APOLLO
Hark to the words of the prophet, oracular words of Apollo,Touching the shivery strife in which heroes are facing each other.Loudly they shout in the battle, and fast-flying words are their weapons ; Many a blow while the hisses of conflict are ebbing and flowingThis way and that shall be dealt on the crest of the plowtail stubborn ;Yet when the hook-taloned vulture the grasshopper grips in his clutches,Then shall the rainbearing crows make an end of their cawing forever :Vict’ry shall go to the mules, and the ass will rejoice in his offspring !ZEUS What are you guffawing about, Momus? Surely there is nothing to laugh at in the situation we are facing. Stop, hang you! You'll choke yourself to death with your laughing.
MOMUS How can I, Zeus, when the oracle is so clear and manifest ?
ZEUS Well then, suppose you tell us what in the world it means.
MOMUS It is quite manifest, so that we shan’t need a Themistocles.[*](See p. 121, note.). The prophecy says as plainly as you
v.2.p.137
please that this fellow is a humbug and that you who believe in him are pack-asses and mules, without as much sense as grasshoppers.