Leuctra
Nicholas Michell
Plataea from yon lofty ridge looks down;
Its tombs are there, its walls of old renown;
But stay, Boeotian hind! who dost profane,
With plough and spade, yon column-scattered plain,
O'erturning walls thou marvel'st here should be,
And breaking statues — senseless blocks to thee:
Oh, Leuctra! Leuctra! such is now thy fate,
Without a dweller, doomed and desolate!
Author's note: The plain of Leuctra is covered with the ruius of the ancient town, and the monuments which had been raised there in honour of the famous victory gained by Epaminondas over the Spartans. When Clarke passed over the plain, he observed some peasants removing fragments of columns, and rooting up foundations of temples, in order to clear the ground for sowing corn.
