Horatius at the Bridge
Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay
Lines 209-240

But 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 man die better,
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods,

"And for the tender mother,
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 guard them from false Sextus
That wrought the deed of shame?

"Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon straight path a thousand,
May well be stopped by three:
Now who will stand, on either hand
And keep the bridge with me?"