The Athenaid: Volume Iii: Book The Twenty-Third Poem by Richard Glover

The Heliconian records now unfold,
Calliopè! harmonious thence recite
The names and numbers of the various Greeks,
Who in array on fair Boeotian plains,
With gleams of armour streak the twinkling wave
Of clear Asopus. Troezen known to fame,
Where Pittheus dwelt, whose blood to Athens gave
The hero Theseus, Troezen from her walls
In circuit small, from Hylycus her stream,
From her Scyllæan promontory high,
From vine-attir'd Methenè, from the isles,
Calauria, Neptune's seat, and Sphæria dear
To Pallas, daughter of almighty Jove,
Two thousand warriors sends. Cleander pass'd
The isthmus first; who manly, from the bed
Of Ariphilia nising, vow'd to deck
Her future cradle with a victor's wreath
Of laurel new. Her beauteous image grac'd
His four-fold buckler. Twice eight hundred youths
From Æsculapian Epidaurus march'd,
From mount Cynortius, and the sacred hill,
Tittheon, where the mother of that god
Medicinal in secret left her fruit
Of stolen enjoyment in Apollo's arms;
Where in serenity of smiles was found
The sweet Phoebean child, while lambent flames
Play'd round his temples. Clitophon the chief,
A serpent green, the symbol of his god,
Bore on his silver shield. Four hundred left
Lepreum, clear Arenè, and th' impure
Anigrian waters, where the centaur, fell
Polenor, wounded by Herculean shafts,
Dipp'd in the blood of Hydra, purg'd his limbs
From putrid gore, envenoming the stream;
Their leader Conon. Of Mycenæ old,
Of Tiryns, built by fam'd Cyclopian toil,
Eight hundred shields Polydamas commands.
Two thousand gallant youths, with standards bless'd
At Hebe's altar, tutelary pow'r
Of Phlius, bold Menander led to war.
Himself was young; the blooming goddess shone
Bright on his buckler. Under Lycus brave
Hermionè, fair city, had enroll'd
Six hundred spears. The impress on his shield
Was strong Alcides, dragging from the gates
Of Dis their latrant guardian triple-mouth'd
Through an abyss in Hermionean land,
The fabled wonder of the district shewn.


Three thousand sail'd from Cephalenia's isle,
From Acarnanian, and Epirot shores,
With various chieftains. Of Arcadian breed
Orchomenus twelve hundred, Tegea sent
Three thousand. Chileus, prime in Tegea's camp,
Was skill'd in arms, and vaunted high the name,
The rank and prowess of his native state.
Ten thousand helms from wealthy Corinth's walls
Blaze o'er the champaign; these Alcmæon leads
With Adimantus. Neighb'ring Sicyon arm'd
Six thousand more; amidst whose splendid files
Automedon commanded. Lo! in air
A mighty banner! from the hollows green,
The wood-crown'd hills in Lacedæmon's rule,
Taijgetus, and Menelaian ridge,
From Crocean quarries, from Gytheum's port,
Therapnè, sweet Amyclæ on the banks
Of fam'd Eurotas, from a hundred towns,
A glitt'ring myriad of Laconians shew
Their just arrangement. Aemnestus there
Lifts his tall spear, and rises o'er his ranks
In arduous plumes and stature. So the strength
And stately foliage of a full-grown oak
O'erlooks the undershades, his knotted arms
Above their tops extending. Mightier still
Callicrates appears, in martial deeds
Surpassing ev'ry Grecian. He his fate
Foresees not; he, capricious fortune's mark,
Must fall untimely, and his gen'rous blood
Unprofitably shed. A firmer band
Succeeds. Huge Sparta, who forever scorn'd
Defensive walls and battlements, supplied
Five thousand citizens close-mail'd; a train
Of sev'n bold Helots exercis'd in arms,
Attend each warrior; there Pausanias tow'r'd.
In pride the son of Atreus he surpass'd
Without his virtues, a superior host
Commanding. Never Greece such heroes sent,
Nor such a pow'r in multitude to war;
For landed recent on the neighb'ring shore
Th' Athenian phalanx opens broad in sight
Their eleutherian banner. They advance
Eight thousand men at arms; an equal force
In archers, slingers, missile-weapon'd sons
Of terror follow. Round her naval flag
Already four bold myriads from her loins
Had Attica enroll'd. What chiefs preside!
Themistocles, Xanthippus in remote,
But glorious action; Aristides here,
Myronides and Cimon, Clinias, sire
Of Alcibiades, the warrior bard,
Young Pericles, and more than time hath seen
Since or before, in arts and arms renown'd.


The ancient foe of Athens, yet averse
Like her to Xerxes, Megara enroll'd
Six thousand warriors. From Ægina sail'd
A thousand. Twice six hundred, Phoenix-like,
Sprung from the ashes of Platæa burnt,
With Arimnestus march'd, th' intrepid friend
Of him, whose deeds Thermopylæ resounds,
Diomedon. From Thespia, who had shar'd
Platæa's doom, two thousand came unarm'd,
Unclad, a want by Attic stores supplied.
Alcimedon was chief, of kindred blood
To Dithyrambus; whom, his early bloom
For Greece devoting, on Melissa's hill
The Muses sing and weep. Between the roots
Of tall Cithæron, and th' Asopian floods,
The army rang'd. The Spartans on the right
One wing compos'd; the men of Tegea claim'd
The left in pref'rence to th' Athenian host.
Contention rose; Pausanias sat the judge,
Callicrates and Aemnestus wise,
His two assessors; thick Laconian ranks
A circle form; when Chileus thus asserts
The claim of Tegea: Spartans, from the time,
The early time, that Echemus, our king,
In single combat on the listed field
O'erthrew the invader Hyllus, and preserv'd
Unspoil'd the land of Pelops, we obtain'd
From all her sons unanimous this post,
Whene'er united in a common cause
They march'd to battle. Not with you we strive,
Ye men of Sparta, at your choice command
In either wing; the other we reclaim
From Athens; brave and prosp'rous we have join'd
Our banners oft with yours; our deeds you know;
To ours superior what can Athens plead
Of recent date, or ancient? for what cause
Should we our just prerogative resign?


Then Aristides spake: Collected here
Are half the Grecians to contend in arms
With Barbarous invaders, not in words
Each with the other for precedence vain.
From his own volume let the tongue of time,
Not mine, proclaim my countrymen's exploits
In early ages. In his course he views
The varying face of nature, sea to land,
Land turn'd to sea, proud cities sink in dust,
The low exalted, men and manners change,
From fathers brave degen'rate sons proceed,
And virtuous children from ignoble sires.
What we are now, you, Grecians, must decide
At this important crisis. Judges, fix
On Marathon your thoughts, that recent stage
Of preservation to the public weal,
Where fifty nations, arm'd to conquer Greece,
We unassisted foil'd; more fresh, the day
Of Salamis recall. Enough of words;
No more contention for the name of rank;
The bravest stand the foremost in the sight
Of gods and mortals. As to you is meet,
Determine, Spartans; at your will arrange
Th' Athenians; they acknowledge you the chiefs
Of this great league, for gen'ral safety fram'd,
Wherever plac'd, obedient they will fight.


The sense of all his countrymen he breath'd,
Who for the public welfare in this hour
Their all relinquish, and their very pride
A victim yield to virtue. From his seat,
Inspir'd by justice, Aemnestus rose:


Brave as they are, our friends of Tegea seem
To have forgot the Marathonian field,
The Salaminian trophies; else this strife
Had ne'er alarm'd the congregated host
Of states so various and remote. As brief
Callicrates subjoins: Not less our friends
Of Tegea seem forgetful, that their claim
Within the isthmus is confin'd, the gift
Of part, not binding universal Greece.


Athenian moderation had before
Won ev'ry Spartan; loud they sound the name
Of Athens, Athens, whose pretension just
The general confirms, restoring peace.
So in a chorus full the manly bass
Directs the pow'r of harmony to float
On equal pinions, and attune the air.


Now Sparta's wide encampment on the right
Was form'd; sedate and silent was the toil,
As is the concourse of industrious ants,
In mute attention to their public cares.
Extending thence, successive states erect
Their standards. On the left their num'rous tents
Th' Athenians pitch. In labour not unlike
The buzzing tenants of sonorous hives,
Loquacious they and lively cheer the field,
Yet regularly heed each signal giv'n
By staid commanders. Underneath a fringe
Of wood, projecting from Cithæron's side,
Ascends the chief pavilion. Seated there
Is Aristides at a frugal board,
An aged menial his attendant sole;
But from the tribes selected, round him watch
An hundred youths, whose captain is the son
Of fam'd Miltiades. The neighb'ring bed
Of pure Asopus, from Cithæron's founts,
Refreshment inexhaustible contain'd.
His arms th' Athenian patriot in his tent
Was now exploring, when he hears the step
Of Aemnestus ent'ring, who began:


Most wise of men and righteous, whom all Greece,
Not Athens singly, as her glory claims,
Grant me an hour. Laconian laws, thou know'st,
Subordination to excess enjoin.
I am obedient to the man, who holds
Supreme command by office, rank, and birth,
While thee my heart confesses and admits
My sole adviser. Haughty and morose,
O'er uncommunicated thoughts will brood
Our dark Pausanias; I may often want
Thy counsel; now instruct me. Is it meet,
We cross th' Asopus to assail the foe,
Or wait his coming? Let him come, replies
The Attic sage; let bold invaders court
A battle, not th' invaded, who must watch
Occasion's favour. Present in thy mind
Retain, that Greece is center'd in this host,
Which if we hazard lightly were a crime,
Th' offended gods with fetters would chastise:
Our Attic flame to sudden onset points,
By me discourag'd. Aemnestus then:


Know, that with me Callicrates unites;
Farewell; thy wisdom shall direct us both.


The sun was set; th' unnumber'd eyes of heav'n
Thin clouds envelop'd; dusky was the veil
Of night, not sable; placid was the air;
The low-ton'd current of Asopus held
No other motion than his native flow,
Alluring Aristides in a walk
Contemplative to pace the stable verge
Attir'd in moss. The hostile camp he views,
Which by Masistian vigilance and art
With walls of wood and turrets was secur'd.
For this the groves of Jupiter supreme
On Hypatus were spoil'd, Teumessian brows,
Mesabius, Parnes, were uncover'd all.
Square was th' inclosure, ev'ry face emblaz'd
With order'd lights. Each elevated tent
Of princely satraps, and, surmounting all,
Mardonius, thine, from coronets of lamps
Shot lustre, soft'ning on the distant edge
Of wide Platæan fields. A din confus'd
Proclaim'd Barbarians; silent was the camp
Of Greece. These thoughts the spectacle excites
In Aristides: Slender is thy bound,
Asopus, long to separate such hosts,
Or keep thy silver wave from blood unstain'd.
Lord of Olympus! didst thou want the pow'r,
Or, boundless pow'r possessing, want the will
Thy own created system to secure
From such destruction? Wherefore on this plain
Is Europe thus, and adverse Asia met
For human carnage? Natural this search,
Yet but a waste of reason. Let me shun
Unprofitable wand'rings o'er the land
Obscure of trackless mystery; to see
The path of virtue open is enough.
Whate'er the cause of evil, he, who knows
Himself not partner in that cause, attains
Enough of knowledge; all the rest is dream
Of falsely-styl'd philosophy. My task
Is to destroy the enemies of Greece;
Be active there, my faculties, and lose
Nor time, nor thought. Revisiting his tent,
Sicinus call'd apart he thus instructs:


Return, discreet and faithful, to the son
Of Neocles; thy own observing eye
Will prompt thy tongue; this notice sole I send.
We will not hurry to a gen'ral fight.
Bless in my name Timothea; bless her sons,
Her daughters; nor, good man, o'erlook my own.


Six monthly periods of the solar course
Were now complete; intense the summer glow'd.
The patient Greeks for eight successive days
Endure the insults of Barbarian horse
Behind their lines; when eager to his friend
The Persian gen'ral: Best belov'd of men,
Impart thy counsel. Lo! this vaunted race
Lurk in their trenches, and avoid the plain.


To him Masistius: I have mark'd a post
Accessible and feeble in their line.
To me thy choicest cavalry commit,
I at the hazard of my life will gall,
Perhaps may force that quarter. Ah! my friend,
Mardonius answer'd, shall thy precious life
Be hazarded? let others take the charge,
Briareus, Midias, Tiridates brave,
Or Mindarus; a thousand leaders bold
This host affords. Masistius, in the gloom
Of midnight from my pillow I discern'd
Thy gracious figure on a steed of fire;
Who bore thee up to heav'n, where sudden folds
Of radiant vapour wrapp'd thee from my view.
At once throughout th' innumerable tents
Their hue was chang'd to black; Boeotia's hills
And caves with ejulation from the camp
Rebellow'd round; the camels, horses, mules,
Dissolv'd in tears. Let Mithra's angry beam
Pierce this right arm, annihilate my strength,
And melt my courage! I will rest content
To purchase thus the safety of my friend.


Masistius answer'd: Son of Gobryas, learn,
That he, who makes familiar to his mind
The certainty of death, and nobly dares
In virtue's clear pursuit, may look serene
On boding dreams, and auguries averse.
No sign, but honour, he requires; he wants
No monitor, but duty. An attempt,
My observation hath maturely weigh'd,
Belongs to me; to others less inform'd
I will not leave the danger. Quick replies
Disturb'd Mardonius, while at friendship's warmth
Ambition melts, and honour fills his breast:


O! worthier far than frail Mardonius, take
O'er all the host of Xerxes chief command;
Me from temptation, him from danger guard.


Again Masistius: Son of Gobryas, peace;
My ear is wounded. Ever dost thou sink
Below the level of thy worth with me,
With others soar'st too high. What means the word
Temptation? what this danger to the king?
O satrap! listed by his grace so high,
Thou hast o'erwhelm'd Masistius. May the God
Of truth and justice strengthen in thy soul
The light ingenuous, which so much reveals;
That sense of duty may suppress a thought,
I dare not clothe in language. Still in mind
The parting words of Artemisia bear,
Which in its blameless moments oft thy tongue
Repeats with admiration. 'Look,' she said,
'Look only, where no mystery can lurk,
'On ev'ry manly duty. Nothing dark
'O'ershades the track of virtue; plain her path;
'But superstition, chosen for a guide,
'Misleads the best and wisest.' Let me add,
Worse is the guide ambition, which misleads
To more than error, to atrocious acts.


I shall despair, Masistius, if thou fall'st,
Rejoins Mardonius. Must Masistius then
Consort with women, shut from noble deeds,
Subjoins the virtuous Persian? Can thy hand,
Thy friendly hand, now rivetted in mine,
Of my degree, and dignity of birth
Deprive me, or obliterate the name
With all its lustre, which my fathers left
Me to uphold? Or wouldst thou, if impow'r'd,
Taint my firm spirit with an eunuch's fear,
Among their feeble train my rank confine,
My strength unnerve, my fortitude debase?
While these subsist with titles, wealth and state,
While, as I pass, the crouding myriads shout,
Here comes Masistius; what is less requir'd
From him, than deeds to manifest a soul,
Which merits such distinction? We again
This day will meet, Mardonius-but as none
Of human texture can the flight foresee
Of that inevitable dart, which soon,
Or late will strike, I leave these words behind.
If, blinded still by superstition's cloud,
Thou wilt believe me in this hour the mark
Of fate, retain them, as my dying words:
Ambition curb; let virtue be thy pride.


They separated sad; Mardonius still
Foreboding evil to his noble friend,
He at the frailty of Mardonius griev'd.


Masistius, soon collecting round his tent
The prime of Persian cavalry, bespake
Their captains thus: Your steeds and arms prepare;
String well your bows, your quivers store with shafts;
With num'rous javelins each his courser load.
I am this day your gen'ral; I rely
On your known prowess; and I trust, the hand
Of Horomazes will conduct you back
Victorious; but remember, that the brave
In life, or death, accomplishing their part,
Are happy. All, rejoicing in a chief
Belov'd, his orders sedulous fulfil.
In arms, more splendid than for Peleus' son
Th' immortal artist forg'd, Masistius cas'd
His limbs of beauteous frame, and manly grace,
To match that hero, whom Scamander saw
With Dardan blood imbru'd. In hue of snow
His horse, of all Nisæa's breed the choice,
Caparison'd in rubies, champs the gold,
Which rules his mouth; his animated mane
Floats o'er the bridle, form'd of golden braid.


His page was nigh, that youth of eastern race,
Whom for his merit pure Melissa gave
To this benignant satrap. To ascend
His gorgeous seat preparing, thus the chief:


If I return a conqueror this day,
To that excelling dame who made thee mine,
Who hath enlarg'd whate'er of wise and great,
Of just and temp'rate I to nature owe,
Refin'd my manners, and my purest thoughts
Exalted, I my friendship will prolong
In gratitude and rev'rence; blessing heav'n,
Which thus prefers Masistius to extend
Benevolence to virtue. If I fall,
Resume with her the happiest lot my care
Can recommend, Statirus. Though no Greek,
Her pupil, say, in offices humane
Hath not been tardy; by her light inspir'd,
He went more perfect to a noble grave.

End of the Twenty-third Book