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so let him throw in my face the lightning’s forked curl, let
sky be burst and thunder toll—let wild winds blow; let hur-
ricanes wrench the world from its base—let earth be uprooted—
let the sea-surge roll its heavy limbs along to encroach upon
the course of stars. Then let him raise aloft my form and hurl
it to black Tartarus, savagely! Let him rage and roar, but

Zeus will never brlng Prometheus unto death’s door.
Hermes: Such muttering and cursing are the sounds that
madmen utter; wherein does his language differ from sheer
raving—wherein does he abate the tempest raging in his
mind? Yet, you who sympathize and share with him these
griefs, withdraw yourselves most speedily from the regions of
this cliff, lest the thunder’s®oar, inexorable, stun your senses,
blast your wits!

Chorus: Entreat me with another theme and argument—
the tenor of your utterance grieves me beyound endurance.
How dare,how dare you order me to actions base and cowardly |
Wheedle me with a different tune. Resolved am I, resolved to
wait and suffer too whatever holocaust must follow, Yet trai-
tors I have learned to loathe. I abhor a plague, but more ab-
horrent is desertion.

Hermes: Keepin mind my warning words when ruin’s breath

comes breathing by, and do not blame blind chance—nor ever
claim Zeus sent you trials and troubles unforseen, but blame

your unwise dalliance and folly. Wwell forewarned you are,
and neither nearing secretly nor by sudden clasp will ruin’s
web, inextricable, ensnare you, but through your own con-
trivance. (exit)

Hephaistus: Now word becomes deed —the world trembles
and rocks, an echoing thunderpeal rolls from the deeps;
fiery-faced lightning glares at me, and whirlwinds whip
the dust about. Blasts of all the winds mount up, breath-
ng full fury on each other, arrayed for the hostile onslaught.
Sky becomes confused with sea! So, this is the storm Zeus
hurls at me, to force my thoughts to cringe! O my sacred
mothzar! And sky, revolving the common light of sun, you
see how I suffer, you see me wronged!