Page:Prometheus Bound (Webster 1866).djvu/72

 And when thou hast fulfilled much length of time

Thou shalt come back again to the day. But then

Shall the winged hound of Zeus, the gory eagle,

Fiercely tear greedy gobbets of thy flesh,

And come, an uninvited banqueter,

To gorge all day upon thy black-gnawed liver.

And of such anguish look thou for no end,

Until some god appear to take thy place

In suffering, and of free will shall seek

Dull Hades and the black Tartarean deeps.

Wherefore be better counselled, since this threat

Is not one feigned but all too truly phrased:

For the mouth of Zeus knows not to speak a lie,

But every word will he fulfil. And thou,

Look to it and consider, and deem not

That ever stubbornness excels discretion.

To us seems Hermes not to speak amiss;

For he bids thee, laying stubbornness aside,

To seek a wise discretion. Be convinced;

For to mistake brings shame upon a sage.