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Key words£ºPandora£¬curiosity£¬hope, Epimetheus,
box |
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Genre£ºmyth |
Topic£ºthe
first woman |
Words:310 |
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Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity
to know what this jar contained. |
The first
woman
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Author£ºUnknown |
Source£ºlibrary.thinkquest.org
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Date£º2008-5-26 |
Editor£ºEmma |
(Pandora opens the box)
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The story
(absurd enough!) is that Jupiter made the first woman and sent
her to Prometheus and his brother, to punish them for their
presumption in stealing fire from heaven; and man, for accepting
the gift. This first human of the fair sex was named Pandora.
She was made in heaven, every god contributing something to
perfect her. Venus gave her beauty, Mercury persuasion, Apollo
music, etc. Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth and
presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her,
though cautioned by his brother to beware of Jupiter and his
gifts. Epimetheus had in his house a jar, in which were kept
certain noxious articles, for which, in fitting man for his new
adobe, he had had no occasion. Pandora was seized with an eager
curiosity to know what this jar contained; and one day she
slipped off the cover and looked in. Forthwith there escaped a
multitude of plagues for hapless man -- such as gout, theumatism,
and colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his
mind -- and scattered themselves far and wide. Pandora hastened
to replace the lid; but alas! the whole contents of the jar had
escaped, one thing only excepted, which lay at the bottom, and
that was hope. So we wee at this day, whatever evils are abroad,
hope never entirely leaves us; and while we have that, no amount
of other ills can make us completely wretched.
Another
story is that Pandora was sent in good faith, by Jupiter, to
bless man; that she was furnished with a box, containing her
marriage blessing. She opened the box incautiously, and the
blessing all escaped, hope only excepted. This story seems more
probable than the former; for how hope, so precious a jewel as
it is, have been kept in a jar full of all manner of evils, as
in the former statement?
Discussion£º
Why did Pandora open the
jar?
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