Scorched in the sun's clear heat, shall fade away.
Night shall come up with garniture of stars
To comfort thee with shadow, and the sun
Disperse with retrickt beams the morning-frosts,
But through all changes sense of present woe
Shall vex thee sore, because with none of them
There comes a hand to free. Such fruit is plucked
From love of man! and in that thou, a god,
Didst brave the wrath of gods and give away
Undue respect to mortals, for that crime
Thou art adjudged to guard this joyless rock,
Erect, unslumbering, bending not the knee,
And many a cry and unavailing moan
To utter on the air. For Zeus is stern,
And new-made kings are cruel."1

Left alone upon the high jutting rocks at the ends of the earth Prometheus is visited first by the Okeanides, sea Nymphs who also express deep sympathy for him. They anxiously desire him to explain the cause for which he is made to suffer. He tells his own story-a far more dignified account than that in Hesiod. Though he declares to speak of it or to keep silence is torture, he very humanly chooses the woe of speech as what person

1 See Translation by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

overwhelmed with pain does not. He relates how, when the war arose between the two factions of the gods, one of whom desired to cast Kronos from his throne, in order that Zeus might be made king, the other determined that no Zeus should rule the gods forever, he counseled the Titans, the children of Heaven and Earth to resort to subtle machinations to gain their ends, but they paid no heed to him, assuming that it was an easy thing to gain the mastery of Fate by force. His mother, Themis or the Earth prophesied to him again and again that victory would not come to the gods who relied upon strength and violence, but only by means of guile.

As the Titans insisted upon scorning the warnings of Prometheus, he carried his mother to Zeus, who was willing to listen to the counsel, and by its means, Zeus was enabled to plunge Kronos, and all his hosts into the depths of Tartaros. But instead of being grateful to Prometheus for his help, Zeus distrusted him, not without reason, it would seem, as subsequent events prove. When Zeus ascended his father's throne, he made various gifts to the gods, dealing his empire out among

them, but "of miserable men he took no count." He even desired to sweep them off the earth and people it with a new race. Not one of the gods dared to object to this but Prometheus, and he not only saved mortals from utter ruin but he bestowed upon them the gift of hope, which prevented them from premeditating death, and above all the gift of fire by means of which they would learn many arts. To this the Okeanides reply with sympathy, but not with complete comprehension of the unbending will of Prometheus. They inquire of him if he is not aware of the fact that after all he has sinned. They grieve to think this, and wish there might be some means by which he could extricate himself from the sin. But Prometheus, with the strength of purpose that never for a moment wavers, exclaims somewhat scornfully: "It is in truth

An easy thing to stand aloof from pain
And lavish exhortation and advice
On one vexed sorely by it. I have known
All in prevision. By my choice, my choice,
I freely sinned-I will confess my sin-
And helping mortals found my own despair."

He begs them to listen to the tale of the consummation of his woes, beseeching their further sympathy. The chorus listens to his exhortation and prepares to obey, but Okeanos enters just at that moment. He, also, is a sympathizer, yet one who believes it would be better to bow to the will of Zeus. He even offers to intercede with Zeus in behalf of Prometheus, at which piece of purposed kindness Prometheus with much sarcasm remarks:

"I gratulate thee who hast shared and dared

All things with me, except their penalty.

Enough so leave these thoughts. It cannot be That thou shouldst move HIM. HE may not be moved."

Still Okeanos insists, declaring:

Thy wisdom hath no power to drag me back;
Because I glory, glory, to go hence

And win for thee deliverance from thy pangs,
As a free gift from Zeus."

Prometheus applauds this generous offer but again declares it will be useless, and reveals his own infinite kindness of nature in requesting