"Go tell it"－What a Message－1
To whom－is specified－
Not murmur－not endearment－
But simply－we－obeyed－
Obeyed－a Lure－a Longing? 5
Oh Nature－none of this－
To Law－said sweet Thermopylae
I give my dying Kiss－
To whom－is specified－
Not murmur－not endearment－
But simply－we－obeyed－
Obeyed－a Lure－a Longing? 5
Oh Nature－none of this－
To Law－said sweet Thermopylae
I give my dying Kiss－
(F.1584/J.1554)
[1] "Go tell it":: a line of the epitaph by Simonides for the battle of Thermopylae: "Go, tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, That here, obedient to their laws, we lie." (Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, 1833) "Go tell it":: a hint on the betrayal of Ephialtes, who revealed the secret path in the battle of Thermopylae.
[4] we obeyed:: "obedient to their laws, we lie."
[8] give, Kiss:: a kiss of death; (Mark 14:44) And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
At this time Ephialtes, a Malian, offered to show Xerxes a path over the mountain to Thermopylae. ─ An Analysis and Summary of Herodotus (1852)