Mithridates at Chios
KNOW'ST thou, O slave-cursed landHow, when the Chian's cup of guiltWas full to overflow, there cameGod's justice in the sword of flameThat, red with slaughter to its hilt,Blazed in the Cappadocian victor's hand?
The heavens are still and far;But, not unheard of awful Jove,The sighing of the island slaveWas answered, when the AEgean waveThe keels of Mithridates clove,And the vines shrivelled in the breath of war.
"Robbers of Chios! hark,"The victor cried, "to Heaven's decree!Pluck your last cluster from the vine,Drain your last cup of Chian wine;Slaves of your slaves, your doom shall be,In Colchian mines by Phasis rolling dark."
Then rose the long lamentFrom the hoar sea-god's dusky cavesThe priestess rent her hair and cried,"Woe! woe! The gods are sleepless-eyed!"And, chained and scourged, the slaves of slaves,The lords of Chios into exile went.
"The gods at last pay well,"So Hellas sang her taunting song,"The fisher in his net is caught,The Chian hath his master bought;"And isle from isle, with laughter long,Took up and sped the mocking parable.
Once more the slow, dumb yearsBring their avenging cycle round,And, more than Hellas taught of old,Our wiser lesson shall be told,Of slaves uprising, freedom-crowned,To break, not wield, the scourge wet with theirblood and tears.
Words in this poem
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- unheard a.
- Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- keels n.
- Ninepins. See Kayles.
- chian a.
- Of or pertaining to Chios, an island in the Ægean Sea. Chian earth, a dense, compact kind of earth, from Chios, used anciently as an astringent and a cosmetic.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- priestess n.
- A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp.
- sleepless a.
- Having no sleep; wakeful.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- uprising n.
- Act of rising; also, a steep place; an ascent.
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mithridates at Chios is in the public domain. This text is taken from Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform, Complete Volume III of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Project Gutenberg ebook #9580; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Greenleaf Whittier, Mithridates at Chios, in Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform (1865), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9580, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whittier-anti-slavery/mithridates-at-chios.html, id L24914.
Form and metre
Mithridates at Chios is 37 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABCCBA, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABCCBA landA · guiltB · cameC · flameC · hiltB · handA
- 2 -ABBA- far · joveA · slaveB · waveB · cloveA · war
- 3 ABCCBA harkA · decreeB · vineC · wineC · beB · darkA
- 4 ABCCBA lamentA · cavesB · criedC · eyedC · slavesB · wentA
- 5 -ABBA- well · songA · caughtB · boughtB · longA · parable
- 6 ABCCB-A yearsA · roundB · oldC · toldC · crownedB · their · tearsA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| KNOW'ST thou, O slave-cursed land | 7 | ·····˘· |
| How, when the Chian's cup of guilt | 7 | ······· |
| Was full to overflow, there came | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| God's justice in the sword of flame | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That, red with slaughter to its hilt, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Blazed in the Cappadocian victor's hand? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The heavens are still and far; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| But, not unheard of awful Jove, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The sighing of the island slave | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Was answered, when the AEgean wave | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| The keels of Mithridates clove, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And the vines shrivelled in the breath of war. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "Robbers of Chios! hark," | 5 | /˘··· |
| The victor cried, "to Heaven's decree! | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘/ |
| Pluck your last cluster from the vine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Drain your last cup of Chian wine; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Slaves of your slaves, your doom shall be, | 8 | ········ |
| In Colchian mines by Phasis rolling dark." | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Then rose the long lament | 6 | ····˘/ |
| From the hoar sea-god's dusky caves | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The priestess rent her hair and cried, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Woe! woe! The gods are sleepless-eyed!" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, chained and scourged, the slaves of slaves, | 8 | ········ |
| The lords of Chios into exile went. | 9 | ······/·· |
| "The gods at last pay well," | 6 | ······ |
| So Hellas sang her taunting song, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "The fisher in his net is caught, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The Chian hath his master bought;" | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And isle from isle, with laughter long, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Took up and sped the mocking parable. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Once more the slow, dumb years | 6 | ······ |
| Bring their avenging cycle round, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And, more than Hellas taught of old, | 8 | ········ |
| Our wiser lesson shall be told, | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| Of slaves uprising, freedom-crowned, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| To break, not wield, the scourge wet with their | 9 | ········· |
| blood and tears. | 3 | ··· |
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