We must bear in mind that Jove represents three things--(1) that iron firmness of purpose which is so essential to the character of a great ruler; (2) the impetuous violence and resistless power of the heavenly elements when in commotion; (3) the immutability of the laws of Nature. Note 7 (p. 184). "All things may be, but this To dictate to the gods." Ἅπαντ ἐπράχθη πλὴν θε(ο)ισι κοιρανεῖν--literally, _all things have been done, save commanding the gods_. I do not know whether there is any philological difficulty in the way of this translation. It certainly agrees perfectly well with the context, and has the advantage of not changing the received text. SCHOE., however, adopting HERM.'s emendation of ἐπαχθῆ translates-- "Last trägt ein jeder, nur der Götter König nicht." "All have their burdens save the king of the gods." On the theological sentiment, I would compare that of SENECA--"_In regno nati sumus; Deo parere libertas est_" (_Vit. Beat._ 15)--and that of EURIPIDES, where the captive Trojan queen, finding the king of men, Agamemnon, willing to assist her, but afraid of the opinion of the Greeks, speaks as follows:-- "Ουκἔστι θνητῶν ὃστις ἐστ ἐλέυθερος, ἢ χρημάτων γαρ δ(ο)υλος ἐστιν ἡ τύχης η πλῆθος ἀυτὸν πόλεως, ἤ νόμων γρἤφαι ἔιργουσι χρῆσθαι μὴ κατὰ γνῶμην τρόποις." HEC. 864. Note 8 (p. 185). "Thou hast been called In vain the Provident." This is merely translating PROMETHEUS (from προ before, and μῆτις counsel) into English. These allusions to names are very frequent in Æschylus--so much so as to amount to a _mannerism_; but we who use a language, the heritage of years, a coinage from which the signature has been mostly rubbed off, must bear in mind that originally all words, and especially names, were significant. See the Old Testament everywhere (particularly Gen. c. xxix. and xli., with which compare Homer, Odyssey xix. 407). And, indeed, in all original languages, like Greek or German, which declare their own etymology publicly to the most unlearned, no taunt is more natural and more obvious than that derived from a name. Even in Scotland, a man who is called _Bairnsfather_ will be apt to feel rather awkward if he has no children. "In the oldest Greek legend," says WELCKER (_Tril._ p. 356), "names were frequently invented, in order to fix down the character or main feature of the story"--(so Bunyan in the Pilgrim's Progress)--a true principle, which many German writers abuse, to evaporate all tradition into mere fictitious allegory. But the practice of the Old Testament patriarchs shows that the significancy of a name affords of itself no presumption against its historical reality. {389} Note 9 (p. 185).