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LESSON IV.-ADDRESS OF LEONIDAS TO THE SPARTANS. 1. "WHY this astonishment on every face,

Ye men of Sparta? Does the name of death
Create this fear and wonder? Oh my friends!
Why do we labor through the arduous paths
Which lead to virtue? Fruitless were the toil,
Above the reach of human feet were placed
The distant summit, if the fear of death
Could intercept our passage. But in vain
His blackest frowns and terrors he assumes
To shake the firmness of the mind which knows
That, wanting virtue, life is pain and woe;
That, wanting liberty, even virtue mourns,
And looks around for happiness in vain.

2. "Then speak, oh Sparta! and demand my life;
My heart, exulting, answers to thy call,

And smiles on glorious fate. To live with fame
Is allowed to the many; but to die
With equal lustre is a blessing Heaven
Selects from all the choicest boons of fate,
And with a sparing hand on few bestows."
Salvation thus to Sparta he proclaimed.
Joy, rapt a while in admiration, paused,
Suspending praise; nor praise at last resounds

In high acclaim to rend the arch of heaven;

A reverential murmur breathes applause.-RICH. GLOVER.

LESSON V.

-THE SPARTANS NOBLY KEPT THEIR OATH.

1. 'Twas an hour of fearful issues,

When the bold three hundred stood,
For their love of holy freedom,

By that old Thessalian flood

When, lifting high each sword of flame,
They called on every sacred name,
And swore, beside those dashing waves,
They never, never would be slaves!
2. And oh! that oath was nobly kept.
From morn to setting sun

Did desperation urge the fight
Which valor had begun;

Till, torrent-like, the stream of blood
Ran down and mingled with the flood,
And all, from mountain cliff to wave,
Was Freedom's, Valor's, Glory's grave.
3. Oh yes! that oath was nobly kept,
Which nobly had been sworn,
And proudly did each gallant heart
The foeman's fetters spurn;

And firmly was the fight maintained,
And amply was the triumph gained;
They fought, fair Liberty, for thee;

They fell-TO DIE IS TO BE FREE!-GEO. W. DOANE.

LESSON VI.—THE GLORY OF THEIR FALL

THEY fell devoted, but undying;

The very gale their names seem'd sighing;
The waters murmur'd of their name;
The woods were peopled with their fame;
The silent pillar, lone and gray,

Claim'd kindred with their sacred clay:
Their spirits wrapp'd the dusky mountain,
Their memory sparkled o'er the fountain:
The meanest rill, the mightiest river,
Roll'd mingling with their fame forever.
Despite of every yoke she bears,
The land is glory's still and theirs.
"Tis still a watchword to the earth:
When man would do a deed of worth,

He points to Greece, and turns to tread,
So sanctioned, on the tyrant's head;

He looks to her, and rushes on

Where life is lost, or freedom won.-BYRON.

LESSON VII.—BATTLE OF SAL'AMIS, AND FLIGHT OF XERXES, 480 B.C.

AFTER the fall of Leonidas, Xerxes ravaged Attica and burned Athens. He then made preparations to annihilate the power of the Grecians in a naval engagement, and sent his whole fleet to block up that of the Greeks in the narrow strait of Sal'amis. Proceeding thither with his army also, he drew up his countless thousands on the shore, and then caused a throne to be erected on one of the neighboring heights, where he might witness the naval battle, in which he was confident of victory; but he had the misfortune and the mortification to see his magnificent navy almost utterly annihilated. Terrified at the result, he hastily fled across the Hellespont, and retired into his own dominions, leaving his general Mardonius, at the head of three hundred thousand men, to complete, if possible, the conquest of Greece.

I. DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS.

1.

From ÆSCHYLUS.

The Persian chief,

Little dreaming of the wiles of Greece
And gods averse, to all the naval leaders

Gave his high charge: "Soon as yon sun shall cease
To dart his radiant beams, and dark'ning night
Ascends the temple of the sky, arrange

In three divisions your well-ordered ships,
And guard each pass, each outlet of the seas:
Others enring around this rocky isle

Of Salamis. Should Greece escape her fate,
And work her way by secret flight, your heads
Shall answer the neglect." This harsh command
He gave, exulting in his mind, nor knew
What Fate designed. With martial discipline
And prompt obedience, snatching a repast,
Each mariner fixed well his ready oar.
2. Soon as the golden sun was set, and night

Advanced, each, trained to ply the dashing oar,
Assumed his seat; in arms each warrior stood,
Troop cheering troop through all the ships of war.
Each to the appointed station steers his course,
And through the night his naval force each chief
Fix'd to secure the passes. Night advanced,
But not by secret flight did Greece attempt
To escape. The morn, all beauteous to behold,

Drawn by white steeds, bounds o'er the enlighten'd earth & 2. At once from every Greek, with glad acclaim, Burst forth the song of war, whose lofty notes

The echo of the island rocks returned,

Spreading dismay through Persia's host, thus fallen
From their high hopes; no flight this solemn strain
Portended, but deliberate valor bent

On daring battle; while the trumpet's sound
Kindled the flames of war.

But when their oars

(The pæan ended) with impetuous force Dash'd the surrounding surges, instant all Rush'd on in view; in orderly array

The squadron of the right first led, behind

Rode their whole fleet; and now distinct was heard
From every part this voice of exhortation :

4. "Advance, ye sons of Greece, from thraldom save
Your country-save your wives, your children save,
The temples of your gods, the sacred tomb
Where rest your honor'd ancestors; this day
The common cause of all demands your valor."
Meantime from Persia's hosts the deep'ning shout
Answer'd their shout; no time for cold delay;
But ship 'gainst ship its brazen beak impell'd.
5. First to the charge a Grecian galley rush'd;
Ill the Phoenician bore the rough attack,
Its sculptured prow all shatter❜d.
Daring an opposite. The deep array
Of Persia at the first sustain'd the encounter;
But their throng'd numbers, in the narrow seas
Confined, want room for action; and, deprived
Of mutual aid, beaks clash with beaks, and each

Each advanced,

6.

Breaks all the other's oars; with skill disposed,
The Grecian navy circled them around

In fierce assault; and, rushing from its height,
The inverted vessel sinks.

The sea no more
Wears its accustom'd aspect, with foul wrecks
And blood disfigured; floating carcasses
Roll on the rocky shores; the poor remains
Of the barbaric armament to flight
Ply every oar inglorious: onward rush
The Greeks amid the ruins of the fleet,

As through a shoal of fish caught in the net,
Spreading destruction; the wide ocean o'er
Wailings are heard, and loud laments, till night,
With darkness on her brow, brought grateful truce.
Should I recount each circumstance of wo,
Ten times on my unfinish'd tale the sun
Would set; for be assured that not one day
Could close the ruin of so vast a host.

II. THE FLIGHT OF XERXES.

1. I saw him on the battle-eve,

When, like a king, he bore him-
Proud hosts in glittering helm and greave,
And prouder chiefs before him:
The warrior, and the warrior's deeds-
The morrow, and the morrow's meeds-
No daunting thoughts came o'er him;
He looked around him, and his eye
Defiance flashed to earth and sky.
2. He looked on ocean-its broad breast
Was covered with his fleet;

On earth-and saw, from east to west,
His bannered millions meet;

While rock, and glen, and cave, and coast,
Shook with the war-cry of that host,

The thunder of their feet!

He heard the imperial echoes ring-
He heard, and felt himself a king.

3. I saw him next alone: nor camp

Nor chief his steps attended;
Nor banner blazed, nor courser's tramp
With war-cries proudly blended.
He stood alone, whom fortune high

So lately seemed to deify;

He, who with heaven contended,
Fled like a fugitive and slave!
Behind-the foe; before-the wave.

4. He stood-fleet, army, treasure, gone
Alone, and in despair!

But wave and wind swept ruthless on,
For they were monarchs there;

And Xerxes, in a single bark,

Where late his thousand ships were dark,

Must all their fury dare.

What a revenge-a trophy, this

For thee, immortal Sal'amis !-MRS. JEWSBURY.

.

LESSON VIII.—BATTLE OF PLATÆ'a, 479 B.C.:-END OF

THE PERSIAN WARS.

BULWER'S Athens.

1. AFTER the defeat of the Persians in the naval battle of Sal'amis, their army, which remained in Greece under the command of Mardonius, experienced a final overthrow in the battle of Plata'a. In this famous battle the Spartan general Pausanias had the chief command of the Grecian forces. We give the leading incidents of the battle as graphically described by Bulwer:

2. "As the troops of Mardonius advanced, the rest of the Persian armament, deeming the task was not now to fight, but to pursue, raised their standards and poured forward tumultuously, without discipline or order. Pausanias, pressed by the Persian line, lost no time in sending to the Athenians for succor. But when the latter were on their march with the required aid, they were suddenly intercepted by the Greeks in the Persian service, and cut off from the rescue of the Spartans.

3. The Spartans beheld themselves thus unsupported with considerable alarm. Committing himself to the gods, Pausanias ordained a solemn sacrifice, his whole army awaiting the result, while the shafts of the Persian bowmen poured on them near and fast. But the entrails presented discouraging omens, and the sacrifice was again renewed.. Meanwhile the Spartans evinced their characteristic fortitude and discipline -not one man stirring from his ranks until the auguries should assume a more favoring aspect; all harassed, and some wounded by the Persian arrows, they yet, seeking protection only beneath their broad bucklers, waited with a stern patience the time of their leader and of Heaven. Then fell Callic'rates, the stateliest and strongest soldier in the whole army, lamenting, not death, but that his sword was as yet undrawn against the invader.

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4. And still sacrifice after sacrifice seemed to forbid the battle, when Pausanias, lifting his eyes, that streamed with tears, to the temple of Juno that stood hard by, supplicated

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