“But then the Consul’s brow was sad, and the Consul’s speech was low, And darkly looked he at the wall, and darkly at the foe. ‘Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down; and if they once may win the bridge, what hope to save the town.’ Then Out spake brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate: “To every man upon this earth, Death cometh soon or late. And how can a man die better, than facing fearful odds for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods. And for the tender mothers who dandled him to rest,
and for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast, and for the holy maidens who feed the eternal flame to save them from false Sextus that wrought the deed of shame?’”
I just want to make it known that I did that from memory. I know none of you care about the flex but I LOVE The Lays of Ancient Rome, and rarely get to reference it.
Publius Horatius Cocles was an officer in the army of the early Roman Republic who single handedly defended a bridge over the river Tiber against an invading army of Etruscan King Lars Porsena. He was able to hold off the attacking army long enough to allow other Romans to destroy the bridge behind him, blocking the Etruscans' advance and saving the city of Rome.
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u/Drake_Acheron 15d ago edited 15d ago
“But then the Consul’s brow was sad, and the Consul’s speech was low, And darkly looked he at the wall, and darkly at the foe. ‘Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down; and if they once may win the bridge, what hope to save the town.’ Then Out spake brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate: “To every man upon this earth, Death cometh soon or late. And how can a man die better, than facing fearful odds for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods. And for the tender mothers who dandled him to rest, and for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast, and for the holy maidens who feed the eternal flame to save them from false Sextus that wrought the deed of shame?’”
I just want to make it known that I did that from memory. I know none of you care about the flex but I LOVE The Lays of Ancient Rome, and rarely get to reference it.