Lays of Ancient Rome
Encyclopedia
The Lays of Ancient Rome (1842) is a once-famous collection of four lays (short narrative poems
) by Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) describing semi-mythical
heroic episodes in Roman history
with strong drama
tic and tragic
themes. To them are added two poems dealing with more recent European history, "Ivry
" (1824) and "The Armada" (1832).
The poems were composed by Lord Macaulay during his spare time whilst he was the "legal member" of the Governor-General of India's Supreme Council (1834–1838). He wrote about them:
The Roman ballads have short but learned introductions discussing the legends and justifying the poems as being like ballads that might have been sung in ancient Roman times.
The Lays were originally published by Longmans in 1842; they became immensely popular in Victorian
times, and were a popular subject for recitation, a common pastime of the era. They were set reading in British public schools for more than a hundred years. Winston Churchill
memorised them when at Harrow School
, to show that, his academic performance notwithstanding, he was capable of certain mental prodigies.
and two companions (Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius) hold the bridge against a large invading Etruscan
army led by Lars Porsena
from Clusium
. The three heroes are willing to die if it will prevent the enemy from crossing the bridge and sacking an otherwise ill-defended Rome
. While the trio close with the front ranks of the Etruscans, the Romans hurriedly work to demolish the bridge to leave their enemies stranded on the wrong side of the swollen Tiber River.
This poem contains the often-quoted lines:
Spurius Lartius and Herminius regain the Roman side before the bridge's fall, but Horatius is stranded, jumps into the river in full armour, and "when above the surges They saw his crest appear, All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, And even the ranks of Tuscany
Could scarce forebear to cheer." He reaches the Roman shore, is rewarded, and for generations to come "Still is the story told, How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old."
over the Latin League
. The fighting is fierce and bloody - and the event only decided when the twin gods Castor and Pollux
descend to the battlefield on the side of Rome
.
This poem includes a number of finely described single-combats, in conscious imitation of Homer's
Iliad
.
, the only daughter of her father Virginius: a poor Roman citizen-farmer. The wicked patrician decemvir
Appius Claudius Crassus
embarks upon spurious legal proceedings to claim Virginia as his "lost runaway slave": an action guaranteed to succeed given the incumbent corrupt magistracy. Virginius is driven to despair: and in desperation resolves to save his daughter from Appius Claudius' lust by any means - even death is preferable.
Virginia's death subsequently stirs the plebians
to action: their violent outbursts eventually overthrow the decemvirs and lead to the establishment of the office of Tribune
s to protect the plebian interest.
arrive in triumph at the house of their grandfather Capys, the blind old man enters a prophetic frenzy. In his rapture, Capys foretells the future greatness of Romulus'
descendents, and their ultimate victories over their enemies in the Pyhrric
and Punic
wars.
Ivry
This earlier poem of 1824 celebrates a battle won by Henry of Navarre
, later King Henri IV
of the Spanish invasion fleet, and the subsequent lighting of beacons to send the news to London
and across England, "Till Skiddaw
saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle."
Narrative poetry
Narrative poetry is poetry that has a plot. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex. It is usually nondramatic, with objective regular scheme and meter. Narrative poems include epics, ballads, idylls and lays.Some narrative...
) by Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) describing semi-mythical
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
heroic episodes in Roman history
History of Rome
The history of Rome spans 2,800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the centre of a vast civilisation that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries. Its political power was eventually replaced by that of peoples of mostly...
with strong drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic and tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
themes. To them are added two poems dealing with more recent European history, "Ivry
Ivry
Ivry is part of the name of multiple communes in France:* Ivry-la-Bataille, in the Eure département* Ivry-sur-Seine, in the Val-de-Marne départementIvry is also part of the name of a city in the province of Quebec:...
" (1824) and "The Armada" (1832).
Overview
- "The plan occurred to me in the jungle at the foot of the Neilgherry hills; and most of the verses were made during a dreary sojorn at OotacamundOotacamundOotacamund , is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills...
and a disagreeable voyage in the Bay of BengalBay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
."
The Roman ballads have short but learned introductions discussing the legends and justifying the poems as being like ballads that might have been sung in ancient Roman times.
The Lays were originally published by Longmans in 1842; they became immensely popular in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
times, and were a popular subject for recitation, a common pastime of the era. They were set reading in British public schools for more than a hundred years. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
memorised them when at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, to show that, his academic performance notwithstanding, he was capable of certain mental prodigies.
Horatius
The first poem, Horatius, describes how Horatius CoclesHoratius Cocles
Publius Horatius Cocles was an officer in the army of the ancient Roman Republic who famously defended the Pons Sublicius from the invading army of Lars Porsena, king of Clusium in the late 6th century BC, during the war between Rome and Clusium.-Background:...
and two companions (Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius) hold the bridge against a large invading Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
army led by Lars Porsena
Lars Porsena
Lars Porsena, in Etruscan Pursenas, was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium...
from Clusium
Clusium
Clusium was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a prehistoric culture, possibly also Etruscan or proto-Etruscan...
. The three heroes are willing to die if it will prevent the enemy from crossing the bridge and sacking an otherwise ill-defended Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. While the trio close with the front ranks of the Etruscans, the Romans hurriedly work to demolish the bridge to leave their enemies stranded on the wrong side of the swollen Tiber River.
This poem contains the often-quoted lines:
- Then out spake brave Horatius,
- the Captain of the Gate:
- "To every man upon this earth
- Death cometh soon or late.
- And how can man die better
- than facing fearful odds,
- For the ashes of his fathers,
- And the temples of his Gods
Spurius Lartius and Herminius regain the Roman side before the bridge's fall, but Horatius is stranded, jumps into the river in full armour, and "when above the surges They saw his crest appear, All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, And even the ranks of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
Could scarce forebear to cheer." He reaches the Roman shore, is rewarded, and for generations to come "Still is the story told, How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old."
The Battle of Lake Regillus
This poem celebrates the Roman victory at the Battle of Lake RegillusBattle of Lake Regillus
The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary early Roman victory, won over the Latin League led by the expelled Etruscan former king of Rome. It is usually said to have occurred in 498 BC, but other dates have been proposed, including 499 BC, 496 BC and 493 BC.The battle may be entirely legendary,...
over the Latin League
Latin league
The Latin League was a confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near ancient Rome, organized for mutual defense...
. The fighting is fierce and bloody - and the event only decided when the twin gods Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...
descend to the battlefield on the side of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
This poem includes a number of finely described single-combats, in conscious imitation of Homer's
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
.
Virginia
This poem describes the tragedy of VirginiaVerginia
Verginia, or Virginia, was the subject of a story of Ancient Rome, related in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita.The people of Rome were already angry with the decemviri for not calling the proper elections, taking bribes, and other abuses. It seemed that they were returning to the rule of the Kings of Rome...
, the only daughter of her father Virginius: a poor Roman citizen-farmer. The wicked patrician decemvir
Decemviri
Decemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...
Appius Claudius Crassus
Appius Claudius Crassus
Appius Claudius Crassus was a decemvir of the Roman Republic ca 451 BC.His father was Appius Claudius Sabinus, Consul in 471 BCE...
embarks upon spurious legal proceedings to claim Virginia as his "lost runaway slave": an action guaranteed to succeed given the incumbent corrupt magistracy. Virginius is driven to despair: and in desperation resolves to save his daughter from Appius Claudius' lust by any means - even death is preferable.
Virginia's death subsequently stirs the plebians
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...
to action: their violent outbursts eventually overthrow the decemvirs and lead to the establishment of the office of Tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
s to protect the plebian interest.
The Prophecy of Capys
When Romulus and RemusRomulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
arrive in triumph at the house of their grandfather Capys, the blind old man enters a prophetic frenzy. In his rapture, Capys foretells the future greatness of Romulus'
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
descendents, and their ultimate victories over their enemies in the Pyhrric
Pyrrhic War
The Pyrrhic War was a complex series of battles and shifting political alliances among the Greeks , Romans, the Italian peoples , and the CarthaginiansThe Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict between Rome and the city of Tarentum over a naval...
and Punic
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
wars.
IvryIvryIvry is part of the name of multiple communes in France:* Ivry-la-Bataille, in the Eure département* Ivry-sur-Seine, in the Val-de-Marne départementIvry is also part of the name of a city in the province of Quebec:...
, A Song of the Huguenots
This earlier poem of 1824 celebrates a battle won by Henry of NavarreNavarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, later King Henri IV
The Armada: A Fragment
This ballad of 1832 recounts the news arriving at PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
of the Spanish invasion fleet, and the subsequent lighting of beacons to send the news to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and across England, "Till Skiddaw
Skiddaw
Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. With a summit at 931 m above sea level it is the fourth highest mountain in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes...
saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle."
External links
- full text at archive.org
- full text at Poet's Corner
- audiobook at Librivox.org
- German edition (in English) digitized by Google Books