The
Story of Pandora
The story is that Jupiter made 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. The
first woman 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. He gladly accepted her, though he was cautioned by his brother to beware
of Jupiter and his gifts. Epimetheus had in his house a jar in which were kept
certain noxious traits for which he had had no use when preparing Man for his
new abode. Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what this jar
contained, and one day she slipped off the cover and looked in. From it escaped
a multitude of plagues for poor Man - such as gout, rheumatism, 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 was excepted, which lay at the
bottom, and that was hope. So we see at this day, that 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. She was given a box containing
her marriage presents, into which every god had put some blessing. She opened
the box incautiously, and the blessings all escaped, hope only excepted. This
story seems more probable than the former. For how could 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?
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