No More Learning

The fire that on my bosom preys
Is lone[iii] as some Volcanic isle;
No torch is kindled at its blaze--
A funeral pile.

4.

The hope, the fear, the jealous care,
The exalted portion of the pain
And power of love, I cannot share,
But wear the chain.

5.

But 't is not _thus_--and 't is not _here_--[iv]
Such thoughts should shake my soul, nor now
Where Glory decks the hero's bier,[v]
Or binds his brow.

6.

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field,[vi]
Glory and Greece, around me see!
The Spartan, borne upon his shield,[134]
Was not more free.

7.

Awake! (not Greece--she _is_ awake! )
Awake, my spirit! Think through _whom_
Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake,[vii]
And then strike home!

8.

Tread those reviving passions down,[viii]
Unworthy manhood!
--unto thee
Indifferent should the smile or frown
Of Beauty be.

9.

If thou regret'st thy youth, _why live_?
The land of honourable death
Is here:--up to the Field, and give
Away thy breath!

10.

Seek out--less often sought than found--
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy Rest.

Missolonghi, _Jan_. 22, 1824.
[First published, _Morning Chronicle_, October 29, 1824. ]

FOOTNOTES:

[133] ["This morning Lord Byron came from his bedroom into the apartment
where Colonel Stanhope and some friends were assembled, and said with a
smile--'You were complaining, the other day, that I never write any
poetry now:--this is my birthday, and I have just finished something,
which, I think, is better than what I usually write. ' He then produced
these noble and affecting verses, which were afterwards found written in
his journals, with only the following introduction: 'Jan. 22; on this
day I complete my 36^th^ year. '"--_A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last
Journey to Greece_, 1825, p. 125, by Count Gamba. In the _Morning
Chronicle_, October 29, 1824, the lines are headed, "Lord Byron's Latest
Verses," and are prefaced by the following note: "We have been indebted
to a friend for the following immortal verses, the last he ever
composed. Four of the lines have already appeared in an article in the
_Westminster Review_" ("Lord Byron in Greece," July, 1824, vol.