_Prom._ To me who knew it all He hath this message borne; And that a foe from foes Should suffer is not strange. Therefore on me be hurled The sharp-edged wreath of fire; And let heaven's vault be stirred With thunder and the blasts Of fiercest winds; and Earth From its foundations strong, E'en to its deepest roots, Let storm-wind make to rock; And let the Ocean wave, With wild and foaming surge, Be heaped up to the paths 1070 Where move the stars of heaven; And to dark Tartaros Let Him my carcase hurl, With mighty blasts of force: Yet me He shall not slay. _Herm._ Such words and thoughts from one Brain-stricken one may hear. What space divides his state From frenzy? What repose Hath he from maddened rage? But ye who pitying stand And share his bitter griefs, 1080 Quickly from hence depart, Lest the relentless roar Of thunder stun your soul. _Chor._ With other words attempt To counsel and persuade, And I will hear: for now Thou hast this word thrust in That we may never bear. How dost thou bid me train My soul to baseness vile? With him I will endure Whatever is decreed. Traitors I've learnt to hate, Nor is there any plague 1090 That more than this I loathe. _Herm._ Nay then, remember ye What now I say, nor blame Your fortune: never say That Zeus hath cast you down To evil not foreseen. Not so; ye cast yourselves: For now with open eyes, Not taken unawares, In Atè's endless net Ye shall entangled be By folly of your own. [_A pause, and then flashes of lightning and peals of thunder_[205] _Prom._ Yea, now in very deed, No more in word alone, The earth shakes to and fro, And the loud thunder's voice Bellows hard by, and blaze The flashing levin-fires; And tempests whirl the dust, And gusts of all wild winds On one another leap, In wild conflicting blasts, And sky with sea is blent: Such is the storm from Zeus 1110 That comes as working fear, In terrors manifest. O Mother venerable! O Æther! rolling round The common light of all, See'st thou what wrongs I bear? ----- Footnote 136: