here is a new monarch. But if thou wilt utter words
thus harsh and whetted, Jupiter mayhap, though seated far aloft, will
hear thee, so that the present bitterness of sufferings will seem to
thee to be child's play. But, O hapless one! dismiss the passion which
thou feelest, and search for a deliverance from these sufferings of
thine. Old-fashioned maxims these, it may be, I appear to thee to utter;
yet such becomes the wages of the tongue that talks too proudly. But not
even yet art thou humble, nor submittest to ills; and in addition to
those that already beset thee, thou art willing to bring others upon
thee. Yet not, if at least thou takest me for thy instructor, wilt thou
stretch out thy leg against the pricks; as thou seest that a harsh
monarch, and one that is not subject to control, is lording it. And now
I for my part will go, and will essay, if I be able, to disinthrall thee
from these thy pangs. But be thou still, nor be over impetuous in thy
language. What! knowest thou not exactly, extremely intelligent as thou
art, that punishment is inflicted on a froward tongue?

PR. I give thee joy, because that thou hast escaped censure, after
taking part in and venturing along with me in all things. And now leave
him alone, and let it not concern thee. For in no wise wilt thou
persuade him; for he is not open to persuasion. And look thou well to it
that thou take not harm thyself by the journey.

OC. Thou art far better calculated by nature to instruct thy neighbors
than thyself: I draw my conclusion from fact, and not from word. But
think not for a moment to divert me from the attempt. For I am
confident, yea, I am confident, that Jupiter will grant me this boon, so
as to release thee from these pangs of thine.

PR. In part I commend thee, and will by no means at any time cease to do
so. For in zeal to serve me thou lackest nothing. But trouble thyself
not; for in vain, without being of any service to me,[24] wilt thou
labor, if in any respect thou art willing to labor. But hold thou thy
peace, and keep thyself out of harm's way; for I, though I be in
misfortune, would not on this account be willing that sufferings should
befall as many as possible. No, indeed, since also the disasters of my
brother Atlas gall my heart, who is stationed in the western regions,
sustaining on his shoulders the pillar of heaven and of earth, a burden
not of easy grasp. I commiserated too when I beheld the earth-born
inmate of the Cili