The Different Ages of Man

In the Age of Gold, the world was first furnished with inhabitants. This was an age of innocence¹ and happiness. Truth and right prevailed, thought not enforced by law, no was there any in authority to threaten or to punish. The earth brought forth² all things necessary for man, without his labor³ in plowing⁴ or sowing. Perpetual spring reigned⁵, flowers sprang up without seed, the rivers flowed with milk and wine, and yellow honey distilled⁶ from the oaks.

The Silver Age came next, inferior to the golden. Jupiter shortened the spring, and divided the year into seasons. Then, first, men suffered the extremes of heat and cold, and houses became necessary. Crops would no longer grow without planting. This was a race of manly⁷ men, but insolent⁸ and impious.

Next to the Age of Silver came that of brass¹⁰, more savage¹¹ of temper and readier for the strife¹² of arms, yet not altogether wicked.

Last came the hardest age and worst, - of iron. Cri(继父小说)me burst in like a flood; modesty¹⁴, truth, and honor fled. The gifts of the earth were put only to nefarious¹⁵ uses. Fraud, violence, war at home and abroad were rife¹³.

Jupiter, observing the condition of things, burned with anger, He summoned the gods to council. Jupiter set forth to the assembly the frightful¹⁶ condition of the earth, and announced his intention of destroying its inhabitants, and providing a new race, unlike the present, which should be worthier¹⁷ of life and more reverent¹⁸ toward the gods. Fearing lest a conflagration¹⁹ might set Heaven itself on fire, he proceeded to drown the world. Speedily the race of mean and their possessions, were swept away by the deluge²⁰.

Parnassus alone, of the mountains, overtopped the waves, and there Deucalion, son the Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus, found refuge - he a just man and she a faithful worshiper of the gods. Jupiter, remembering the harmless lives and pious⁹ demeanor²¹ of this pair, caused the waters to recede²². Then Deucalion and Pyrrha, entering a temple defaced with slime, approached the enkindled altar and, falling prostrate²³, prayed for guidance and aid. The oracle²⁴ answered, "Depart from the temple with head veiled and garments unbound, and cast behind you the bones of your mother." They heard the words with astonishment²⁵. Pyrrha first broke silence:"We cannot obey; we dare not profane²⁶ the remains²⁷ of our parents." They sought the woods. and revolved²⁸ the oracle in their minds. At last Deucalion spoke²⁹: "Either my wit fails me or the command is one we may obey without impiety³⁰. The earth is the great parent of all; the stones are her bones; these we may cast behind us; this, I think, the oracle means. They veiled their faces, unbound their garments, and, picking up stones, cast them behind them. The stones began to grow soft and to assume shape. By degrees they put on a rude resemblance to the human form. Those thrown by Deucalion became men; those by Pyrrha, women.

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