s ———————

54

ling thoughts devour my heart as I regard myself outraged.
For who decisively endowed these parvenu gods with pre-
rogatives, who other than I? But I speak no more of matters
you have learned before. Now usten to the taie of mortal
1lts, of men devoid of skill or wit until I filled their heart with
sense and planted understanding 1n 1t. I shall not speak re-
proaching men but to explain I aided them out of my deep
sympathy. First of all, though men had eyes, they blindly
saw; though they had ears their hearing comprehended noth-
ing. Men resembied dim dream-phantoms, muddling
through their days and mixing everything into confusion.
They were ignorant of building houses warm with molded
brick and nothing knew of work in wood, but groveling, dwelt
underground 1n sunless corners of caves, like ants. Unchar-
tered were the seasons’changes—winter came unrecognized,
and spring, breathing flowers, passed by undistinguished from
the summer; all mortal actions thus lacked judgment, until
I described for men the paths of rising stars and setting,
directions hitherto confounded. Then I invented number-
ing, the cleverest device, and taught them to combine
the alphabet. For its use, memory, diligent mother-muse,
I gave. I was first to yoke brute beasts into collar
and pack saddle so that they should serve mankind by
transporting the grossest burdens; to chariots I harnes-
sed the horse—tame and obediently bridled—to be the
choicest ornament displayed by riches and refinement. The
sailors’ sea-roving cart unfurling flaxen wings to the wind
was my contrivance. Wise I am and a wretched god, des-
pised by chains, no help to myself who freed all men.

Chorus: Pain you have suffered, and sorrow; you roam pan-