Chorus

Unfold the whole story and tell us upon what charge Zeus has caught you and painfully punishes you with such dishonor. Instruct us, unless, indeed, there is some harm in telling.

Prometheus

It is painful to me to tell the tale,

painful to keep it silent. My case is unfortunate every way.
  When first the heavenly powers were moved to wrath, and mutual dissension was stirred up among them—some bent on casting Cronus from his seat so Zeus, in truth, might reign; others, eager for

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the contrary end, that Zeus might never win mastery over the gods—it was then that I, although advising them for the best, was unable to persuade the Titans, children of Heaven and Earth; but they, disdaining counsels of craft, in the pride of their strength

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thought to gain the mastery without a struggle and by force. Often my mother Themis, or Earth (though one form, she had many names), had foretold to me the way in which the future was fated to come to pass. That it was not by brute strength nor through violence,

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but by guile that those who should gain the upper hand were destined to prevail. And though I argued all this to them, they did not pay any attention to my words. With all that before me, it seemed best that, joining with my mother, I should place myself,

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a welcome volunteer, on the side of Zeus; and it is by reason of my counsel that the cavernous gloom of Tartarus now hides ancient Cronus and his allies within it. Thus I helped the tyrant of the gods

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and with this foul payment he has responded; for it is a disease that is somehow inherent in tyranny to have no faith in friends.
  However, you ask why he torments me, and this I will now make clear.

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As soon as he had seated himself upon his father’s throne, he immediately assigned to the deities their several privileges and apportioned to them their proper powers. But of wretched mortals he took no notice, desiring to bring

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the whole race to an end and create a new one in its place. Against this purpose none dared make stand except me— I only had the courage; I saved mortals so that they did not descend, blasted utterly, to the house of Hades. This is why I am bent by such grievous tortures,

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painful to suffer, piteous to behold. I who gave mortals first place in my pity, I am deemed unworthy to win this pity for myself, but am in this way mercilessly disciplined, a spectacle that shames the glory of Zeus.

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Chorus

Iron-hearted and made of stone, Prometheus,

is he who feels no compassion at your miseries. For myself, I would not have desired to see them; and now that I see them, I am pained in my heart.

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Prometheus

Yes, to my friends indeed I am a spectacle of pity.

Chorus

Did you perhaps transgress even somewhat beyond this offence?

Prometheus

Yes, I caused mortals to cease foreseeing their doom. ¹

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Chorus

Of what sort was the cure that you found for this affliction?

Prometheus

I caused blind hopes to dwell within their breasts.

Chorus

A great benefit was this you gave to mortals.

Prometheus

In addition, I gave them fire.

Chorus

What! Do creatures of a day now have flame-eyed fire?

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Prometheus

Yes, and from it they shall learn many arts.

Chorus

Then it was on a charge like this that Zeus—

Prometheus

Torments me and in no way gives me respite from pain.

Chorus

And is there no end assigned to your ordeal?

Prometheus

No, none except when it seems good to him.

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Chorus

But how will it seem good to him? What hope is there? Do you not see that you have wronged? And yet it is not pleasant for me to talk about how you have wronged, and for you it is pain. So, let us quit this theme; and may you seek some release from your ordeal.

Prometheus

It is easy for him who keeps his foot free from harm to counsel and admonish him who is in misery. I have known this all the while. Of my own will, yes, of my own will I erred—I will not deny it. By helping mortals I found suffering for myself;

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nevertheless I did not think I would be punished in this way—wasting away upon cliffs in mid-air, my portion this desolate and dreary crag. And now, bewail no more my present woes; alight on the ground and listen to my

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oncoming fortunes so that you may be told them from end to end. Consent, I beg you, oh consent. Take part in the trouble of him who is now in sore distress. In truth, affliction wanders impartially abroad and alights upon all in turn.

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Chorus

Not to unwilling ears have you made this appeal,

Prometheus. And so now with light foot I will quit my swift-speeding seat and the pure air, the pathway of birds and draw near to this rugged ground; for I want to hear

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the whole story of your sorrows.

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Oceanus

I have come to the end of a long journey in my passage to you, Prometheus, guiding by my own will, without a bridle, this swift-winged bird.

For your fate, you may be sure, I feel compassion. Kinship, I think, constrains me to this; and, apart from blood ties, there is none to whom I should pay greater respect than to you.

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You shall know this for simple truth and that it is not in me to utter vain and empty words; come, tell me; what aid can I render you? For you shall never say that you have a friend more loyal than Oceanus.

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Prometheus

Ha! What have we here? So then you too have come to stare upon my sufferings? How did you summon courage to quit the stream that bears your name and the rock-roofed caves you yourself have made and come to this land, the mother of iron? Is it that you have come

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to gaze upon my state and join your grief to my distress? Look upon me here—a spectacle, the friend of Zeus, who helped him to establish his sovereign power, by what anguish I am bent by him!

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Oceanus

I see, Prometheus; and I want to give you

the best advice, although you yourself are wily. Learn to know yourself and adapt yourself to new ways; for new also is the ruler among the gods. If you hurl forth words so harsh and of such whetted edge, perhaps Zeus may hear you,

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though throned far off, high in the heavens, and then your present multitude of sorrows shall seem but childish sport. Oh wretched sufferer! Put away your wrathful mood and try to find release from these miseries. Perhaps this advice may seem to you old and dull;

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but your plight, Prometheus, is only the wages of too boastful speech. You still have not learned humility, nor do you bend before misfortune, but would rather add even more miseries to those you have. Therefore take me as your teacher

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and do not add insult to injury, seeing that a harsh monarch now rules who is accountable to no one. So now I will depart and see whether I can release you from these sufferings. And may you hold your peace and be not too blustering of speech.

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Or, can it be that for all your exceeding wisdom, you do not know that chastisement is inflicted on a wagging tongue?

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Prometheus

I envy you because you have escaped blame for having dared to share with me in my troubles. ² So now leave me alone and let it not concern you.

Do what you want, you cannot persuade him; for he is not easy to persuade. Beware that you do not do yourself harm by the mission you take.

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Oceanus

In truth, you are far better able to admonish others than yourself. It is by fact, not by hearsay, that I judge.

So do not hold back one who is eager to go. For I am confident, yes, confident, that Zeus will grant me this favor, to free you from your sufferings.

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Prometheus

I thank you for all this and shall never cease to thank you; in zeal you lack nothing, but do not trouble yourself; for your trouble will be vain and

not helpful to me—if indeed you want to take the pain. No, keep quiet and keep yourself clear of harm. For even if I am in sore plight, I would not wish affliction on everyone else. No, certainly, no! since, besides, I am distressed by the fate

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of my brother Atlas, who, towards the west, stands bearing on his shoulders the pillar of heaven and earth, a burden not easy for his arms to grasp. Pity moved me, too, at the sight of the earth-born dweller of the Cilician caves curbed by violence, that destructive monster

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of a hundred heads, impetuous Typhon. He withstood all the gods, hissing out terror with horrid jaws, while from his eyes lightened a hideous glare, as though he would storm by force the sovereignty of Zeus.

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But the unsleeping bolt of Zeus came upon him, the swooping lightning brand with breath of flame, which struck him, frightened, from his loud-mouthed boasts; then, stricken to the very heart, he was burnt to ashes and his strength blasted from him by the lightning bolt.

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And now, a helpless and a sprawling bulk, he lies hard by the narrows of the sea, pressed down beneath the roots of Aetna ; while on the topmost summit Hephaestus sits and hammers the molten ore. There, one day, shall burst forth

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rivers of fire, ³ with savage jaws devouring the level fields of Sicily , land of fair fruit—such boiling rage shall Typho, although charred by the blazing lightning of Zeus, send spouting forth with hot jets of appalling, fire-breathing surge.

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But you are not inexperienced, and do not need me to teach you. Save yourself, as you know best; while I exhaust my present lot until the time comes when the mind of Zeus shall abandon its wrath.

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Oceanus

Do you not know then, Prometheus, that

words are the physicians of a disordered temper?

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Prometheus

If one softens the soul in season, and does not hasten to reduce its swelling rage by violence.

Oceanus

What lurking mischief do you see when daring joins to zeal? Teach me this.

Prometheus

Lost labor and thoughtless simplicity.

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Oceanus

Leave me to be affected by this, since it is most advantageous, when truly wise, to be deemed a fool.

Prometheus

This fault will be seen to be my own.

Oceanus

Clearly the manner of your speech orders me back home.

Prometheus

So that you won’t win enmity for yourself by lamenting for me.

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Oceanus

In the eyes of the one who is newly seated on his omnipotent throne?

Prometheus

Beware lest the time come when his heart is angered with you.

Oceanus

Your plight, Prometheus, is my instructor.

Prometheus

Go away, depart, keep your present purpose.

Oceanus

Your urging meets my eagerness; for my four-footed winged beast fans with his wings the smooth pathway of the air; and truly he will be glad to rest his knees in his stall at home. Exit

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OCEAN

I see, Prometheus, and to thee, subtle as thou art, I wish to give the best counsel. Know thyself, and assume to thyself new manners; for among the gods too there is a new monarch. But if thou wilt utter words thus harsh and whetted, Jupiter mayhap, though seated far aloft, will hear thee, so that the present bitterness of sufferings will seem to thee to be child's play. But, O hapless one, dismiss the passion which thou feelest, and search for a deliverance from these sufferings of thine. Old-fashioned maxims these, it may be I appear to thee to utter; yet such become the wages of the tongue that talks too proudly. But not even yet art thou humble, nor submittest to ills; and in addition to those that already beset thee, thou art willing to bring others upon thee. Yet not, if at least thou takest me for thy instructor, wilt thou stretch out thy leg against the pricks; as thou seest that a harsh monarch, and one that is not subject to control, is lording it. And now I for my part will go, and will essay, if I be able, to disenthral thee from these thy pangs. But be thou still, nor be over impetuous in thy language. What! knowest thou not exactly, extremely intelligent as thou art, that punishment is inflicted on a froward tongue?

PROMETHEUS

PROMÉTHÉE

son nom et tes grottes au toit de roc taillées par la nature pour le pays qui enfante le fer ? Viendrais-tu par hasard contempler le sort qui m'est fait, pour t'indigner avec moi de mes maux ? Regarde ce spectacle : moi, l'ami de Zeus,
moi qui l'aidai à asseoir sa puissance, vois sous quelles douleurs il me ploie aujourd'hui.

OCÉAN

Je vois, Prométhée, et je veux même te donner le seul conseil qui convienne ici, si avisé que tu sois déjà : connais-toi toi-même, et, t'adaptant aux faits, prends
des façons nouvelles, puisqu'un maître nouveau commande chez les dieux. Si tu te mets à lancer de la sorte des mots rudes et acérés, Zeus pourrait bien t'entendre, si loin et si haut qu'il trône et le courroux dont tu souffres à cette heure ne plus te paraître
un jour qu'un simple jeu d'enfant. Allons, infortuné, laisse là ta colère, et cherche à t'affranchir de ces tourments. Je te semble peut-être ne dire là que des vieilleries. Il n'en reste pas moins qu'ici tu reçois, Prométhée, le salaire d'un langage trop hautain. Et pourtant tu n'es pas humble
encore, tu ne cèdes pas à la souffrance, et à tes maux présents tu entends en ajouter d'autres. Si tu acceptes mes leçons, tu cesseras de regimber contre l'aiguillon. Considère qu'il s'agit d'un dur monarque, dont le pouvoir n'a pas de comptes
à rendre. Aussi, tandis que j'irai tenter, si je puis, de te dégager de ces peines, reste en repos, ne t'emporte pas en propos violents. Ne sais-tu donc pas, toi dont l'esprit est si subtilement sage, qu'un châtiment s'inflige aux langues étourdies.

PROMÉTHÉE

Je t'envie de te trouver hors

OCEANUS.

I ſee it all, and wiſh to counſel thee,

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Wiſe as thou art, to milder meaſures: learn

To know thyſelf; new model thy behaviour,

As the new monarch of the gods requires.

What if thy harſh and pointed ſpeech ſhould reach

The ear of Jove, tho' on his diſtant throne

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Highſeated, might they not inflame his rage

T' inflict ſuch tortures, that thy preſent pains

Might ſeem a recreation and a ſport?

Ceaſe then, unhappy ſufferer, ceaſe thy braves,

And meditate the means of thy deliverance.

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To thee perchance this ſeems the cold advice

Of doting age; yet, truſt me, woes like theſe

Are earnings of the loftyſounding tongue.

But thy unbending ſpirit diſdains to yield

E'en to afflictions, to the preſent rather

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Ambitious to add more. Yet ſhalt thou not,

If my voice may be heard, lift up thy heel

To kick againſt the pricks; ſo rough, thou ſeeſt,

So uncontroul'd the monarch of the ſkies.

But now I go, and will exert my pow'r,

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If haply I may free thee from thy pains.

Mean while be calm; forbear this haughty tone:

Has not thy copious wiſdom taught thee this,

That miſchief ſtill attends the petulant tongue ?

PROMETHEUS.

PROMETEO

Sí, per gli amici è gran pietà vedermi.

CORO

Non sei forse trascorso ad altro eccesso

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PROMETEO

Dal fissare il destin distolsi gli uomini.

CORO

Quale farmaco a tal morbo trovasti ?

PROMETEO

Nei lor petti albergai cieche speranze.

CORO

Gran beneficio fu questo per gli uomini.

PROMETEO

Ed oltre a questo, il fuoco a lor donai.

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CORO

Il fuoco, occhio di fiamma, ora posseggono?

PROMETEO

E molte arti dal fuoco apprenderanno.

CORO

E Giove, dunque, per queste ragioni...

PROMETEO

Cosí m' offende, e il furor suo non placa.

CORO

Né della pena è a te prefisso il termine?

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PROMETEO

Quando a lui piaccia: il sol termine è questo.

CORO

Potrà piacergli mai? Come lo speri ?

In fallo sei, non vedi? Oh!, non m'allegra

ricordare il tuo fallo, onde ti crucci.

Ma tralasciam questi discorsi. Indaga

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che spediente i mali tuoi disciolga.

PROMETEO

A chi tien fuori dai cordogli il piede,

dare consigli a chi patisce è facile.

Oce.

Video Prometheu, consulereq; tibi

Optima quæq; volo, quamvis versutus sis:

Nosce teipsum, & accipe mores

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Novos. nam novus tyrannus est dijs.

Si hoc modo acerba & acuta verba

Debacchatus fueris, statim te, quamvis procul

Sedens Iupiter, audiet: ita ut tibi bilem

Præsentem, laborum iocum esse arbitretur.

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Sed ô miser, quas habes iras, remitte,

Et quære horum malorum solutionem

Fortassis tibi stultè haec profundere videor,

Talia sané, ô altiloqua

Lingua Prometheu. premia erunt.

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Tu nunquam humilis es, neq; cedis malis:

Et vis ad præsentia, alia addere.

Me igitur præceptore utens,

Stimulo crus extendes, videns quòd

Acerbus princeps, non subditus imperet.

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Oce.

At ipse nunc tentatum eo,

Si potero te his laboribus liberare.

Tu verò quiesce, neq; multum garri.

An'ne nosti, accurate cum prudens sis,

Linguæ vanæ multam adesse?

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Pro.

Oceanus

Yea, I behold, Prometheus! and would warn

Thee, spite of all thy wisdom, for thy weal!

Learn now thyself to know, and to renew

A rightful spirit within thee, for, made new

With pride of place, sits Zeus among the gods!

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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.

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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!

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Meek wert thou never, wilt not crouch to pain,

But, set amid misfortunes, cravest more!

Now—if thou let thyself be schooled by me—

Thou must not kick against the goad. Thou knowest,

A despot rules, harsh, resolute, supreme,

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Whose law is will. Yet shall I go to him,

With all endeavour to relieve thy plight—

So thou wilt curb the tempest of thy tongue!

Surely thou knowest, in thy wisdom deep,

The saw— Who vaunts amiss, quick pain is his.

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Prometheus

Okeanos.

Ich seh's, Prometheus, und du sollst den besten Rath

Von mir vernehmen, bist du selbst auch vielgewandt.

Erkenne dich, in neue Sitten stimme dich;

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Ein neuer Herrscher waltet auch im Götterkreis.

Denn stößest du so trokig scharfe Reden aus,

Leicht möchte Zeus dich, thront' er auch viel höher noch,

Vernehmen, fürcht' ich, und der Marter Fluch, der ikt

Dein Haupt getroffen, schiene dir ein bloßes Spiel.

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Deßhalb, o Jammervoller, laß von deinem Troy,

Und nach Erlösung spähe nur aus dieser Noth.

Altklug vielleicht erscheint dir meine Rede hier;

Gleichwohl, Prometheus, siehst du, daß der Uebermuth

Der allzustolzen Zunge solchen Lohn gewinnt.

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Du bist noch nicht geschmeidig, beugst dich nicht dem Schmerz,

Und willst zu diesem Leide noch ein neues Leid.

O füge meiner Lehre dich, und löcke nicht

Dem Stachel kühn entgegen, da du siehst, wie streng

Ein schrankenloser König hält den Herrscherstab.

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Nun aber will ich gehen, will versuchen, dich

Aus dieser Qual zu lösen, wenn mir's möglich ist.

Du schweige still und hemme deiner Zunge Troy.

Hast du, der Ueberweise, noch nicht eingeseh'n,

Daß eitel schnöder Rede folgt ein schnöder Lohn?

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Prometheus.