The Different Ages of Man

　　Human beings have existed on Earth for a long time and are the oldest species. The history of ancient times can be divided into four periods: gold, silver, bronze and black iron.

　　In the Age of Gold, the world was first furnished with inhabitants. This was an

　　age of innocence and happiness. Truth and right prevailed, thought not enforced

　　by law, no was there any in authority to threaten or to punish. The earth brought

　　forth all things necessary for man,without his labor in plowing or sowing. perpetual spring reigned, flowers sprang up without seed, the rivers flowed with milk and wine, and yellow honey distilled from the oaks.

　　The Silver Age came next, inferior to the golden. Jupiter shortened the spring,

　　and divided the year into seasons. Then, first, men suffered the extremes of heat

　　And cold, and houses became necessary.Crops would no longer grow without planting.

　　This was a race of manly men, but insolent and impious.

　　Next to the Age of Silver came that of brass, more savage of temper and readier

　　for the strife of arms, yet not altogether wicked.

　　last came the hardest age and worst, of iron.Crime burst in like a flood; modesty, truth, and honor fled. The gifts of the earth were put only to nefarious ?uses. Fraud, violence, war at home and abroad were rife. ?Jupiter,observing the condition of things, burned with anger, He summoned the gods to council. Jupiter set forth to the assembly the frightful condition of the earth,and announced his intention of destroying its inhabitants, and providing a new race, unlike the present, which should be worthier of life and more reverent toward the gods. Fearing lest a conflagration might set Heaven itself on fire, he proceeded to drown the world. Speedily the race of mean and their possessions, were swept away by the deluge. ?Parnassus alone, of the mountains, overtopped the waves, and there Deucalion, son the Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha, daughter of Epimethius, found refuge - he a just man and she a faithful worshiper of the gods. Jupiter, remembering the harmless lives and pious demeanor of this pair, caused the waters to recede. Then Deucalion and Pyrrha, entering a temple defaced with slime, approached the enkindled altar and, falling prostrate, prayed for guidance and aid. The oracle answered, "Depart from the temple with head veiled and garments unbound, and cast behind you the bones of your mother. They heard the words with astonishment. Pyrrha first broke silence:"We cannot obey; we dare not profane the remains of our parents." They sought the woods. and revolved the oracle in their minds. At last Deucalion spoke:" Either my wit fails me or the command is one we may obey without impiety. The earth is the great parent of all; the stones are her bones; these we may cast behind us; this, I think, the oracle means. They veiled their faces, unbound their garments, and , picking up stones, cast them behind them. The stones began to grow soft and to assume shape. By degrees they put on a rude resemblance to the human form Those thrown by Deucalion became men; those by Pyrrha, women. Since then, the world has a distinction between men and women.

　　人類的各個時代

　　人類在地球存在已久，是最古老的物種。相傳遠(yuǎn)古時期的發(fā)展歷史大體可分為黃金、白銀、青銅和黑鐵四個時代。

　　黃金時代，地球上最初有了居民。這是一個天真無邪和幸福的時代。真理和正義主宰

　　一切，但不是靠法律的約束，也沒有什么權(quán)貴的恫嚇和懲處。人們不用耕種，一切生活必

　　需全可仰給于大地。春天永在，不用種子，地里也長出鮮花來；河里流的是奶和酒，以及

　　從橡樹蒸餾而來的黃澄澄的蜜糖。

　　接下來的是遜于黃金時代的白銀時代。朱庇特縮短春天，把一年分為四季。于是人們

　　首先嘗到了酷暑嚴(yán)寒之苦，不得不找一個蔽身之所。要吃谷物就得耕作。這時的人類雄偉

　　剛毅，但卻驕橫不虔。

　　白銀時代之后就是青銅時代。人們的稟性更加粗野，動輒就要大興干戈，但是還沒有

　　達(dá)到十惡不赦的地步。

　　最后到了最棘手和最糟糕的時代－－－黑鐵時代。罪惡象洪水一樣泛濫成災(zāi)，謙虛、

　　真理和尊嚴(yán)逃得無影無蹤。大地的賜予全被用去造孽。欺詐、暴力、對內(nèi)對外的戰(zhàn)爭四處

　　猖獗。

　　朱庇特見到這種情況怒不可遏。他召集眾神商討對策。在神祗大會上，朱庇特陳述了

　　地球上不堪容忍的情況，并宣布了他要?dú)绲厣犀F(xiàn)在居民的意向，表示要另置新人。這種

　　新人不同于現(xiàn)有的人，他們將更有生存的價值，對神祗也更加敬重。朱庇特唯恐用火燒會

　　危及天宮本身，就決定用洪水淹沒地球，轉(zhuǎn)瞬間洪水就把地球上的人和他們的財物席卷而

　　去。在所有的山峰中唯有帕爾納索斯沒有被洪水的浪滔所淹沒，普羅米修斯的獨(dú)生子丟卡

　　利翁和他的妻子皮拉－－－厄庇墨透斯的女兒－－－就躲到這個山峰上去。丟卡利翁為人

　　正直，他的妻子則虔誠敬神。朱庇特憐惜他們夫妻一生清白，品行端正，就斥令洪水退去。

　　這時丟卡利翁和皮拉走進(jìn)了一個濺滿了泥漿的神廟里，在香火未燃的祭壇前，他倆俯身在

　　地祈求神祗的指引和幫助。神諭指出說：“裹起頭，松開衣帶，出廟去，一路走一路將你們母親的尸骨丟在身后。”這話使他們驚愕不已。皮拉首先打破了沉寂：“我們不能照著這個神諭辦事；我們不敢褻瀆父母的尸骨。”他們躲進(jìn)樹林，苦苦思索著神諭的含義。最后丟卡利翁說：“要不就是我發(fā)了昏，要不就是我們不犯逆忤罪也能執(zhí)行神諭。大地是萬物之母，石頭就是她的尸骨。我們可以往身后扔石頭，我想神諭說的就是這個意思。”他倆蒙住顏面，松開衣帶，撿起石頭朝身后扔去。這些石頭開始變軟，呈現(xiàn)形狀，漸漸地帶上了略似于人的狀貌。丟卡利翁扔的石頭變成了男人，皮拉扔的則成了女人。從此，世界有了男女之別。

?