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THE MARCH OF XERXES, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When in the wantonness of kingly pride
Last Line: More than a god he came, less than a man he fled.
Subject(s): Dardanelles; Xeres I, The Great (519-465 B.c.); Hellespont


WHEN in the wantonness of kingly pride,
Vain Xerxes spurred his war-horse through the tide,
And bore his fleet o'er mountain-tops, -- e'en there
The Eternal bade his evil heart despair:
O'er Hellespont and Athos' marble head,
More than a god he came, less than a man he fled.





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