Page:Prometheus Bound, and other poems.djvu/28

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How I, the fast friend of your Zeus,—how I

The erector of the empire in his hand,—

Am bent beneath that hand, in this despair!

Oceanus. Prometheus, I behold,—and I would fain

Exhort thee, though already subtle enough,—

To a better wisdom. Titan, know thyself,

And take new softness to thy manners, since

A new king rules the gods. If words like these,

Harsh words and sharp ones, thou wilt fling abroad,

Zeus haply, though he sit so far and high,

May hear thee do it; and, so, this wrath of his

Which now affects thee fiercely, shall appear

A mere child's sport at vengeance! Wretched god,

Rather dismiss the passion which thou hast,

And seek a change from grief. Perhaps I seem

To address thee with old saws and outworn sense,—

Yet such a curse, Prometheus, waits indeed

On lips that speak too proudly!—ne'ertheless,

Thou dost not grow the meeker, nor dost yield

To evil rule the sooner,—yearning still

To swell the account of grief, with other griefs

Than what are borne! Beseech thee, use me then

For counsel! Do not spurn against the pricks,—

Seeing that who reigns, reigns by cruelty,

And not by right. And now, I go from hence,

And will endeavor if a power of mine

Can break thy fetters through. For thee,—be calm,

And smooth thy words from passion. Knowest thou not

Of perfect knowledge, thou who knowest too much,

That where the tongue wags, ruin never lags?

Prometheus. I gratulate thee, who hast shared and dared