Books and Habits, from the Lectures of Lafcadio HearnHearn, Lafcadio
History
Books and Habits, from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn
Hearn, Lafcadio
English literature -- History and criticism; Literature -- History and criticism; Poetry -- History and criticism
There is another little Greek study of great and simple beauty entitled
"The Daughter of Cleomenes." It is only an historical incident, but it is
so related for the pleasure of suggesting a profound truth about the
instinct of childhood. Long ago, when the Persians were about to make an
attack upon the Greeks, there was an attempt to buy off the Spartan
resistance, and the messenger to the Spartan general found him playing
with his little daughter, a child of six or seven. The conference was
carried on in whispers, and the child could not hear what was being said;
but she broke up the whole plot by a single word. I shall quote a few
lines from the close of the poem, which contain its moral lessons. The
emissary has tried to tempt him with promises of wealth and power.
He falters; for the waves he fears,
The roads he cannot measure;
But rates full high the gleam of spears
And dreams of yellow treasure.
He listens; he is yielding now;
Outspoke the fearless child:
"Oh, Father, come away, lest thou
Be by this man beguiled."
Her lowly judgment barred the plea,
So low, it could not reach her.
_The man knows more of land and sea,
But she's the truer teacher._
All the little girl could know about the matter was instinctive; she only
saw the cunning face of the stranger, and felt sure that he was trying to
deceive her father for a bad purpose--so she cried out, "Father, come away
with me, or else that man will deceive you." And she spoke truth, as her
father immediately recognized.
There are several more classical studies of extraordinary beauty; but your
interest in them would depend upon something more than interest in Greek
and Roman history, and we can not study all the poems. So I prefer to go
back to the meditative lyrics, and to give a few splendid examples of
these more personal compositions. The following stanzas are from a poem
whose Latin title signifies that Love conquers death. In this poem the
author becomes the equal of Tennyson as a master of language.
The plunging rocks, whose ravenous throats
The sea in wrath and mockery fills,
The smoke that up the valley floats,
The girlhood of the growing hills;
The thunderings from the miners' ledge,
The wild assaults on nature's hoard,
The peak that stormward bares an edge
Ground sharp in days when Titans warred;
Grim heights, by wandering clouds embraced
Where lightning's ministers conspire,
Grey glens, with tarns and streamlet laced,
Stark forgeries of primeval fire.
These scenes may gladden many a mind
Awhile from homelier thoughts released,
And here my fellow men may find
A Sabbath and a vision-feast.
_I bless them in the good they feel;
And yet I bless them with a sigh;
On me this grandeur stamps the seal
Of tyrannous mortality._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account