'Tis piteous tale, in Grecian numbers told,—

Prometheus chain'd by Vulcan to a rock;

Expos'd aloft to ev'ry tempest's shock,

To burning sun, and winter's shiv'ring cold:

And all his woe, as minstrel doth unfold,

From love to man, whom other gods would mock.

For man his hands Jove's treasury unlock;

The stolen fire he breathes on man's dull mould.

O, could this Bard have liv'd in Christian days,

And seen our blessed Lord nail'd to the tree,