Stasimon 2
[Choral 1]
May Zeus, who apportions everything, never set his power in conflict with my will,
Chorus
nor may I be slow to approach the gods, with holy sacrifices of oxen slain, by the side of the ceaseless stream of Oceanus, my father;
530
and may I not offend in speech; but may this rule abide in my heart and never fade away.
535
Sweet it is to pass all the length of life amid confident hopes, feeding the heart in glad festivities. But I shudder
as I look on you, racked by infinite tortures. You have no fear of Zeus, Prometheus, but in self-will you reverence mortals too much.
540
[Choral 2]
Come, my friend, how mutual was your reciprocity? Tell me, what kind of help is there in creatures of a day? What aid? Did you not see the helpless infirmity, no better than a dream, in which the blind
545
Chorus
generation of men is shackled? Never shall the counsels of mortal men transgress the ordering of Zeus.
550
I have learned this lesson from observing the luck, Prometheus, that has brought about your ruin. And the difference in the song stole into my thought
—this song and that, which, about your bridal bed and bath, I raised to grace your marriage, when you wooed with gifts
555
and won my sister Hesione to be your wedded wife.
560