To Light a Thousand Lamps - The Theosophical Society

The Quickening of Mind / 25
elaborated on the legends surrounding Prometheus which
the Greek poet Hesiod (8th century BC) recorded from very
ancient sources. Among others, Aeschylus, Plato, Vergil,
Ovid, and in more recent times Milton, Shelley, and others
immortalized various facets of the tale. In his Dialogues
Plato hints often of a wisdom beyond the myths he relates,
and in his Protagoras (§320 ¤ ) he tells of the confrontation
of Epimetheus (Afterthinker) with his older brother Prometheus
(Forethinker). When the cycle had come for ‘‘mortal
creatures’’ to be formed, the gods fashioned them from
the elements of earth and fire ‘‘in the interior of the earth,’’
but before bringing them into the light of day they commissioned
Epimetheus and Prometheus to apportion to each its
proper qualities. Epimetheus o¤ered to do the main work,
leaving the inspection and approval to Prometheus.
All went well with respect to furnishing the animals
with suitable attributes; but, alas, Epimetheus discovered
he had used everything up, ‘‘and when he came to man,
who was still unprovided [for], he was terribly perplexed.’’
Prometheus had but one recourse, and that was to procure
by stealth from the common workshop of Athena, goddess
of the arts, and of Hephaestus, god of fire and craftsmanship,
that which was needed to equip ‘‘man in his turn to go
forth into the light of day.’’ O¤ Prometheus sped to the
forge of the gods where burned the everlasting fire of mind.
Stealing an ember from the sacred hearth, he descended
again to earth and quickened man’s latent mind with the
fire of heaven. Man the thinker was born: instead of being
less qualified than the animals which Epimetheus had so
well equipped, he now stood a potential god, conscious of