Go hence; good Hermes, change thy rede
And I will to thy words give heed.
But ne'er to me such counsel name
As e'en to think upon were shame,
Whate'er Prometheus may betide,
Be mine to suffer at his side.
Of all foul things abhorred by me
The most abhorred is perfidy.
HERMES.
Lay then to heart what now I say,
And think not in destruction's day
On fortune's spite the blame to throw,
Or say that Zeus has wrought your woe.
When thou hast rushed into the net
Of doom for fate by folly set,
Thou wilt thy just reward have met.
PROMETHEUS.
Now the dread hour has come: earth reels,
Through heaven the crashing thunder peals,
Forked lightnings blaze about the sky,
The sand in clouds is whirled on high;
From east, from west, from south, from north,
The winds in mad career rush forth,
And elemental battle join;
The welkin mingles with the brine;
Upon me comes in flood and fire
The blast of the Almighty's ire.
Look, holy mother, on this sight;
Look on it, Aether, source of light,
See justice overborne by might.
THE PERSIANS
Xerxes has led the hosts of Asia on the fatal expedition against Hellas. His mother, Atossa, remaining at Susa, has a fatal dream, which she recounts to the chorus of aged Persians.
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