In the poem from which this excerpt is taken, Prometheus the Titan has
been cruelly tortured for opposing the malignant will of Jupiter. In the
end Prometheus wins a complete outward victory. Better still, by his
steadfastness and high purpose he has won a great inward triumph. The
spirit that has actuated him and the nature of his achievement are
expressed in the following lines.
To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;
To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;
To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;
To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates
From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;
Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;
This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be
Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;
This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.
_Percy Bysshe Shelley._