There had been four ages since the human world first came into being（形成，产生） . They are the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Age of Bronze and the Age of Iron. The Golden Age was the best of all. It was an age when Kronus sat on the throne. Generous nature met all the needs of  men. There were no extremes of cold and heat. And the evils of the human world were still kept in the cask（木桶，桶） . Epimetheus（厄庇米修斯） guarded the cask and Pandora was not yet made to open. Men lived a happy life. They were forever young. They were always eating richly and knew neither hard labour nor sorrow. When death came it came like apeaceful sleep. And they became good spirits in  heaven.

The Silver Age was one in which the human race was somewhat less valuable in body and mind. The period was of helpless be ginning（轧花，轧棉） . It lasted a hundred years. And it was the time of manhood, short and troubled. Men spent in ignorance and evil. They no longer admired the gods and offered no sacrifices. However, as the race of the Silver Age was not entirely¹ lack of goodness, they had some honour and lived on as spirits under the earth.

During the age of Bronze（青铜） men became further  degenerated²（堕落，退化） . Dressed in bronze and armed with weapons of bronze, they live din³（喧嚣） the houses of bronze. Cruel and heartless, they delighted in war and died in endless struggle. When they passed away, they came into the darkness of the lower world.

The last age, that of Iron, was one of continual care and grief. There was no family love, no sense of respectful duty, no friendship and hospitality. Nor was there any faith, truth and justice. Evil was widespread, might was right, and the flames of war burnt the surface of the earth. It was a race of men given up by gods.