I TELL thee that the self-willed pride of Zeus Shall surely be abased; that even now He plots a marriage that shall hurl him forth Far out of sight of his imperial throne And kingly dignity. Then, in that hour, Shall be fulfilled, nor in one tittle fail, The curse wherewith his father Cronos cursed him, What time he fell from his majestic place Established from of old. And such a stroke None of the Gods save me could turn aside. I know these things shall be and on what wise. Therefore let him secure him in his seat, And put his trust in airy noise, and swing His bright, two-handed, blazing thunderbolt, For these shall nothing stead him, nor avert Fall insupportable and glory humbled. A wrestler of such might he maketh ready For his own ruin; yea, a wonder, strong In strength unmatchable; and he shall find Fire that shall set at naught the burning bolt And blasts more dreadful that o'er-crow the thunder. The pestilence that scourgeth the deep seas And shaketh solid earth, the three-pronged mace, Poseidon's spear, a mightier shall scatter; And when he stumbleth striking there his foot, Fallen on evil days, the tyrant's pride Shall measure all the miserable length That parts rule absolute from servitude. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE AWAKENING by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TWO SONGS OF A FOOL: 1 by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE SOLDIER'S DREAM by THOMAS CAMPBELL TO ELIZABETH, COUNTESS OF RUTLAND by BEN JONSON CHOEPHOROI: ORESTES GOES MAD by AESCHYLUS EPISTLES ON THE CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF WOMEN: 3 by LUCY AIKEN IN VINCULIS; SONNETS WRITTEN IN AN IRISH PRISON: A LESSON IN HUMILITY by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |