They took no heed of
daily wants, since Zeus gave them all things needful, and the earth
brought forth fruitage and harvest without asking the toil of
husbandmen. If mortals were light of heart, however, their minds were
empty of great enterprise. They did not know how to build or plant or
weave; their thoughts never flew far, and they had no wish to cross the
sea.
But Prometheus loved earthly folk, and thought that they had been
children long enough. He was a mighty workman, with the whole world for
a workshop; and little by little he taught men knowledge that is
wonderful to know, so that they grew out of their childhood, and began
to take thought for themselves. Some people even say that he knew how
to make men,--as we make shapes out of clay,--and set their five wits
going. However that may be, he was certainly a cunning workman. He
taught men first to build huts out of clay, and to thatch roofs with
straw. He showed them how to make bricks and hew marble. He taught them
numbers and letters, the signs of the seasons, and the coming and going
of the stars. He showed them how to use for their healing the simple
herbs that once had no care save to grow and be fragrant. He taught
them how to till the fields; how to tame the beasts, and set them also
to work; how to build ships that ride the water, and to put wings upon
them that they may go faster, like birds.
With every new gift, men desired more and more.
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