Proem

Sing, Muse, through me, of these prodigal ones: the five-fingered ape-men, proud, lusty, and numerous, who throng over Earth in fervent restlessness—we whose minds are inspired and crafty, but poor in foresight. Sing of the things that have been, and those that are, and those that may yet be, that we may listen and drink of thy wisdom, beholding in ourselves the patterns of our lives, and the path of our evolution.