It feels a shame to be Alive — Battle of Thermopylae

It feels a shame to be Alive－¹
When Men so brave－are dead－
One envies the Distinguished Dust－
Permitted－such a Head－

The Stone－that tells defending Whom ⁵
This Spartan put away
What little of Him we－possessed
In Pawn for Liberty－

The price is great－Sublimely paid－⁹
Do we deserve－a Thing－
That lives－like Dollars－must be piled
Before we may obtain?

Are we that wait－sufficient worth－¹³
That such Enormous Pearl
As life－dissolved be－for Us－
In Battle's－horrid Bowl?

It may be－a Renown to live－¹⁷
I think the Man who die－
Those unsustained－Saviors－
Present Divinity－

(F.524/J.444)

[1, 2] shame to be Alive, Men so brave are dead:: in the battle of Thermopylae, all Spartans died.
[5] The Stone:: Simonides of Ceos (c.556 BC-468 BC) composed an epigram on a stone at Thermopylae for the soldiers dead in the battle, translated as: Go tell the Spartans, stranger, that here obedient to their laws we lie.
[6, 16] Spartan, Battle:: a hint on the battle of Thermopylae.
[6] put away:: to reject Persians, and to put away in grave (themselves).
[17] Renown:: After the battle, Persians recognized that those Spartans died for glory, not for gold.

Dickinson wrote in her letter (L.906), "How martial the Apology of Nature! We die, said the Deathless of Thermopylae, in obedience to Law."

to the memory of Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans, expressed in a few simple words by the poet Simonides: "Tell, stranger, at Sparta, that you wept over the ashes of the three hundred, who devoted themselves to death in obedience to the laws of their country." ─ The Critical review (1791)