Page:Prometheus bound - Browning (1833).djvu/93

E'en as a new-yoked courser, strugglest thou,
And wariest 'gainst the rein; and gath'rest strength
From thy weak sophisms. But 'mong th' unwise,
Weaker than nothing is self-will, self-taught.
Lo! if thou be unmovëd by my words,
What tempest and inevitable wave
Of evil will o'erwhelm thee! First, our Sire
Will cleave with thunder, and with bolted flame
This pinnacle of rock, and hide thy form;
And there its stony arms shall rivet thee.
Having accomplish'd a long lapse of time,
Thou shalt revisit light; and Jove's wing'd dog,
Sanguineous, the ferocious eagle, cow'ring
All day, an uninvited banqueter,
The ragged garment of thy form shall rend,
And make his feast upon thy dusky liver.
Nor any issue to such woe expect,
Or ere some god, vicarious in thy pangs,
Appear, and visit unillumined hell,