THE CONTRAST
“Neither my Magnesian home, nor Demetrias, my happy country mourned for me, the son of Sotimos; nor did my mother Soso lament me,—for no weakling did I march against my foes.”—From a painted stele at Volo, Thessaly.
’Tis said, when young Greeks went to die,
Greek mothers would not weep;
And steadfast mien and tearless eye
Controlled themselves to keep.
Ah!—they were trained to bloody deed;
We—in this time so late
That life seemed gentle, know our breed
More tragically great!
Had we foreseen, no tear would fall.
Now mothers, too, could smile ...
Only, we proved men brave ... and dead
In such a little while!