Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/273

Rh Dead Hercules bids us believe The bard, that not for any man The fates reweave the broken web; And that all things which have been born, And shall be, are but born to die. When to the world the day shall come On which the reign of law shall cease, Then shall the southern heavens fall, And overwhelm broad Africa With all her tribes; the northern skies Shall fall upon those barren plains Where sweep the blasts of Boreas. Then from the shattered heaven the sun Shall fall, and day shall be no more. The palace of the heavenly ones Shall sink in ruins, dragging down The east and western skies. Then death And chaos shall o'erwhelm the gods In common ruin; and at last, When all things else have been destroyed, Death shall bring death unto itself. Where shall the earth find haven then? Will hades open wide her doors To let the shattered heavens in? Or is the space 'twixt heaven and earth Not great enough (perchance too great) For all the evils of the world? What place is great enough to hold Such monstrous ills of fate? What place Will hold the gods? Shall one place then Contain three kingdoms—sea and sky And Tartara?— But what outrageous clamor this That fills our frightened ears? Behold, It is the voice of Hercules.