Page:The Pharsalia of Lucan; (IA cu31924026485809).pdf/104
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PHARSALIA
Book III
Meantime had Cæsar's squadron kept the islesNamed Stœchades,[1] and Brutus'[2] turret shipMastered the Rhone. Nor less the Grecian host—Boys not yet grown to war, and aged men,Armed for the conflict, with their all at stake. 580Nor only did they marshal for the fightShips meet for service; but their ancient keelsBrought from the dockyards. When the morning raysBroke from the waters, and the sky was clear,And all the winds were still upon the deep,Smoothed for the battle, swift on either partThe fleets essay the open; and the shipsTremble beneath the oars that urge them on,By sinewy arms impelled. Upon the wingsThat bound the Roman fleet, the larger craft 590With triple and quadruple banks of oarsGird in the lesser: so they front the sea;While in their rear, shaped as a crescent moon,Liburnian galleys follow. Over allTowers Brutus' deck prætorian. Oars on oarsPropel the bulky vessel through the main,Six ranks; the topmost strike the waves afar.When such a space remained between the fleetsAs could be covered by a single stroke,Innumerable voices rose in air 600Drowning with resonant din the beat of oarsAnd note of trumpet summoning: and allSat on the benches and with mighty strokeSwept o'er the sea and gained the space between.
- ↑ Three islands off the coast near Toulon, now called the Isles d'Hyères.
- ↑ This was Decimus Brutus, an able and trusted lieutenant of Cæsar, who made him one of his heirs in the second degree. He, however, joined the conspiracy, and it was he who on the day of the murder induced Cæsar to go to the Senate House. Less than two years later, after the siege of Perusia, he was deserted by his army, taken and put to death.