour through the regal gloom
Of cruelty and pride. He now prepar'd
To march from Sardis, when with humble tears
The good old man besought him. Let the king
Propitious hear a parent. In thy train
I have five sons, Ah! leave my eldest born,
Thy future vassal, to sustain my age!'
"The tyrant fell reply'd. Presumptuous man,
Who art my slave, in this tremendous war,
Is not my person hazarded, my race,
My consort? Former merit saves from death
Four of thy offspring. Him, so dearly priz'd,
Thy folly hath destroy'd.' His body straight
Was hewn asunder. By the public way
On either side a bleeding half was cast,
And millions pass'd between. O Spartan king,
Taught to revere the sanctity of laws,
The acts of Xerxes with thy own compare,
His fame with thine. The curses of mankind
Give him renown. He marches to destroy,
But thou to save. Behold the trees are bent,
Each eminence is loaded thick with crowds,
From cots, from ev'ry hamlet pour'd abroad,
To bless thy steps, to celebrate thy praise.'
Ofttimes the king his decent brow inclin'd,
Mute and obsequious to an elder's voice,
Which through th' instructed ear, unceasing, flow'd
In eloquence and knowledge. Scarce an hour
Was fled. The narrow dale was left behind.
A causeway broad disclos'd an ancient pile
Of military fame. A trophy large,
Compact with crested morions, targets rude,
With spears and corselets, dimm'd by eating age,
Stood near a lake pellucid, smooth, profound,
Of circular expanse; whose bosom show'd
A green-slop'd island, figur'd o'er with flow'rs,
And from its centre lifting high to view
A marble chapel, on the massy strength
Of Doric columns rais'd. A full-wrought frieze
Display'd the sculptor's art. In solemn pomp
Of obelisks, and busts, and story'd urns,
Sepulchral mansions of illustrious dead
Were scatter'd round, o'ercast with shadows black
Of yew and cypress. In a serious note
Oïleus, pointing, opens new discourse.
"Beneath yon turf my ancestors repose.
Oïlean Ajax singly was depriv'd
Of fun'ral honours there. With impious lust
He stain'd Minerva's temple. From the gulf
Of briny waters by their god preserv'd,
That god he brav'd. He lies beneath a rock,
By Neptune's trident in his wrath o'erturn'd.
Shut from Elysium for a hundred years,
The hero's ghost bewail'd his oozy tomb.
A race more pious on th' Oïlean house
Felicity have drawn. To ev'ry god
I owe my bliss, my early fame to Pan.
Once on the margin of that silent pool
In their nocturnal camp Barbarians lay,
Awaiting morn to violate the dead,
My youth was fir'd. I summon'd from their cots
A rustic host. We sacrific'd to Pan,
Assail'd th' unguarded ruffians in his name.
He with his terrours smote their yielding hearts,
Not one surviv'd the fury of our swains.
Rich was the pillage. Hence that trophy rose;
Of costly blocks constructed, hence that fane,
Inscrib'd to Pan th' armipotent. O king,
Be to an old man's vanity benign.
This frowning emblem of terrific war
Proclaims the ardour and exploits of youth.
This to Barbarian strangers, ent'ring Greece,
Shows what I was. The marble fount, thou saw'st,
Of living water, whose transparent flow
Reliev'd thy march in yester sultry Sun,
The cell, which offer'd rest on beds of moss,
Show what I am; to Grecian neighbours show
The hospitality of age. O Age,
Where are thy graces, but in lib'ral deeds,
In bland deportment? Would thy furrow'd cheeks
Lose the deformity of time? Let smiles
Dwell in thy wrinkles. Then, rever'd by youth,
Thy feeble steps will find"......Abruptly here
He paus'd. A manly warrior full in sight
Beside the trophy on his target lean'd,
Unknown to Sparta's leader, who address'd
His rev'rend host. "Thou pausest. Let me ask,
Whom do I see, resembling in his form
A demigod?" In transport then the sage.
"It is my son, discover'd by his shield,
Thy brave auxiliar, Medon. He sustains
My ancient honours in his native state,
Which kindly chose my offspring to replace
Their long-sequester'd chief. Heart-winning guest!
My life, a tide of joy, which never knew
A painful ebb, beyond its wonted mark
Flows in thy converse. Could a wish prevail,
My long and happy course should finish here."
The chariot rested. Medon now approach'd,
Saluting thus Leonidas. "O king
Of warlike Sparta, Xerxes' host in sight
Begin to spread their multitude, and fill
The spacious Malian plain." The king replies.
"Accept, illustrious messenger, my thanks.
With such a brave assistant, as the son
Of great Oileus, more assur'd I go
When calling slumber to a virtuous eye,
Watch o'er my venerable friend. Thy balm
He wants, exhausted by his love to me.
Sweet sleep, thou soft'nest that intruding pang,
Which gen'rous breasts, so parting, must admit."
He said, embark'd, relanded. To his side
Inviting Medon, he rejoin'd the host.
Leonidas arrives at Thermopyla about noon on the fourth day after his departure from the isthmus. He is received by Demophilus, the commander of Thespia, and by Anaxander the Theban, treacherously recommending Epialtes, a Malian, who seeks by a pompous description of the Persian power to intimidate the Grecian leaders, as they are viewing the enemy's camp from the top of mount Eta. He is answered by Dieneces and Diomedon. Xerxes sends Tygranes and Phraortes to the Grecian camp, who are dismissed by Leonidas, and conducted back by Dithyrambus and Diomedon; which last, incensed at the arrogance of Tygranes, treats him with contempt and menaces. This occasions a challenge to single combat between Diomedon and Tygranes, Dithyrambus and Phraortes. Epialtes, after a conference with Anaxander, declares his intention of returning to Xerxes. Leonidas dispatches Agis with Melibus, a faithful slave of Oïleus, and high in the estimation of his lord, to view a body of Phocians, who had been posted at a distance from Thermopyle for the defence of another pass in mount Œta.
Thence the eye Now in the van Leonidas appears,
To face those numbers." With his godlike friend
The father, now dismounting from his car,
Embraces Medon. In a sliding bark
They all are wafted to the island fane,
Erected by Oileus, and enrich'd
With his engrav'd achievements.
Of Sparta's gen'ral, in extensive scope
Contemplates each battalion, as they wind
Along the pool; whose limpid face reflects
Their weapons, glist'ning in the early sun.
Them he to Pan armipotent commends,
His favour thus invoking. "God, whose pow'r
By rumour vain, or Echo's empty voice
Can sink the valiant in desponding fear,
Can disarray whole armies, smile on these,
Thy worshippers. Thy own Arcadians guard.
Through thee Oïleus triumph'd. On his son,
On me look down. Our shields auxiliar join
Against profane Barbarians, who insult
The Grecian gods, and meditate the fall
Of this thy shrine." He said; and now, intent
To leave the island, on Oïleus call'd.
"He," Medon answer'd, " by his joy and zeal
Too high transported, and discoursing long,
Felt on his drowsy lids a balmy down
Of heaviness descending. He, unmark'd
Amid thy pious commerce with the god,
Was silently remov'd. The good old chief
On carpets, rais'd by tender, menial hands,
Calm in the secret sanctuary is laid."
His hast'ning step Leonidas restrains,
With Medon still conferring.
"Hast thou heard," He said, " among th' innumerable foes What chiefs are most distinguish'd ?”—“ Might we
To fame," reply'd the Locrian, "Xerxes boasts
His ablest, bravest counsellor and chief
In Artemisia, Caria's matchless queen..
To old Darius benefits had bound
Her lord, herself to Xerxes. Not compell'd,
Except by magnanimity, she leads
The best-appointed squadron in his fleet.
No female softness Artemisia knows,
But in maternal love. Her widow'd hand
With equity and firmness for her son
Administers the sway. Of Doric race
She still retains the spirit, which from Greece
Her ancestors transplanted. Other chiefs
Are all Barbarians, little known to fame,
Save one, whom Sparta hath herself supply'd,
Not less than Demaratus, once her king,
An exile now." Leonidas rejoins.
"Son of Oileus, like thy father wise,
Like him partake my confidence. Thy words
Recall an era, sad'ning all my thoughts.
That injur'd Spartan shar'd the regal sway
Thus fervent prays. "O Maia's son, best pleas'd, With one-alas! my brother, eldest born,
Unbless'd by Nature, favour'd by no god,
Cleomenes. Insanity of mind,
Malignant passions, impious acts deform'd
A life, concluded by his own fell hand.
Against his colleague envious he suborn'd
Leutychides. Him perjury and fraud
Plac'd on the seat, by Demaratus held
Unstain'd in lustre." Here Oiïleus' son.
"My future service only can repay
Thy confidential friendship. Let us close
The gloomy theme." Thermopyla is nigh.
Each face in transport glows. Now Eta rear'd
His tow'ring forehead. With impatient steps
On rush'd the phalanx, sounding pæans high;
As if the present deity of fame
Had from the summit shown her dazzling form,
With wreaths unfading on her temples bound,
Her adamantine trumpet in her hand
To celebrate their valour. From the van
Leonidas advances like the Sun,
When through dividing clouds his presence stays
Their sweeping rack, and stills the clam'rous wind.
The army silent halt. Their ensigns fan
The air no longer. Motionless their spears.
His eye reveals the ardour of his soul,
Which thus finds utt'rance from his eager lips.
"All hail! Thermopylæ, and you, the pow'rs,
Presiding here. All hail! ye sylvan gods,
Ye fountain nymphs, who send 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 these crags, and through their forests
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.
Then on your hills your praises shall you hear
From those, whose deeds shall tell th' approving
That not to undeservers did ye grant
Your high protection. You, my valiant friends,
Now rouse the gen'rous spirit, which inflames
Your hearts; exert the vigour of your arms:
That in the bosoms of the brave and free
Your memorable actions may survive;
May sound delightful in the ear of time,
Long, as blue Neptune beats the Malian strand,
Or those tall cliffs erect their shaggy tops
So near to Heav'n, your monuments of fame."
As in some torrid region, where the head
Of Ceres bends beneath her golden load;
If from a burning brand a scatter'd spark
Invade the parching ground; a sudden blaze
Sweeps o'er the crackling champaign: through his
Not with less swiftness to the furthest ranks [host
The words of great Leonidas diffus'd
A more than mortal fervour. Ev'ry heart
Distends with thoughts of glory, such as raise
The patriot's virtue, and the soldier's fire;
When danger most tremendous in his form
Seems in their sight most lovely. On their minds
Imagination pictures all the scenes
Of war, the purple field, the heaps of death,
The glitt'ring trophy, pil'd with Persian arms.
But lo! the Grecian leaders, who before
Were station'd near Thermopyla, salute
Laconia's king. The Thespian chief, ally'd
To Dithyrambus, first the silence breaks,
An ancient warrior. From behind his casque,
Whose crested weight his aged temples bore,
The slender hairs, all-silver'd' o'er by time,
Flow'd venerable down. He thus began.
"Joy now shall crown the period of my days;
And whether nigh my father's urn I sleep;
Or, slain by Persia's sword, embrace the earth,
Our common parent; be it, as the gods
Shall best determine. For the present hour
I bless their bounty, which hath giv'n my age
To see the brave Leonidas, and bid
That hero welcome on this glorious shore
To fix the basis of the Grecian weal."
Here too the crafty Anaxander spake.
"Of all the Thebans we, rejoicing, hail
The king of Sparta. We obey'd his call.
O may oblivion o'er the shame of Thebes
A dark'ning veil extend! or those alone
By fame be curs'd, whose impious counsels turn
Their countrymen from virtue! Thebes was sunk,
Her glory bury'd in dishonest sloth.
To wake her languor gen'rous Alpheus came,
The messenger of freedom. O accept
Our grateful hearts; thou, Alpheus, art the cause,
That Anaxander from his native gates
Not single joins this host, nor tamely these,
My chosen friends, behind their walls remain.
Enough of words. Time presses. Mount, ye chiefs,
This loftiest part of Eta. This o'erlooks
The straits, and far beyond their northern mouth
Extends our sight across the Malian plain.
Behold a native, Epialtes call'd, [march'd."
Who with the foe from Thracia's bounds hath
Disguis'd in seeming worth, he ended here.
The camp not long had Epialtes reach'd,
By race a Malian. Eloquent his tongue,
His heart was false and abject. He was skill'd
To grace perfidious counsels, and to clothe
In swelling phrase the baseness of his soul,
Foul nurse of treasons. To the tents of Greece,
Himself a Greek, a faithless spy he came.
Soon to the friends of Xerxes he repair'd,
The Theban chiefs, and nightly councils held,"
How to betray the Spartans, or deject
By consternation. Up the arduous slope
With him each leader to the summit climbs.
Thence a tremendous prospect they command,
Where endless plains, by white pavilions hid,
Spread like the vast Atlantic, when no shore,
No rock, no promontory stops the sight
Unbounded, as it wanders; while the Moon,
Resplendent eye of Night, in fullest orb
Surveys th' interminate expanse, and throws
Her rays abroad to deck in snowy light
The dancing billows. Such was Xerxes' camp;
A pow'r unrivall'd by the mightiest king,
Or fiercest conqu'ror, whose blood-thirsty pride,
Dissolving all the sacred ties, which bind
The happiness of nations, hath upcall'd
The sleeping fury, Discord, from her den.
Not from the hundred brazen gates of Thebes,
The tow'rs of Memphis, and those pregnant fields,
Enrich'd by kindly Nile, such armies swarm'd
Around Sesostris; who with trophies fill'd
The vanquish'd east, who o'er the rapid foam
Of distant Tanais, o'er the surface broad
Of Ganges sent his formidable name.
Nor yet in Asia's far extended bounds
E'er met such numbers, not when Ninus led
Th' Assyrian race to copquest. Not the gates
Of Babylon along Euphrates pour'd
Such myriads arm'd; when emptying all her streets,
The rage of dire Semiramis they bore
Beyond the Indus; there defeated, left
His blood-stain'd current turbid with their dead.
Yet of the chiefs, contemplating this scene,
Not one is shaken. Undismay'd they stand;
Th' immeasurable camp with fearless eyes
They traverse: while in meditation near
The treach'rous Malian waits, collecting all
His pomp of words to paint the hostile pow'r ;
Nor yet with falsehood arms his fraudful tongue
To feign a tale of terrour. Truth berself
Beyond the reach of fiction to enhance,
Now aids his treason, and with cold dismay
Might pierce the boldest heart, unless secur'd
By danntless Virtue, which disdains to live,
From Liberty divore'd. Requested soon,
He breaks his artful silence. "Greeks and friends,
Can I behold my native Malian fields,
Presenting hostile millions to your sight,
And not in grief suppress the horrid tale,
Which you exact from these ill-omen'd lips?
On Thracia's sea-beat verge I watch'd the foes;
Where, joining Europe to the Asian strand,
A mighty bridge restrain'd th' outrageous waves,
And stemm'd th' impetuous current: while in arms
The universal progeny of men
Seem'd trampling o'er the subjugated flood
By thousands, by ten thousands. Persians, Medes,
Assyrians, Saces, Indians, swarthy files
From Ethiopia, Egypt's tawny sons,
Arabians, Bactrians, Parthians, all the strength
Of Asia, and of Libya. Neptune groan'd
Beneath their number, and indignant heav'd
His neck against th' incumbent weight. In vain
The violence of Eurus and the North,
With rage combin'd, against th' unyielding pile
Dash'd half the Hellespont. The eastern world
Sev'n days and nights uninterrupted pass
To cover Thracia's regions. They accept
A Persian lord. They range their hardy race
Beneath his standards. Macedonia's youth,
The brave Thessalian horse, with ev'ry Greek
Who dwells beyond Thermopyla, attend,
Assist a foreign tyrant. Sire of gods,
Who in a moment by thy will supreme
Canst quell the mighty in their proudest hopes,
Canst raise the weak to safety, oh! impart
Thy instant succour! Interpose thy arm! [found
With lightning blast their standards! Oh! con-
With triple-bolted thunder Asia's tents,
Whence rushing millious by the morn will pour
An inundation to o'erwhelm the Greeks.
Resistance else were vain against a host,
Which overspreads Thessalia. Far beyond
That Malian champaign, stretching wide below,
Beyond the utmost measure of the sight
From this aspiring cliff, the hostile camp
Contains yet mightier numbers; who have drain'd
The beds of copious rivers with their thirst,
Who with their arrows hide the midday Sun."
"Then we shall give them battle in the shade,"
Dieneces reply'd. Not calmly thus
Diomedon. On Persia's camp he bent
His low'ring brow, which frowns had furrow'd o'er,
Then fierce exclaim'd. "Bellona, turn and view
With joyful eyes that field, the fatal stage,
By regal madness for thy rage prepar'd
To exercise its horrours. Whet thy teeth,
Voracious Death.
All Asia is thy prey.
Contagion, famine, and the Grecian sword
For thy insatiate hunger will provide
Variety of carnage." He concludes;
While on the host immense his cloudy brow
Is fix'd disdainful, and their strength defies.
Meantime an eastern herald down the pass
Was seen, slow-moving tow'rds the Phocian wall.
From Asia's monarch delegated, came
Tigranes and Phraortes. From the hill
Leonidas conducts th' impatient chiefs.
By them environ'd, in his tent he sits;
Where thus Tigranes their attention calls.
"Ambassadors from Persia's king we stand
Before you, Grecians. To display the pow'r
Of our great master were a needless task.
The name of Xerxes, Asia's mighty lord,
Invincible, exalted on a throne
Surpassing human lustre, must have reach'd
To ev'ry clime, and ev'ry heart impress'd
With awe, and low submission. Yet I swear
By yon refulgent orb, which flames above,
The glorious symbol of eternal pow'r,
This military throng, this show of war,
Well nigh persuade me, you have never heard
That name, at whose commanding sound the banks
Of Indus tremble, and the Caspian wave,
Th' Egyptian flood, the Hellespontic surge
Obedient roll. O impotent and rash!
Whom yet the large beneficence of Heav'n,
And heav'nly Xerxes, merciful and kind,
Deign to preserve. Resign your arms. Disperse
All to your cities. There let humblest hands
With earth and water greet your destin'd lord."
As through th' extensive grove, whose leafy
boughs,
Entwining, crown some eminence with shade,
The tempests rush sonorous, and between
The crashing branches roar; by fierce disdain,
By indignation thus the Grecians rous'd,
In loudest clamour close the Persian's speech :
But ev'ry tongue was hush'd, when Sparta's king
This brief reply deliver'd from his seat.
"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."
He adds no more. Th' ambassadors retire.
Them o'er the limits of the Grecian lines
Diomedon and Thespia's youth conduct.
In slow solemnity they all proceed,
And sullen silence; but their looks denote
Far more than speech could utter. Wrath contracts
The forehead of Diomedon. His teeth
Gnash with impatience of delay'd revenge.
Disdain, which sprung from conscious merit, flush'd
The cheek of Dithyrambus. On the face
Of either Persian arrogance, incens'd
By disappointment, lour'd. The utmost strait
They now attain'd, which open'd on the tents
Of Asia, there discov'ring wide to view
Her deep, immense arrangement. Then the heart
Of vain Tigranes, swelling at the sight,
Thus overflows in loud and haughty phrase.
"O Arimanius, origin of ill,
Have we demauded of thy ruthless pow'r
Thus with the curse of madness to afflict
These wretched men? But since thy dreadful ire
To irresistible perd tion dooms
The Grecian race, we vainly should oppose.
Be thy dire will accomplish'd. Let them fall,
Their native soil be fatten'd with their blood."
Enrag'd, the stern Diomedon replies. "Thou base dependant on a lawless king, Thon purple slave, thou boaster, dost thou know, That I beheld the Marathonian field? Where, like the Libyan sands before the wind, Your host was scatter'd by Athenian spears; Where thou perhaps by ignominious flight Didst from this arm protect thy shiv'ring limbs. O let me find thee in to morrow's fight! Along this rocky pavement shalt thou lie To dogs a banquet." With uplifted palms Tygranes then. "Omnipotent support Of scepter'd Xerxes, Horomazes, hear! To thee his first victorious fruits of war Thy worshipper devotes, the gory spoils, Which from this Grecian by the rising dawn In sight of either host my strength shall rend.” At length Phraortes, interposing, spake. "I too would find among the Grecian chiefs One, who in battle dares abide my lance."
The gallant youth of Thespia swift reply'd.
"Thou look'st on me, O Persian. Worthier far
Thou might have singled from the ranks of Greece,
Not one more willing to essay thy force.
Yes, I will prove before the eye of Mars,
How far the prowess of her meanest chief
Beyond thy vaunts deserves the palm of fame."
This said, the Persians to their king repair,
Back to their camp the Grecians. There they find
Each soldier, poising his extended spear,
His weighty buckler bracing on his arm
In warlike preparation. Through the files
Each leader, moving vigilant, by praise,
By exhortation aids their native warmth.
Alone the Theban Anaxander pin'd,
Who thus apart his Malian friend bespake.
"What has thy lofty eloquence avail'd,
Alas! in vain attempting to confound
The Spartan valour? With redoubled fires,
See, how their bosoms glow. They wish to die;
They wait impatient for th' unequal fight.
Too soon th' insuperable foes will spread
Promiscuous havoc round, and Thebans share
The doom of Spartans. Through the guarded pass
Who will adventure Asia's camp to reach
In our behalf? That Xerxes may be warn'd
To spare his friends amid the gen❜ral wreck;
When his high-swoln resentment, like a flood
Increas'd by stormy show'rs, shall cover Greece
With desolation." Epialtes here.
"Whence, Anaxander, this unjust despair?
Is there a path on ŒEta's hills unknown
To Epialtes? Over trackless rocks,
Through mazy woods my secret steps can pass.
Farewell. I go. Thy merit shall be told
To Persia's king. Thou only watch the hour;
When wanted most, thy ready succour lend."
Meantime a wary, comprehensive care
To ev'ry part Leonidas extends;
As in the human frame through ev'ry vein,
And artery minute, the ruling heart
Its vital powers disperses. In his tent
The prudent chief of Locris he consults;
He summons Melibus by the voice
Of Agis. In humility not mean,
By no unseemly ignorance depress'd,
Th' ingenuous swain, by all th' illustrious house
Of Ajax honour'd, bows before the king,
Who gracious spake. "The confidence bestow'd, The praise by sage Oileus might suffice
To verify thy worth. Myself have watch'd,
Have found thee skilful, active, and discreet.
Thou know'st the region round. With Agis go,
The upper straits, the Phocian camp explore."
"O condescension," Melibaus then,
"More ornamental to the great, than gems,
A purple robe, or diadem! The king
Accepts my service. Pleasing is my task.
Spare not thy servant. Exercise my zeal.
Oileus will rejoice, and, smiling, say,
An humble hand may smooth a hero's path."
He leads the way, while Agis, following, spake.
"O swain, distinguish'd by a lib'ral mind,
Who were thy parents? Where thy place of birth?
What chance depriv'd thee of a father's house?
Oïleus sure thy liberty would grant,
Or Sparta's king solicit for that grace;
When in a station equal to thy worth
Thou mayst be rank'd." The prudent hind began.
"In diff'rent stations diffrent virtues dwell,
All reaping diff'rent benefits. The great
In dignity and honours meet reward
For acts of bounty, and heroic toils.
A servant's merit is obedience, truth,
Fidelity; his recompense content.
Be not offended at my words, O chief.
They, who are free, with envy may behold
This bondman of Oïleus. To his trust,
His love exalted, I by Nature's pow'r
From his pure model could not fail to mould
What thou entitlest lib'ral. Whence I came,
Or who my parents, is to me unknown.
In childhood seiz'd by robbers, I was sold.
They took their price. They hush'd th' atrocious
deed.
Dear to Oïleus and his race I throve;
And whether noble, or ignoble born,
I am contented, studious of their love
Alone, Ye sons of Sparta, I admire
Your acts, your spirit, but confine my own
To their condition, happy in my lord,
Himself of men most happy." Agis bland
Rejoins, "O born with talents to become
A lot more noble, which, by thee refus'd,
Thou dost the more deserve! Laconia's king
Discerns thy merit through its modest veil.
Consummate prudence in thy words I hear.
Long may contentment, justly priz'd, be thine.
But should the state demand thee, I foresee
Thou wouldst like others in the field excel,
Wouldst share in glory." Blithe return'd the
swain.
"Not ev'ry service is confin'd to arms.
Thou shalt behold me in my present state
Not useless. If the charge, Oileus gave,
I can accomplish, meriting his praise,
And thy esteem, my glory will be full."
Both pleas'd in converse thus pursue their way,
Where Eta lifts her summits huge to Heav'n
In rocks abrupt, pyramidal, or tower'd
Like castles. Sudden from a tufted crag,
Where goats are browsing, Melibœus hears
A call of welcome. There his course he stays.
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