The breath from his breasts;

And the rushing thunderbolt hurled him to death.

It is necessary for mortal minds

To seek what is reasonable from the divinities,

Knowing what is before the feet, of what destiny we are.

Do not, my soul, aspire to the life

Of the Immortals, but exhaust the practicable means.

In the conclusion of the ode, the poet reminds the victor, Hiero, that adversity alternates with prosperity in the life of man, as in the instance of

PELEUS AND CADMUS

Pythia iii, 145-205