Tributes to the Red Planet Mars!

Dear Members, Alumni, & Friends of the James Scholar Advisory & Leadership Team:

The planet Mars has been in the headlines quite a bit lately. Discoveries about saltwater flowing on the Red Planet (in summertime) have raised the hopes that life (of some sort) might yet be discovered on this desert world that closely resembles Antarctica on Earth. We now know that Mars had lakes, rivers, and oceans for a long period of its history, which means that even if we never find living organisms there, we might expect to find some fossilized remains of life from the past. Be that as it may, here are two poems from ancient Greece about Ares (Mars), the divine patron of warriors and warfare in the Olympian pantheon, who was also believed to be the regent or viceroy of the planet Mars in antiquity. These two poems are noteworthy because they ask Ares/Mars to cease from warfare and promote peace. :) Finally, we have two related poems by Longfellow, the second of which uses the planet Mars as a symbol of strength and perseverance.

Orphic Hymn #54: To Mars

The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE

Magnanimous, unconquered, boisterous Mars,

In darts rejoicing, and in bloody wars

Fierce and untamed, whose mighty power can make

The strongest walls from their foundations shake:

Mortal-destroying king, defiled with gore,

Pleased with war’s dreadful and tumultuous roar:

Thee, human blood, and swords, and spears delight,

And the dire ruin of mad savage fight.

Stay, furious contests, and avenging strife,

Whose works with woe, embitter human life;

To lovely Venus, and to Bacchus yield,

To Ceres give the weapons of the field;

Encourage peace, to gentle works inclined,

And give abundance, with benignant mind.

Homeric Hymn #8: To Ares (Mars)

[1] Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, savior of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defense of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, [5] stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptered king of bravery, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! [10] Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread [15] the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.

2 Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

A PSALM OF LIFE

(WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST)

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real !   Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, however pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God overhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

THE LIGHT OF STARS

(A SECOND PSALM OF LIFE)

The night is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky.

There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.

Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?
Oh no! from that blue tent above
A hero's armor gleams.

And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,
The shield of that red star.

O star of strength! I see thee stand
And smile upon my pain;
Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand,
And I am strong again.

Within my breast there is no light
But the cold light of stars;
I give the first watch of the night
To the red planet Mars.

The star of the unconquered will,
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,
And calm, and self-possessed.

And thou, too, whosoever thou art,
That readest this brief psalm,
As one by one thy hopes depart,
Be resolute and calm.

Oh, fear not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know erelong,
Know how sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong.

And of course, to reach Mars within the next couple of decades, we’ll need courage, determination, and PEACE so that the nations of the world can cooperate on this grand adventure! :)

Until next time –

Rob