Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/509

* PROMETHEA. 441 PROMISSORY NOTE. the ajlanthus silkworm (larva of Philosamia Cyn- thia ), which has some slight market value, it has never been coramercially used. PROME'THEUS (Lat., from Gk. Upo/iveeis, from wpofi-ridris. pronuthfs, foresighted, from irpd before + liiJTis, metis, wisdom; connected with Haffetv, luatheiii, to learn; less probabh- connect- ed with Skt. pramnntha, fire-drill, from pra. be- fore + manlha. churning, from math, to whirl, churn, produce fire by friction). The hero of one of the most interesting of the Greek myths. The story goes back to a very early period, and in its origin may be compared' with the many similar legends as to the origin of fire, usually by a theft from the sun or the gods, or the beneficent gift of some kindly animal or great hero. In this character as the fire-bringing god (6 irvp- 6pos 0(6s. ho pyrphoros theos) Prometheus had an altar in the Academy at Athens, where he was joined with Hephastus and Athena, as those who had given to men the arts and crafts that brought civilization. He was honored with a special fes- tival, of which the chief feature was a torch-race from his altar in the Academy to the city. In Hesiod Prometheus is a Titan, son of lapetus and Clymene, brother of Atlas. Memetius, and Epinietheus. Angry at a trick played on him by Prometheus, Zeus deprived men of tire, but Prome- theus stole it from the hearth of Zeus, hid it in the pith of a fennel-stalk, and conveyed it to earth. In punishment Zeus sent Pandora (q.v. ) to Epimetheus and bestowed thus upon men the race of women "who dwell as a great plague among mortal men." Prometheus himself was fettered to a column, and visited daily by an eagle who devoured his liver, which always grew again during the night, so that his torment was imeeasing till Hercules came, and by the good- will of Zeus, who thus gave greater glory to his son, slew the eagle and freed Prometheus. In this version the Titan really works men harm in his efl'orts to overcome by trickery the high de- signs of Zeus. It should' also be "noted that the myth of Pandora seems to be originally a sepa- rate legend of the origin of suffering and woe, only later connected with the theft of fire. This primitive myth was reworked by the Athenian tragedian .Eschylus in his Proniethean trilogy, of which the Prometheus Bound has survived, and was brought more into harmony with the Athenian cult and the conceptions of a later time. Here Prometheus is the son of Themis (whom the poet identifies with Gxa, the earth), and through her possesses the gift of foreknowl- edge and prophecy. He thus foresees the ultimate trium])li of intelligence over brute force in the struggle between Zeus and the Titans, and conse- quently joins the winning side. When, however, Zeus, as the establisher of a rule of law and order, plans to replace the wretched race of men by a nobler order of beings, Prometheus in pity defeats this design by stealing fire and instruct- ing men in all the useful arts, so that there now exists no ground for Zeus to remove them from the earth. For this rebellion Hepha'stus is re- quired to nail Prometheus to a lonelv cliff in Scythia near the ocean. Here the extant play shows him still defiant, execrating the ingrati- tude and cruelty of»Zeus, who can thus punish an ally whose only fault is a desire to benefit mankind, and at the same time exulting in the secret knowledge that the violence of Zeus to his father, Cronos, unless atoned for, must be pun- such a ished. His threats and defiance rise to pitch that Zeus casts him into Tartarus. The play seems to represent Prometheus as a martyr and Zeus as a cruel tyrant, but closer examination shows that Zeus is" bound to punish the rebel who has tried to overthrow the new reign of law. The later dramas of the trilogy seem to have made this conception clear. Zeus was reconciled to Cronos and the Titans, and Prometheus was brought to yield to the now secure Zeus. Hercules by the vill of the god slew the eagle and freed the prisoner, in whose stead the centaur Chiron, suffering from an incurable wound, surrendered his inuuortality and descend- ed to the regions of the dead. Theclosing drama seems to have related the establishment of the worship of Prometheus at Athens. In the later versions, especially on the sarcophagi, besides minor variations, we find Prometheus represented as the actual creator of men, whom he fashions out of clay, and at whose death he is sunk in sorrow and meditation. The whole myth in its origin and signification, and especially in its treatment by Jilschylus, has been the subject of lengthy discussion and has produced an extensive literature, much of which is to be found in editions of the play. Consult: Welcker. Die Aeschylaische Trilogie Prometheus, and A'acTi- trag (Darmstadt, 1824, 1826) ; Hermann, "De .Eschyli Prometheo Soluto," in his Opuscula, vol. iv. (Leipzig, 1831); these two works developed a great controversy and have historical interest. Consult also: Wecklein's Prometheus Bound of .^schylus, trans, by F. D. Allen (Boston, 1891) ; Preller-Robert, Griechische Mythologie I. (Leip- zig, 1887). The play has been transfated by Mrs. Browning. On works of art see: 0. .Jahn. 'Trome- thee," in Annali dell' Istituto 19 (Rome, 1847), and "Leber ein Sarcophagrelief im iluseo Bor- bonico," in Berichte der sachsischeii Gesellschaft der Vrissenschaften (Leipzig, 1849) ; :Milchhofer, Die Bef-reiung des Prometheus, Berliner Winckel- mannsprogramm, 42 (Berlin, 1882) ; Baumeister, Denkmiiler des klassischen Altertums, s.v. Prome- theus (Munich, 1889). PROMETHEUS TTNBOUND. A Ivrical drama by Percy Bysshe .Shelley (1820). Though foimded on ^Eschylus's tragedy, it is not Greek in form or spirit. Prometheus, the type of humanity, bears his tortures even with resigna- tion, till the secret is revealed, and Jupiter falls. The Spirit of the Hours announces the release of the hero, and all nature joins in the chorus of redemption. In this poem Shelley (stirred by the spirit of the French Revolution) exults in the deliverance of humanity. PROMISE. See Coxtr.vct. PROMISSORY NOTE (from Lat. promissor, promiser, from promittere, to promise, send for- ward, from pro, before, for + mittere, to send. Skt. mlv, to push). A written instrument containing an express and unconditional promise by the maker to pay a certain sum in money, on demand, or at a fixed or determinable future time. If it is payable to order or to bearer, it is a negotiable instru- ment (q.v.) . The following is an ordinary form of a negotiable promissory note, payable at a bank : "$1000.00. New York, April 1, 1903. Three months after date I promise to pay to the order of Richard Roe One Thousand Dollars, at the Corn Exchange Bank. Value received, with interest. John Doe."