Lays of ancient rome poem. Lays of Ancient Rome: Essays and Poems by Thomas Babington Macaulay 2023-01-05
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"Lays of Ancient Rome" is a collection of narrative poems written by Thomas Babington Macaulay in the 19th century. The poems, which were published in the early 1830s, tell the stories of some of the most famous events and figures in Roman history, including the legendary Horatius Cocles and the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
The poems are written in a style that is both grand and epic, and they are filled with vivid descriptions of battles, heroism, and honor. Macaulay's use of language is particularly noteworthy, as he uses a variety of literary devices and techniques to bring the stories to life and to convey the emotion and drama of the events that he describes.
One of the most famous poems in the collection is "Horatius," which tells the story of Horatius Cocles, a brave Roman soldier who defended the city of Rome against an invading army. In the poem, Horatius is depicted as a hero who is willing to sacrifice everything in order to protect his city and his people. The poem is filled with vivid descriptions of the battle and the hero's bravery, and it is a testament to the value that the Romans placed on honor and duty.
Another memorable poem in the collection is "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," which tells the story of the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. In the poem, Romulus is depicted as a strong and determined leader who is determined to found a great city, while Remus is portrayed as a more laid-back and carefree character. The poem tells the story of the brothers' rivalry and eventual reconciliation, and it is a tale of sibling love and loyalty.
Overall, "Lays of Ancient Rome" is a collection of beautifully written and engaging poems that bring the stories of Roman history to life in a way that is both grand and epic. Whether you are interested in Roman history or simply enjoy reading great literature, this collection is definitely worth checking out. So, it is a must read for all history and literature lovers.
Lays Of Ancient Rome Quotes
Here, hard by Vesta's temple, Build we a stately dome Unto the Great Twin Brethren Who fought so well for Rome. The legion had broken the Macedonian phalanx. Virginia Fragments of a Lay Sung in the Forum on the Day Whereon Lucius Sextius Sextinus Lateranus and Caius Licinius Calvus Stolo Were Elected Tribunes of the Commons the Fifth Time, in the Year of the City CCCLXXXII. Out spake the Consul roundly: "The bridge must straight go down; For, since Janiculum is lost, Nought else can save the town. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was an English poet, historian and Whig politician. He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still can save Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion of the slave; Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and blow— Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou shalt never know.
Lays of Ancient Rome, by Thomas Babington Macaulay
XXXIV Now while the Three were tightening Their harnesses on their backs, The Consul was the foremost man To take in hand an axe: And Fathers mixed with Commons Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, And smote upon the planks above, And loosed the props below. Niebuhr's supposition that each of the three defenders of the bridge was the representative of one of the three patrician tribes is both ingenious and probable, and has been adopted in the following poem. The fighting described by Macaulay is fierce and bloody, and the outcome is only decided when the twin gods So spake he; and was buckling Tighter black Auster's band, When he was aware of a princely pair That rode at his right hand. The Fathers of the City, They sat all night and day, For every hour some horseman come With tidings of dismay. LI Yet one man for one moment Strode out before the crowd; Well known was he to all the Three, And they gave him greeting loud.
VIII The harvests of Arretium, This year, old men shall reap; This year, young boys in Umbro Shall plunge the struggling sheep; And in the vats of Luna, This year, the must shall foam Round the white feet of laughing girls Whose sires have marched to Rome. Accompanying text too hard to follow, too "scholarly", and the lays themselves not that interesting. A total of four lengthy poems are present in this edition, together with a scholarly introduction by the author himself, who also translated the poems. To the Iliad still greater obligations are due; and those obligations have been contracted with the less hesitation, because there is reason to believe that some of the old Latin minstrels really had recourse to that inexhaustible store of poetical images. And plainly and more plainly Now through the gloom appears, Far to left and far to right, In broken gleams of dark-blue light, The long array of helmets bright, The long array of spears.
Like, how many archers you got there, Mister Tuscan General? XXXIII Now Roman is to Roman More hateful than a foe, And the Tribunes beard the high , And the Fathers grind the low. There can be as little doubt that the family of an eminent man would preserve a copy of the speech which had been pronounced over his corpse. The Tarentines sought for allies beyond the Ionian Sea. XL Herminius smote down Aruns: Lartius laid Ocnus low: Right to the heart of Lausulus Horatius sent a blow. XXXIII Now Roman is to Roman More hateful than a foe, And the Tribunes beard the high, And the Fathers grind the low. We can scarcely hesitate to pronounce that the magnificent, pathetic, and truly national legends, which present so striking a contrast to all that surrounds them, are broken and defaced fragments of that early poetry which, even in the age of Cato the Censor, had become antiquated, and of which Tully had never heard a line.
In vain they ran, and felt, and stanched; for never truer blow That good right arm had dealt in fight agains a Volscian foe. And still his name sounds stirring unto the men of Rome, As the trumpet-blast that calls to them to charge the Volscian home; And wives still pray to Juno for boys with hearts as bold As his who kept the bridge so well in the brave days of old. XXI "Thine, Roman, is the pilum: Roman, the sword is thine, The even trench, the bristling mound, The legion's ordered line; And thine the wheels of triumph, Which with their laurelled train Move slowly up the shouting streets To Jove's eternal flame. The penultimate syllable of the name Porsena has been shortened in spite of the authority of Niebuhr, who pronounces, without assigning any ground for his opinion, that Martial was guilty of a decided blunder in the line, "Hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit. Valerius struck at Titus, And lopped off half his crest; But Titus stabbed Valerius A span deep in the breast. Their leader was false Sextus, That wrought the deed of shame: With restless pace and haggard face To his last field he came. Now who will stand on either hand, And keep the bridge with me? But, even in the paroxysms of faction, the Roman retained his gravity, his respect for law, and his tenderness for the lives of his fellow citizens.
It is certain, therefore, that the great Latin writers of the Augustan age did not possess those materials, without which a trustworthy account of the infancy of the republic could not possibly be framed. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's hoof, was discernible in the volcanic rock; and this mark was believed to have been made by one of the celestial chargers. XXXIV Now while the Three were tightening Their harness on their backs, The Consul was the foremost man To take in hand an axe: And Fathers mixed with Commons Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, And smote upon the planks above, And loosed the props below. Knowledge advances; manners change; great foreign models of composition are studied and imitated. It attained a still higher degree of excellence among the English and the Lowland Scotch, during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. The poems are well-told stories.
Something has been borrowed, however, from our own old ballads, and more from Sir Walter Scott, the great restorer of our ballad-poetry. For this did Servius give us laws? They had not learned from their enemy how to conquer him. But there is one circumstance which deserves especial notice. XXXVII Semponius Atratinus Sat in the Eastern Gate, Beside him were three Fathers, Each in his chair of state; Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons That day were in the field, And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve Who keep the Golden Shield; And Sergius, the High Pontiff, For wisdom far renowned; In all Etruria's colleges Was no such Pontiff found. Such, or nearly such, appears to have been the process by which the lost ballad-poetry of Rome was transformed into history.
I had begun to weep the moment Churchill began his recitation, for I remembered how my Aunt Alice--a contemporary of Sir Winston's--had often recited the very same passage to me. Before the gates of Sutrium Is met the great array. The words are evocative like no other poet I've read - Macauley manages to spin together action, suspense, gore, horror, and melodrama. The Plebeians were, however, not wholly without constitutional rights. The results of this great change were singularly happy and glorious. XXXIII Now Roman is to Roman More hateful than a foe, And the Tribunes beard the high, And the Fathers grind the low. There lacked not men of prowess, Nor men of lordly race; For all Etruria's noblest Were round the fatal place.
Skeptical scholars, however, declare the story an invented explanation for the discovery of a battered statue of Vulcan near the bridge. For more detailed information about the expulsion of the Tarquins and the rape of Lucrece, subjects important to understanding the first two Lays, refer to my notes on Before reading the individual lays, it is also a good idea to read the poem's Preface. XXI And nearer fast and nearer Doth the red whirlwind come; And louder still and still more loud, From underneath that rolling cloud, Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud, The trampling, and the hum. One of them had been entrusted with an army, and had failed ignominiously. The best Latin eclogues are imitations of Theocritus. One spot on the margin of Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages with superstitious awe.
Lays of Ancient Rome: Essays and Poems by Thomas Babington Macaulay
We know too little of the state of Rome in those days to be able to conjecture how, during that long anarchy, the peace was kept, and ordinary justice administered between man and man. That blow was the signal for a general explosion. It had been swept away by an irresistible outbreak of popular fury; and its memory was still held in abhorrence by the whole city. XXII And plainly and more plainly, Above that glimmering line, Now might ye see the banners Of twelve fair cities shine; But the banner of proud Clusium Was highest of them all, The terror of the Umbrian, The terror of the Gaul. Songs, we know, were chanted at religious festivals of Rome from an early period, indeed from so early a period that some of the sacred verses were popularly ascribed to Numa, and were utterly unintelligible in the age of Augustus. Meanwhile the Tuscan army, right glorious to behold, Came flashing back the noonday light, Rank behind rank, like surges bright of a broad sea of gold. And then his eyes grew very dim, and his throat began to swell, And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake, "Farewell, sweet child! Castilian literature will furnish us with another parallel case.
