普罗米修斯(Prometheus)
Prometheus
英汉对照
There once lived a race of huge giants called Titans. The giants were fierce, violent, and lawless-always fighting among themlves and against Zeus, the king of the gods.
One of the Titans, who name was Prometheus, was wir than the rest. He often thought about what would be likely to happen in the future.
One day, Prometheus said to his brother Titans, "What is the u of wasting so much strength? In the end, wisdom and forethought will win. If we are going to fight against the gods, let us choo a leader and stop quarrelling among ourlves."
The Titans answered him by a shower of great rocks and uprooted trees.
Prometheus, after escaping unhurt, said to his younger brother, "Epimetheus, we can do nothing among the Titans. If they keep on, they will tear the earth to pieces. Let us go and help Zeus to overcome them."
Epimetheus agreed to this, and the two brothers went over to Zeus, who called the gods together and began a terrible battle. The Titans tore up enormous boulders and cast them at the gods,
while Zeus hurled his thunderbolts and his lightenings in all directions. Soon the sky was a sheet of flame, the a boiled, the earth trembled, and the forests took fire and began to burn.
At last the gods-partly by the help of the wi counl of Prometheus-conquered the Titans, took them to the ends of the earth, and imprisoned them in a deep underground cavern. Neptune, the a-god, made strong bronze gates with heavy bolts and bars, to keep the giants down, while Zeus nt Briareus and his brothers, three giants with fifty heads and a hundred hands each, to stand guard over them.
All but one of the Titans who had fought against the gods were imprisoned in this cavern. This one who was not shut in with the others was Atlas, who enormous strength was greater than that of his brothers, while his character was less quarrelsome. He was made to stand and hold up the sky on his head and hands.
As the Titans could now make no more trouble, there was comparative peace and quiet on the earth. Nevertheless, Zeus said that, although the men who remained on the earth were not so strong as th
e Titans, they were foolish and wicked race. He declared that he would destroy them-sweep them away, and have done with them, forever.
When their king said this, none of the gods dared to say a word in defence of mankind. But Prometheus, the Titan, who was earth-born himlf, and loved the men of the earth, bagged Zeus so earnestly to shae them, that Zeus connted to do so.
At this time, men lived in dark gloomy caves. Their friend, Prometheus taught them to build simple hous, which were much more comfortable than the caves had been. This was a great step forward. but men needed more help yet from the Titan. The beasts in the forests, and the great birds that build their nests on the rocks were strong; but men were weak. The lion had sharp claws and teeth; the eagle had wings; the turtle had a hard shell; but man, although he stood upright with his face toward the stars, had no weapon with which he could defend himlf.
Prometheus said that man should have Zeus's wonderful flower of fire, which shone so brightly in the sky. So he took a hollow reed, went up to Olympus, stole the red flower of fire, and brought it down to earth in his reed.
After this, all the other creatures were afraid of man, for this red flower had made him strong than the
y. Man dug iron out of the earth and by the help of his new fire made weapons that were sharper than the lion's teeth; he tamed the wild cattle by the fear of it, yoked them together, and taught them how to draw the plough; he sharpened strong stakes, hardening them in its heat, and t them around his hou as a defence from his enemies; he did many other things besides with the red flower that Prometheus had made to blossom at the end of the reed.
Zeus, sitting on his throne, saw with alarm how strong man was becoming. One day he discovered the theft of his shining red
flower, and knew tat Promethwus was the thief. He was greatly displead with this act.
"Prometheus loves man too well," said he, "he shall be punished." Then he called his two slaves, Strength and Force, and told them to take Prometheus and bind him fast to a great rock in the lonely Caucasian Mountains. At the same time he ordered Hephaestus to lock the Titan's chains-in a cunning way that only Hephaestus knew.
There Prometheus hung on the rock for hundreds of years. The sun shone on him pitilessly, by day-only the king night gave him shade. He heard the rushing wings of the agulls, as they came to feed their young who cried from the rocks below. The a nymphs floated up to his rock to give him t
heir pity. An eagle, cruel as the king of the gods, came daily and tore him with his claws and beak.
But this frightful punishment did not last forever. Prometheus himlf knew that some day he should be t free, and his knowledge made him strong to endure.
At last the time came when Zeus's throne was in danger, and Prometheus, pitying his enemy, told him a cret which helped him to make everything safe again. After this, Zeus nt Hercules to shoot the eagle and to break the Titan's chains. So Prometheus was t free.
从前，有一个地方住着一族叫泰坦的巨人。这些巨人不但性情暴躁，而且无法无天--他们总是自相残杀，甚至还跟众神之王宙斯作对。
泰坦中有一个名叫普罗米修斯，他是巨人中最聪明的，时常思考将来会发生什么。
一天，普罗米修斯对他的兄弟们说：“我们浪费这么多力气到底有什么好处呢？有了智慧和深谋远虑，最终才会赢得胜利。如果我们有意和众神争斗，就让我们选一个领导者，并且结束内部的争斗。”
泰坦们拔起大树，并且掷出一阵乱石回答了他。
及时躲避而未受伤害的普罗米修斯对他的弟弟说：“厄庇墨透斯，我们在这些泰坦之中无法有所作为。假如他们再这样执意下去的话，尘世会被摧毁的。让我们去帮助宙斯征服他们。”
厄庇墨透斯同意了哥哥的决定，两兄弟就去见宙斯了。宙斯召来众神，于是一场可怕的战争爆发了。泰坦们将巨石砸裂，然后扔向诸神，宙斯则将霹雳和雷电投掷到各处。整个天空立刻火光闪耀，海水沸腾，大地震动，森林2起火，并开始燃烧。
普罗米修斯的智谋在某种程度上帮助众神最终征服了泰坦，并将他们带到尘世的边缘，关在一个很深的地下洞穴里。海神尼普顿早了一座有着沉重的门闩的坚固的铜门，把他们锁在下面，宙斯有派了三个各有五十个头和一百只手的巨人--布里阿柔斯和他的兄弟在门外看守。
跟众神作对的所有泰坦巨人中，只有一个没被关进洞穴。这个没跟其他人关在一起的人叫阿特拉斯，他的力气比他的兄弟们都大，但他并不太好争斗。于是，他被命令站着有头和双手撑住天空。
