Page:Writings of Henry David Thoreau (1906) v5.djvu/392

350

Utterly to destroy by force the sovereignty of Zeus;

But there came to him Zeus' sleepless bolt,

Descending thunder, breathing flame,

Which struck him out from lofty

Boastings. For, struck to his very heart,

His strength was scorched and thundered out.

And now a useless and extended carcass

Lies he near a narrow passage of the sea,

Pressed down under the roots of Ætna.

And on the topmost summit seated, Hephaistus

Hammers the ignited mass, whence will burst out at length

Rivers of fire, devouring with wild jaws

Fair-fruited Sicily's smooth fields;

Such rage will Typhon make boil over

With hot discharges of insatiable fire-breathing tempest,

Though by the bolt of Zeus burnt to a coal. Pr. Thou art not inexperienced, nor dost want

My counsel; secure thyself as thou know'st how;

And I against the present fortune will bear up,

Until the thought of Zeus may cease from wrath.

Oc. Know'st thou not this, Prometheus, that

Words are healers of distempered wrath?

Pr. If any seasonably soothe the heart,

And swelling passion check not rudely.

Oc. In the consulting and the daring

What harm seest thou existing? Teach me.

Pr. Trouble superfluous, and light-minded folly.

Oc. Be this my ail then, since it is

Most profitable, being wise, not to seem wise.

Pr. This will seem to be my error.