Page:La Fontaine - The Original Fables Of, 1913.djvu/72



XXI

JUPITER AND THE THUNDER-BOLTS

( VIII.—No. 20)

day, as Jupiter seated on high looked down upon the world, he was incensed at the faults committed by mankind, "Let us" he said, "have some other  occupants in the regions of the universe in place of  these present inhabitants who importune and weary me.  Go you to Hades, Mercury, and bring hither the cruellest of the furies. This time, O race that I have too  tenderly nurtured, you shall perish."

After this outburst the temper of the god began to cool.

O ye sovereigns of this world, to whom it has been given to be the arbiters of our destinies, let a night