Lord Byron (लॉर्ड बायरन)

Nisus, the guardian of the portal, stood,Eager to gild his arms with hostile blood.

Well skill'd, in fight, the quivering lance to wield,Or pour his arrows thro' th' embattled field.

From Ida torn, he left his sylvan cave,And sought a foreign home, a distant grave.

To watch the movements of the Daunian host,With him Euryalus sustains the post.

No lovelier mien adorn'd the ranks of Troy,And beardless bloom yet grac'd the gallant boy.

Though few the seasons of his youthful life,As yet a novice in the martial strife.

'Twas his, with beauty, Valour's gifts to share--,A soul heroic, as his form was fair.

These burn with one pure flame of generous love,In peace, in war, united still they move.

Friendship and Glory form their joint reward,And, now, combin'd they hold their nightly guard.

"What God," exclaim'd the first, "instils this fire?,Or, in itself a God, what great desire?.

My lab'ring soul, with anxious thought oppress'd,Abhors this station of inglorious rest.

The love of fame with this can ill accord,Be't mine to seek for glory with my sword.

See'st thou yon camp, with torches twinkling dim,Where drunken slumbers wrap each lazy limb?.

Where confidence and ease the watch disdain,And drowsy Silence holds her sable reign?.

Then hear my thought:--In deep and sullen grief,Our troops and leaders mourn their absent chief.

Now could the gifts and promised prize be thine,(The deed, the danger, and the fame be mine,).

Were this decreed, beneath yon rising mound,Methinks, an easy path, perchance, were found.

Which past, I speed my way to Pallas' walls,And lead Æneas from Evander's halls.".

With equal ardour fir'd, and warlike joy,His glowing friend address'd the Dardan boy:--.

"These deeds, my Nisus, shalt thou dare alone?,Must all the fame, the peril, be thine own?.

Am I by thee despis'd, and left afar,As one unfit to share the toils of war?.

Not thus his son the great Opheltes taught,Not thus my sire in Argive combats fought.

Not thus, when Ilion fell by heavenly hate,I track'd Æneas through the walks of fate.

Thou know'st my deeds, my breast devoid of fear,And hostile life-drops dim my gory spear.

Here is a soul with hope immortal burns,And _life_, ignoble _life_, for _Glory_ spurns.

Fame, fame is cheaply earn'd by fleeting breath,The price of honour, is the sleep of death.".

Then Nisus:--"Calm thy bosom's fond alarms,Thy heart beats fiercely to the din of arms.

More dear thy worth, and valour than my own,I swear by him, who fills Olympus' throne!.

So may I triumph, as I speak the truth,And clasp again the comrade of my youth!.

But should I fall,--and he, who dares advance,Through hostile legions, must abide by chance,--.

If some Rutulian arm, with adverse blow,Should lay the friend, who ever lov'd thee, low.

Live thou--such beauties I would fain preserve--,Thy budding years a lengthen'd term deserve.

When humbled in the dust, let some one be,Whose gentle eyes will shed one tear for me.

Whose manly arm may snatch me back by force,Or wealth redeem, from foes, my captive corse.

Or, if my destiny these last deny,If, in the spoiler's power, my ashes lie.

Thy pious care may raise a simple tomb,To mark thy love, and signalise my doom.

Why should thy doating wretched mother weep,Her only boy, reclin'd in endless sleep?.

Who, for thy sake, the tempest's fury dar'd,Who, for thy sake, war's deadly peril shar'd.

Who brav'd what woman never brav'd before,And left her native, for the Latian shore.".

"In vain you damp the ardour of my soul,",Replied Euryalus; "it scorns controul.

Hence, let us haste!"--their brother guards arose,Rous'd by their call, nor court again repose.

The pair, buoy'd up on Hope's exulting wing,Their stations leave, and speed to seek the king.

Now, o'er the earth a solemn stillness ran,And lull'd alike the cares of brute and man.

Save where the Dardan leaders, nightly, hold,Alternate converse, and their plans unfold.

On one great point the council are agreed,An instant message to their prince decreed.

Each lean'd upon the lance he well could wield,And pois'd with easy arm his ancient shield.

When Nisus and his friend their leave request,To offer something to their high behest.

With anxious tremors, yet unaw'd by fear,The faithful pair before the throne appear.

Iulus greets them; at his kind command,The elder, first, address'd the hoary band.

"With patience" (thus Hyrtacides began),"Attend, nor judge, from youth, our humble plan.

Where yonder beacons half-expiring beam,Our slumbering foes of future conquest dream.

Nor heed that we a secret path have trac'd,Between the ocean and the portal plac'd.

Beneath the covert of the blackening smoke,Whose shade, securely, our design will cloak!.

If you, ye Chiefs, and Fortune will allow,We'll bend our course to yonder mountain's brow.

Where Pallas' walls, at distance, meet the sight,Seen o'er the glade, when not obscur'd by night.

Then shall Æneas in his pride return,While hostile matrons raise their offspring's urn.

And Latian spoils, and purpled heaps of dead,Shall mark the havoc of our Hero's tread.

Such is our purpose, not unknown the way,Where yonder torrent's devious waters stray.

Oft have we seen, when hunting by the stream,The distant spires above the valleys gleam.".

Mature in years, for sober wisdom fam'd,Mov'd by the speech, Alethes here exclaim'd,--.

"Ye parent gods! who rule the fate of Troy,Still dwells the Dardan spirit in the boy.

When minds, like these, in striplings thus ye raise,Yours is the godlike act, be yours the praise.

In gallant youth, my fainting hopes revive,And Ilion's wonted glories still survive.".

Then in his warm embrace the boys he press'd,And, quivering, strain'd them to his agéd breast.

With tears the burning cheek of each bedew'd,And, sobbing, thus his first discourse renew'd:--.

"What gift, my countrymen, what martial prize,Can we bestow, which you may not despise?.

Our Deities the first best boon have given--,Internal virtues are the gift of Heaven.

What poor rewards can bless your deeds on earth,Doubtless await such young, exalted worth.

Æneas and Ascanius shall combine,To yield applause far, far surpassing mine.".

Iulus then:--"By all the powers above!,By those Penates, who my country love!.

By hoary Vesta's sacred Fane, I swear,My hopes are all in you, ye generous pair!.

Restore my father, to my grateful sight,And all my sorrows, yield to one delight.

Nisus! two silver goblets are thine own,Sav'd from Arisba's stately domes o'erthrown.

My sire secured them on that fatal day,Nor left such bowls an Argive robber's prey.

Two massy tripods, also, shall be thine,Two talents polish'd from the glittering mine.

An ancient cup, which Tyrian Dido gave,While yet our vessels press'd the Punic wave.

But when the hostile chiefs at length bow down,When great Æneas wears Hesperia's crown.

The casque, the buckler, and the fiery steed,Which Turnus guides with more than mortal speed.

Are thine; no envious lot shall then be cast,I pledge my word, irrevocably past.

Nay more, twelve slaves, and twice six captive dames,To soothe thy softer hours with amorous flames.

And all the realms, which now the Latins sway,The labours of to-night shall well repay.

But thou, my generous youth, whose tender years,Are near my own, whose worth my heart reveres.

Henceforth, affection, sweetly thus begun,Shall join our bosoms and our souls in one.

Without thy aid, no glory shall be mine,Without thy dear advice, no great design.

Alike, through life, esteem'd, thou godlike boy,In war my bulwark, and in peace my joy.".

To him Euryalus:--"No day shall shame,The rising glories which from this I claim.

Fortune may favour, or the skies may frown,But valour, spite of fate, obtains renown.

Yet, ere from hence our eager steps depart,One boon I beg, the nearest to my heart.

My mother, sprung from Priam's royal line,Like thine ennobled, hardly less divine.

Nor Troy nor king Acestes' realms restrain,Her feeble age from dangers of the main.

Alone she came, all selfish fears above,A bright example of maternal love.

Unknown, the secret enterprise I brave,Lest grief should bend my parent to the grave.

From this alone no fond adieus I seek,No fainting mother's lips have press'd my cheek.

By gloomy Night and thy right hand I vow,Her parting tears would shake my purpose now.

Do thou, my prince, her failing age sustain,In thee her much-lov'd child may live again.

Her dying hours with pious conduct bless,Assist her wants, relieve her fond distress.

So dear a hope must all my soul enflame,To rise in glory, or to fall in fame.".

Struck with a filial care so deeply felt,In tears at once the Trojan warriors melt.

Faster than all, Iulus' eyes o'erflow!,Such love was his, and such had been his woe.

"All thou hast ask'd, receive," the Prince replied,"Nor this alone, but many a gift beside.

To cheer thy mother's years shall be my aim,Creusa's style but wanting to the dame.