PROMETHEUS BOUND 129
^Second Scene of Exodus.'
Hermes enters.
Hermes. I speak to thee, the sophist, the talker- down Of scorn by scorn, the sinner against gods, The reverencer of men, the thief of fire, — I speak to thee and adjure thee : Zeus requires Thy declaration of what marriage-rite U20
Thus moves thy vaunt, and shall hereafter cause His fall from empire. Do not wrap thy speech In riddles, but speak cleai-ly. Never cast Ambiguous paths, Prometheus, for my feet,^ Since Zeus, thou mayst perceive, is scarcely won uso To mercy by such means.
Prometheus. A speech well-mouthed
In the utterance, and full-minded in the sense, As doth befit a servant of the gods ! New gods, ye newly reign, and think, forsooth, Ye dwell in towers too high for any dart usa
To carry a wound there ! Have I not stood by While two kings ^ fell from thence ? and shall I
not Behold the third, the same who rules you now, Fall, shamed to sudden ruin ? Do I seem To tremble and quail before your modern gods ? U40 Far be it from me ! For thyself, depart ; Re-tread thy steps in haste. To all thou hast asked I answer nothing.
Hermes. Such a wind of pride
Impelled thee of yore full sail upon these rocks.
1 More plainly, " Do not impose on me a double journey," i. e., oblige me to return to learn details. ^ Uranus and Cronus.
