§9Προμηθεύς
τίθει δʼ ὅμως, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, τὸ χαλεπώτερον, μὴ τὴν ἐλάττω μοῖραν ἀπονενεμηκέναι τῷ Διί, τὴν δʼ ὅλην ὑφῃρῆσθαι·
Prometheus: But nevertheless, Hermes, assume the harsher alternative: not that I assigned the smaller portion to Zeus, but that I purloined the whole.
τί οὖν;
What then?
διὰ τοῦτο ἐχρῆν, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, τῇ γῇ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναμεμῖχθαι καὶ δεσμὰ καὶ σταυροὺς καὶ Καύκασον ὅλον ἐπινοεῖν καὶ ἀετοὺς καταπέμπειν καὶ τὸ ἧπαρ ἐκκολάπτειν;
Was it necessary on this account, as the saying goes, to mix heaven with earth, and to devise bonds, crosses, the whole of Caucasus, and to send down eagles and gouge out my liver?
ὅρα γὰρ μὴ πολλήν τινα ταῦτα κατηγορῇ τοῦ ἀγανακτοῦντος αὐτοῦ μικροψυχίαν καὶ ἀγένειαν τῆς γνώμης καὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν εὐχέρειαν.
Watch out, lest these actions accuse the resentful one himself of great pettiness, baseness of mind, and a readiness for anger.
ἢ τί γὰρ ἂν ἐποίησεν οὗτος ὅλον βοῦν ἀπολέσας, εἰ κρεῶν ὀλίγων ἕνεκα τηλικαῦτα ἐργάζεται;
For what indeed would he have done if he had lost a whole ox, if for the sake of a little meat he does such things?
§10Προμηθεύς
καίτοι πόσῳ οἱ ἄνθρωποι εὐγνωμονέστερον διάκεινται πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα, οὓς εἰκὸς ἦν καὶ τὰ ἐς τὴν ὀργὴν ὀξυτέρους εἶναι τῶν θεῶν;
Prometheus: And yet, how much more reasonably are men disposed toward such matters, though it would have been natural for them to be sharper in anger than the gods!
ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἐκείνων οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις τῷ μαγείρῳ σταυροῦ ἂν τιμήσαιτο, εἰ τὰ κρέα ἕψων καθεὶς τὸν δάκτυλον τοῦ ζωμοῦ τι περιελιχμήσατο ἢ ὀπτωμένων ἀποσπάσας τι κατεβρόχθισεν, ἀλλὰ συγγνώμην ἀπονέμουσιν αὐτοῖς·
Yet not one of them would sentence his cook to the cross if, while boiling the meat, he dipped his finger in and licked some of the broth, or tore off and devoured a bit of what was being roasted; rather, they grant them pardon.
εἰ δὲ καὶ πάνυ ὀργισθεῖεν, ἢ κονδύλους ἐνέτριψαν ἢ κατὰ κόρρης ἐπάταξαν, ἀνεσκολοπίσθη δὲ οὐδεὶς παρʼ αὐτοῖς τῶν τηλικούτων ἕνεκα.
And even if they should get very angry, they either box their ears or slap them on the cheek, but no one among them has ever been crucified for such trifles.
καὶ περὶ μὲν τῶν κρεῶν τοσαῦτα, αἰσχρὰ μὲν κἀμοὶ ἀπολογεῖσθαι, πολὺ δὲ αἰσχίω κατηγορεῖν ἐκείνῳ.
And so much for the meat; which is shameful for me to defend, but far more shameful for him to accuse.
§11Προμηθεύς
περὶ δὲ τῆς πλαστικῆς καὶ ὅτι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐποίησα, καιρὸς ἤδη λέγειν.
Prometheus: Concerning the plastic art, and that I made men, it is now time to speak.
τοῦτο δέ, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, διττὴν ἔχον τὴν κατηγορίαν, οὐκ οἶδα καθʼ ὁπότερον αἰτιᾶσθέ μου, πότερα ὡς οὐδὲ ὅλως ἐχρῆν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους γεγονέναι, ἀλλʼ ἄμεινον ἦν ἀτρεμεῖν αὐτοὺς γῆν ἄλλως ὄντας, ἢ ὡς πεπλάσθαι μὲν ἐχρῆν, ἄλλον δέ τινα καὶ μὴ τοῦτον διεσχηματίσθαι τὸν τρόπον;
And this matter, Hermes, involving a double accusation, I do not know on which of the two grounds you accuse me: whether that men ought not to have been born at all, but it was better for them to remain still, being otherwise merely earth; or that they ought to have been fashioned, but shaped in some other way and not in this manner?
ἐγὼ δὲ ὅμως ὑπὲρ ἀμφοῖν ἐρῶ· καὶ πρῶτόν γε, ὡς οὐδεμία τοῖς θεοῖς ἀπὸ τούτου βλάβη γεγένηται, τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐς τὸν βίον παραχθέντων, πειράσομαι δεικνύειν· ἔπειτα δέ, ὡς καὶ συμφέροντα καὶ ἀμείνω ταῦτα αὐτοῖς παρὰ πολὺ ἢ εἰ ἐρήμην καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον συνέβαινε τὴν γῆν μένειν.
But I will nevertheless speak on behalf of both; and first, I will try to show that no harm has come to the gods from this, namely, from men being brought into life; and secondly, that this is far more advantageous and better for them than if the earth had remained desolate and uninhabited.
§12Προμηθεύς
ἦν τοίνυν πάλαι — ῥᾷον γὰρ οὕτω δῆλον ἂν γένοιτο, εἴ τι ἠδίκηκα ἐγὼ μετακοσμήσας καὶ νεωτερίσας τὰ περὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους — ἦν οὖν τὸ θεῖον μόνον καὶ τὸ ἐπουράνιον γένος, ἡ γῆ δὲ ἄγριόν τι χρῆμα καὶ ἄμορφον, ὕλαις ἅπασα καὶ ταύταις ἀνημέροις λάσιος, οὔτε δὲ βωμοὶ θεῶν ἢ νέως, — πόθεν γάρ; — ἢ ξόανα ἤ τι ἄλλο τοιοῦτον, οἷα πολλὰ νῦν ἁπανταχόθι φαίνεται μετὰ πάσης ἐπιμελείας τιμώμενα·
Prometheus: There was, then, of old—for in this way it would more easily become clear if I have done any wrong in reorganizing and innovating the affairs of men—there was, therefore, only the divine and heavenly race, while the earth was a wild and formless thing, thick with forests, and those untamed; and there were no altars of gods or temples—for whence could they be?—nor wooden images or anything of the sort, such as now appear everywhere in abundance, honored with all care.
ἐγὼ δὲ — ἀεὶ γάρ τι προβουλεύω ἐς τὸ κοινὸν καὶ σκοπῶ ὅπως αὐξηθήσεται μὲν τὰ τῶν θεῶν, ἐπιδώσει δὲ καὶ τἆλλα πάντα ἐς κόσμον καὶ κάλλος — ἐνενόησα ὡς ἄμεινον εἴη ὀλίγον ὅσον τοῦ πηλοῦ λαβόντα ζῷά τινα συστήσασθαι καὶ ἀναπλάσαι τὰς μορφὰς μὲν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς προσεοικότα·
But I—for I am always planning something for the common good and looking to how the affairs of the gods may increase, and all other things may advance toward order and beauty—conceived that it would be better to take a little clay and compose some living creatures, and fashion their forms to resemble ourselves.
καὶ γὰρ ἐνδεῖν τι ᾤμην τῷ θείῳ, μὴ ὄντος τοῦ ἐναντίου αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς ὃ ἔμελλεν ἡ ἐξέτασις γιγνομένη εὐδαιμονέστερον ἀποφαίνειν αὐτό· θνητὸν μέντοι εἶναι τοῦτο, εὐμηχανώτατον δʼ ἄλλως καὶ συνετώτατον καὶ τοῦ βελτίονος αἰσθανόμενον.
For indeed, I thought something was lacking to the divine, since there was no opposite to it, by comparison with which the examination would show it to be more blessed; though this creature was to be mortal, yet otherwise highly ingenious, intelligent, and capable of perceiving the better.
§13Προμηθεύς
καὶ δὴ κατὰ τὸν ποιητικὸν λόγον
γαῖαν ὕδει φύρας
καὶ διαμαλάξας ἀνέπλασα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἔτι καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν παρακαλέσας συνεπιλαβέσθαι μοι τοῦ ἔργου.
Prometheus: And indeed, according to the poetic word, 'kneading earth with water' and softening it, I fashioned men, having also invited Athena to assist me in the work.
ταῦτά ἐστιν ἃ μεγάλα ἐγὼ τοὺς θεοὺς ἠδίκηκα.
These are the great wrongs I have done to the gods.
καὶ τὸ ζημίωμα ὁρᾷς ἡλίκον, εἰ ἐκ πηλοῦ ζῷα ἐποίησα καὶ τὸ τέως ἀκίνητον εἰς κίνησιν ἤγαγον· καί, ὡς ἔοικε, τὸ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἧττον θεοί εἰσιν οἱ θεοί, διότι καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς τινα θνητὰ ζῷα γεγένηται·
And you see how great the loss is, if I made living creatures out of clay and brought into motion what was hitherto motionless; and, as it seems, from that time on the gods are less gods, because some mortal creatures have also come to be upon the earth.
οὕτω γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἀγανακτεῖ νῦν ὁ Ζεὺς ὥσπερ ἐλαττουμένων τῶν θεῶν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων γενέσεως, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τοῦτο δέδιε, μὴ καὶ οὗτοι ἐπανάστασιν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν βουλεύσωσι καὶ πόλεμον ἐξενέγκωσι πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ὥσπερ οἱ Γίγαντες.
For this is why Zeus is now so vexed, as though the gods were diminished by the creation of men—unless indeed he fears this, that these too might plot a rebellion against him and wage war against the gods like the Giants.
ἀλλʼ ὅτι μὲν δὴ οὐδὲν ἠδίκησθε, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, πρὸς ἐμοῦ καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐμῶν, δῆλον· ἢ σὺ δεῖξον κἂν ἕν τι μικρότατον, κἀγὼ σιωπήσομαι καὶ δίκαια ἔσομαι πεπονθὼς πρὸς ὑμῶν.
But that you have been wronged in nothing by me and my works, Hermes, is clear; or do you show even one smallest thing, and I will be silent and will have suffered just treatment from you.