Lays of Ancient Rome

Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome resurrects the founding legends of a civilization with balladry that rings like sword on shield. These are the stories Rome told itself about who it was: a people forged in courage, where individuals stood against armies and women chose death over dishonor. Horatius holds the bridge against the Etruscan host, two friends beside him, the city behind. The twins Castor and Pollux ride white horses from the gods to turn the day at Lake Regillus. Virginia's blood awakens a people to tyranny. Each poem is a machine for generating patriotic awe, written in meters that imitate the ancients while speaking to Victorian England. The language is grand, the sentiments unmistakable. This is Macaulay at his most stirring: history as morality play, legend as national scripture. For readers who want to feel the tug of ancient virtue and the terrible beauty of sacrifice.