Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 3.djvu/125

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THE GIAOUR.
93
When man was worthy of thy clime.
The hearts within thy valleys bred,[lower-roman 1]
The fiery souls that might have led
Thy sons to deeds sublime,
Now crawl from cradle to the Grave, 150
Slaves—nay, the bondsmen of a Slave,[decimal 1]
And callous, save to crime;
Stained with each evil that pollutes
Mankind, where least above the brutes;
Without even savage virtue blest,
Without one free or valiant breast,
Still to the neighbouring ports they waft[lower-roman 2]
Proverbial wiles, and ancient craft;
In this the subtle Greek is found,
For this, and this alone, renowned. 160
In vain might Liberty invoke
The spirit to its bondage broke
Or raise the neck that courts the yoke:
No more her sorrows I bewail,
Yet this will be a mournful tale,
And they who listen may believe,
Who heard it first had cause to grieve.
*****
Far, dark, along the blue sea glancing,
The shadows of the rocks advancing

Variants

  1. The hearts amid thy mountains bred.—[MS]
  2. Now to the neighbouring shores they waft
    Their ancient and proverbial craft
    .—[MS. erased.]

Notes

  1. Athens is the property of the Kislar Aga [kizlar-aghasî] (the slave of the Seraglio and guardian of the women), who appoints the Waywode. A pander and eunuch—these are not polite, yet true appellations—now governs the governor of Athens!
    [ Hobhouse maintains that this subordination of the waivodes (or vaivodes = the Sclavic βοεβόδα) (Turkish governors of Athens) to a higher Turkish official, was on the whole favourable to the liberties and well-being of the Athenians.—Travels in Albania, 1858, i. 246.]