Chief among the highlights of the July/August issue of Poetry (which includes a lovely poem by Amanda Jernigan and a ferocious essay by Joshua Mehigan) is A.E. Stalling's translation of Plutarch's anecdotes on Spartan women.
A woman who had sent her five sons to war waited anxiously outside the city and asked a man approaching which way the battle was going. When he replied that her sons had all perished, she retorted, “You sorry slave, that’s not what I asked.” When he said Sparta was winning, she said, “In that case, I gladly accept the death of my sons.”(Painting by Edgar Degas, "Young Spartans Exercising.")•Another gave her son a shield as he set out for war, saying, “Your father always saved this for you. Keep it safe, not yourself.”
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Another, when her son complained his sword was too short, said, “Step forward: add a foot to it.”
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