Jove in a cask all blessings pack'd and hid,
A charge for man: but first secured the lid.
Unbridled man, agog to scan the gift
And its contents, essay'd the top to lift.
Releas'd, each blessing mounted to the sky
And would not bide below, when free to fly.
Hope only tarried. Her the lid secured
When closed at last. And thus hath Hope endured
In human homes. In her sole form we see
Earnest of all the goods that then did flee.
Source: Davies: Fables of Babrius = Babrius 58.
No comments:
Post a Comment