Aeschylus

“ For Zeus is past persuasion—urge him not!
Look to thyself, lest thine emprise thou rue.
Oceanus
Thou hast more skill to school thy neighbour's fault
Than to amend thine own: 'tis proved and plain,
By fact, not hearsay, that I read this well.
Yet am I fixed to go—withhold me not—
Assured I am, assured, that Zeus will grant
The boon I crave, the loosening of thy bonds.
Prometheus
In part I praise thee, to the end will praise;
Goodwill thou lackest not, but yet forbear
Thy further trouble! If thy heart be fain,
Bethink thee that thy toil avails me not. ”

“ Thou, double-dyed in gall of bitterness,
Trickster and sinner against gods, by giving
The stolen fire to perishable men!
Attend—the Sire supreme doth bid thee tell
What is the wedlock which thou vauntest now,
Whereby he falleth from supremacy?
Speak forth the whole, make all thine utterance clear,
Have done with words inscrutable, nor cause
To me, Prometheus! any further toil
Or twofold journeying. Go to—thou seëst
Zeus doth not soften at such words as thine!
Prometheus
Pompous, in sooth, thy word, and swoln with pride,
As doth befit the lacquey of thy lords!
O ye young gods! ”

“ For the woe and the wreck and the doom, Prometheus, I utter my sighs;
O'er my cheek flows the fountain of tears from tender, compassionate eyes.
For stern and abhorred is the sway of Zeus on his self-sought throne,
And ruthless the spear of his scorn, to the gods of the days that are done.
And over the limitless earth goes up a disconsolate cry:
Ye were all so fair, and have fallen; so great, and your might has gone by!
So wails with a mighty lament the voice of the mortals, who dwell
In the Eastland, the home of the holy, for thee and the fate that befel ”

“ The Chorus alight from their winged cars.
Enter Oceanus, mounted on a griffin.⁠
Oceanus
Thus, over leagues and leagues of space
I come, Prometheus, to thy place—
By will alone, not rein, I guide
The wingèd thing on which I ride;
And much, be sure, I mourn thy case—
Kinship is Pity's bond, I trow;
And, wert thou not akin, I vow
None other should have more than thou
⁠Of my compassion's grace!
'Tis said, and shall be proved; no skill
Have I to gloze and feign goodwill! ”

“ I had attained surcease from all my woes.
Better it is to die one death outright
Than linger out long life in misery.
Prometheus
Ill would'st thou bear these agonies of mine—
Mine, with whose fate it standeth not to win
The goal of death, which were release from pain!
Now, there is set no limit to my woe
Till Zeus be hurled from his omnipotence.
Io
Zeus hurled from pride of place! Can such things be?
Prometheus
Thou wert full fain, methinks, to see that sight!
Io
Even so—his overthrow who wrought my pain.
Prometheus
Then may'st thou know thereof; such fall shall be. ”

“ Thou could'st not cower to Zeus: a love too great
⁠Thou unto man hast given—
Too high of heart thou wert—ah, thankless fate!
⁠What aid, 'gainst wrath of Heaven,
Could mortal man afford? in vain thy gift
⁠To things so powerless!
Could'st thou not see? they are as dreams that drift;
⁠Their strength is feebleness—
A purblind race, in hopeless fetters bound,
⁠They have no craft or skill,
That could o'erreach the ordinance profound
⁠Of the eternal will.
Alas, Prometheus! ”

“ With pride of place, sits Zeus among the gods!
Now, if thou choosest to fling forth on him
Words rough with anger thus and edged with scorn,
Zeus, though he sit aloof, afar, on high,
May hear thine utterance, and make thee deem
His present wrath a mere pretence of pain.
Banish, poor wretch! the passion of thy soul,
And seek, instead, acquittance from thy pangs!
Belike my words seem ancientry to thee—
Such, natheless, O Prometheus, is the meed
That doth await the overweening tongue!
Meek wert thou never, wilt not crouch to pain,
But, set amid misfortunes, cravest more! ”

“ What sin, Prometheus, dost thou thus atone?
Prometheus
One moment since, I told my woes and ceased.
Io
Then should I plead my suit to thee in vain?
Prometheus
Nay, speak thy need; nought would I hide from thee.
Io
Pronounce who nailed thee to the rocky cleft.
Prometheus
Zeus, by intent; Hephaestus, by his hand.
Io
For what wrongdoing do these pains atone?
Prometheus
What I have said, is said; suffice it thee!
Io
Yet somewhat add; forewarn me in my woe
What time shall bring my wandering to its goal?
Prometheus
Fore-knowledge is fore-sorrow; ask it not. ”

“ Wear thee away; for know, the womb of Time
Hath not conceived a power to set thee free.
Such meed thou hast, for love toward mankind;
For thou, a god defying wrath of gods,
Beyond the ordinance didst champion men,
And for reward shalt keep a sleepless watch,
Stiff-kneed, erect, nailed to this dismal rock,
With manifold laments and useless cries
Against the will inexorable of Zeus.
Hard is the heart of fresh-usurpèd power!
Strength
Enough of useless ruth! why tarriest thou?
Why pitiest one whom all gods wholly hate,
One who to man gave o'er thy privilege? ”

“ Enter the Chorus of Oceanides,
in winged cars.⁠
Chorus
Ah, fear us not! as friends, with rivalry
Of swiftly-vying wings, we came together
⁠Unto this rock and thee!
With our sea-sire we pleaded hard, until
⁠We won him to our will,
And swift the wafting breezes bore us hither.
The heavy hammer's steely blow
Thrilled to our ocean-cavern from afar,
Banished soft shyness from our maiden brow,
And with unsandalled feet we come, in wingèd car!
Prometheus
Ah well-a-day! ”

“ Until these shaming bonds be loosed from me.
So, let him fling his blazing levin-bolt!
Let him with white and wingèd flakes of snow,
And rumbling earthquakes, whelm and shake the world!
For nought of this shall bend me to reveal
The power ordained to hurl him from his throne.
Hermes
Bethink thee if such words can mend thy lot.
Prometheus
All have I long foreseen, and all resolved.
Hermes
Perverse of will! constrain, constrain thy soul
To think more wisely in the grasp of doom! ”

“ Prometheus
No matter which—more must not be revealed.
Io
Doth then a consort thrust him from his throne?
Prometheus
The child she bears him shall o'ercome his sire.
Io
And hath he no avoidance of this doom?
Prometheus
None, surely—till that I, released from bonds—
Io
Who can release thee, but by will of Zeus?
Prometheus
Fate gives this duty to a child of thine!
Io
How? Shall a child of mine undo thy woes?
Prometheus
Yea, of thy lineage, thirteen times removed.
Io
Dark beyond guessing grows thine oracle. ”

“ That gods immortal make him rue to-day,
Lessoned hereby to own th' omnipotence
Of Zeus, and to repent his love to man!
Hephaestus
O Strength and Force, for you the hest of Zeus
Stands all achieved, and nothing bars your will:
But I—I dare not bind to storm-vext cleft
One of our race, immortal as are we.
Yet, none the less, necessity constrains,
For Zeus, defied, is heavy in revenge!
⁠ (To Prometheus)
O deep-devising child of Themis sage,
Small will have I to do, or thou to bear,
What yet we must. ”

“ Alas, Prometheus! I lament thy pain.
Strength
Thou, faltering and weeping sore for those
Whom Zeus abhors! 'ware, lest thou rue thy tears!
Hephaestus
Thou gazest on a scene that poisons sight.
Strength
I gaze on one who suffers his desert.
Now between rib and shoulder shackle him—
Hephaestus
Do it I must—hush thy superfluous charge!
Strength
Urge thee I will—ay, hound thee to the prey. ”

“ To see thee once again from fetters free
And matched with Zeus in parity of power.
Prometheus
Not yet nor thus hath Fate ordained the end—
Not until age-long pains and countless woes
Have bent and bowed me, shall my shackles fall;
Art strives too feebly against destiny.
Chorus
But what hand rules the helm of destiny?
Prometheus
The triform Fates, and Furies unforgiving.
Chorus
Then is the power of Zeus more weak than theirs?
Prometheus
He may not shun the fate ordained for him. ”

“ Ready to bear for thee the brunt of doom,
Choosing to pass into the lampless world
Of Hades and the murky depths of hell.
Hereat, advise thee! 'tis no feignèd threat
Whereof I warn thee, but an o'er-true tale.
The lips of Zeus know nought of lying speech,
But wreak in action all their words foretell.
Therefore do thou look warily, and deem
Prudence a better saviour than self-will.
Chorus
Meseems that Hermes speaketh not amiss,
Bidding thee leave thy wilfulness and seek
The wary walking of a counselled mind.
Give heed! to err through anger shames the wise.
Prometheus ”

“ Strength
All hath its burden, save the rule of Heaven,
And freedom is for Zeus, and Zeus alone.
Hephaestus
I know it; I gainsay no word hereof.
Strength
Up, then, and hasten to do on his bonds,
Lest Zeus behold thee indolent of will! ”

“ The depths of the sea are troubled; they mourn from their caverns profound,
And the darkest and innermost hell moans deep with a sorrowful sound;
And the rivers of waters, that flow from the fountains that spring without stain,
Are as one in the great lamentation, and moan for thy piteous pain.
Prometheus
Deem not that I in pride or wilful scorn
Restrain my speech; 'tis wistful memory
That rends my heart, when I behold myself
Abased to wretchedness. To these new gods
I and none other gave their lots of power
In full attainment ”

“ And ears they had but heard not; age on age,
Like unsubstantial shapes in vision seen,
They groped at random in the world of sense,
Nor knew to link their building, brick with brick,
Nor how to turn its aspect to the sun,
Nor how to join the beams by carpentry.
In hollowed caves they dwelt, as emmets dwell,
Weak feathers for each blast, in sunless caves. ”

“ To range myself with Zeus, two wills in one.
Thus, by device of mine, the murky depth
Of Tartarus enfoldeth Cronos old
And those who strove beside him. Such the aid
I gave the lord of heaven—my meed for which
He paid me thus, a penal recompense!
For 'tis the inward vice of tyranny,
To deem of friends as being secret foes.
Now, to your question—hear me clearly show
On what imputed fault he tortures me.
Scarce was he seated on his father's throne,
When he began his doles of privilege
Among the lesser gods, allotting power
In trim division ”

“ Let us go hence; his legs are firmly chained.
Strength (To Prometheus)
Aha! there play the insolent, and steal,
For creatures of a day, the rights of gods!
O deep delusion of the powers that named thee
Prometheus, the Fore-thinker! ”

“ That thou may'st learn thy wanderings and their goal.
First, from this spot toward the sunrise turn,
And cross the steppe that knoweth not the plough:
Thus to the nomad Scythians shalt thou come,
Who dwell in wattled homes, not built on earth
But borne along on wains of sturdy wheel—
Equipped, themselves, with bows of mighty reach.
Pass them avoidingly, and leave their land,
And skirt the beaches where the tides make moan,
Till, lo! upon the left hand thou shalt find
The Chalybes, stout craftsmen of the steel—
Beware of them! ”

“ In the beginning, Ouranos and Gaia held sway over Heaven and Earth. And manifold children were born unto them, of whom were Cronos, and Okeanos, and the Titans, and the Giants. But Cronos cast down his father Ouranos, and ruled in his stead, until Zeus his son cast him down in his turn, and became King of Gods and men. Then were the Titans divided, for some had good will unto Cronos, and others unto Zeus; until Prometheus, son of the Titan Iapetos, by wise counsel, gave the victory to Zeus. ”

“ But Zeus held the race of mortal men in scorn, and was fain to destroy them from the face of the earth; yet Prometheus loved them, and gave secretly to them the gift of fire, and arts whereby they could prosper upon the earth. Then was Zeus sorely angered with Prometheus, and bound him upon a mountain, and afterward overwhelmed him in an earthquake, and devised other torments against him for many ages; yet could he not slay Prometheus, for he was a God.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Strength and Force. ”