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Oedipus at Colonus

[Enter CREON with attendants] CREON Burghers, my noble friends, ye take alarm At my approach (I read it in your eyes), Fear nothing and refrain from angry words. I come with no ill purpose; I am old, And know the city whither I am come, Without a peer amongst the powers of Greece. It was by reason of my years that I Was chosen to persuade your guest and bring Him back to Thebes; not the delegate Of one man, but commissioned by the State, Since of all Thebans I have most bewailed, Being his kinsman, his most grievous woes. O listen to me, luckless Oedipus, Come home! The whole Cadmeian people claim With right to have thee back, I most of all, For most of all (else were I vile indeed) I mourn for thy misfortunes, seeing thee An aged outcast, wandering on and on, A beggar with one handmaid for thy stay. Ah! who had e'er imagined she could fall To such a depth of misery as this, To tend in penury thy stricken frame, A virgin ripe for wedlock, but unwed, A prey for any wanton ravisher? Seems it not cruel this reproach I cast On thee and on myself and all the race? Aye, but an open shame cannot be hid. Hide it, O hide it, Oedipus, thou canst. O, by our fathers' gods, consent I pray; Come back to Thebes, come to thy father's home, Bid Athens, as is meet, a fond farewell; Thebes thy old foster-mother claims thee first. OEDIPUS O front of brass, thy subtle tongue would twist To thy advantage every plea of right Why try thy arts on me, why spread again Toils where 'twould gall me sorest to be snared? In old days when by self-wrought woes distraught, I yearned for exile as a glad release, Thy will refused the favor then I craved. But when my frenzied grief had spent its force, And I was fain to taste the sweets of home, Then thou wouldst thrust me from my country, then These ties of kindred were by thee ignored; And now again when thou behold'st this State And all its kindly people welcome me, Thou seek'st to part us, wrapping in soft words Hard thoughts. And yet what pleasure canst thou find In forcing friendship on unwilling foes? Suppose a man refused to grant some boon When you importuned him, and afterwards When you had got your heart's desire, consented, Granting a grace from which all grace had fled, Would not such favor seem an empty boon? Yet such the boon thou profferest now to me, Fair in appearance, but when tested false. Yea, I will proved thee false, that these may hear; Thou art come to take me, not to take me home, But plant me on thy borders, that thy State May so escape annoyance from this land. That thou shalt never gain, but this instead— My ghost to haunt thy country without end; And for my sons, this heritage—no more— Just room to die in. Have not I more skill Than thou to draw the horoscope of Thebes? Are not my teachers surer guides than thine— Great Phoebus and the sire of Phoebus, Zeus? Thou art a messenger suborned, thy tongue Is sharper than a sword's edge, yet thy speech Will bring thee more defeats than victories. Howbeit, I know I waste my words—begone, And leave me here; whate'er may be my lot, He lives not ill who lives withal content. CREON Which loses in this parley, I o'erthrown By thee, or thou who overthrow'st thyself? OEDIPUS I shall be well contented if thy suit Fails with these strangers, as it has with me. CREON Unhappy man, will years ne'er make thee wise? Must thou live on to cast a slur on age? OEDIPUS Thou hast a glib tongue, but no honest man, Methinks, can argue well on any side. CREON 'Tis one thing to speak much, another well. OEDIPUS Thy words, forsooth, are few and all well aimed! CREON Not for a man indeed with wits like thine. OEDIPUS Depart! I bid thee in these burghers' name, And prowl no longer round me to blockade My destined harbor. CREON I protest to these, Not thee, and for thine answer to thy kin, If e'er I take thee— OEDIPUS Who against their will Could take me? CREON Though untaken thou shalt smart. OEDIPUS What power hast thou to execute this threat? CREON One of thy daughters is already seized, The other I will carry off anon. OEDIPUS Woe, woe! CREON This is but prelude to thy woes. OEDIPUS Hast thou my child? CREON And soon shall have the other. OEDIPUS Ho, friends! ye will not surely play me false? Chase this ungodly villain from your land. CHORUS Hence, stranger, hence avaunt! Thou doest wrong In this, and wrong in all that thou hast done. CREON (to his guards) 'Tis time by force to carry off the girl, If she refuse of her free will to go. ANTIGONE Ah, woe is me! where shall I fly, where find Succor from gods or men? CHORUS What would'st thou, stranger? CREON I meddle not with him, but her who is mine. OEDIPUS O princes of the land! CHORUS Sir, thou dost wrong. CREON Nay, right. CHORUS How right? CREON I take but what is mine. OEDIPUS Help, Athens! CHORUS What means this, sirrah? quick unhand her, or We'll fight it out. CREON Back! CHORUS Not till thou forbear. CREON 'Tis war with Thebes if I am touched or harmed. OEDIPUS Did I not warn thee? CHORUS Quick, unhand the maid! CREON Command your minions; I am not your slave. CHORUS Desist, I bid thee. CREON (to the guard) And O bid thee march! CHORUS To the rescue, one and all! Rally, neighbors to my call! See, the foe is at the gate! Rally to defend the State. ANTIGONE Ah, woe is me, they drag me hence, O friends. OEDIPUS Where art thou, daughter? ANTIGONE Haled along by force. OEDIPUS Thy hands, my child! ANTIGONE They will not let me, father. CREON Away with her! OEDIPUS Ah, woe is me, ah woe! CREON So those two crutches shall no longer serve thee For further roaming. Since it pleaseth thee To triumph o'er thy country and thy friends Who mandate, though a prince, I here discharge, Enjoy thy triumph; soon or late thou'lt find Thou art an enemy to thyself, both now And in time past, when in despite of friends Thou gav'st the rein to passion, still thy bane. CHORUS Hold there, sir stranger! CREON Hands off, have a care. CHORUS Restore the maidens, else thou goest not. CREON Then Thebes will take a dearer surety soon; I will lay hands on more than these two maids. CHORUS What canst thou further? CREON Carry off this man. CHORUS Brave words! CREON And deeds forthwith shall make them good. CHORUS Unless perchance our sovereign intervene. OEDIPUS O shameless voice! Would'st lay an hand on me? CREON Silence, I bid thee! OEDIPUS Goddesses, allow Thy suppliant to utter yet one curse! Wretch, now my eyes are gone thou hast torn away The helpless maiden who was eyes to me; For these to thee and all thy cursed race May the great Sun, whose eye is everywhere, Grant length of days and old age like to mine. CREON Listen, O men of Athens, mark ye this? OEDIPUS They mark us both and understand that I Wronged by the deeds defend myself with words. CREON Nothing shall curb my will; though I be old And single-handed, I will have this man. OEDIPUS O woe is me! CHORUS Thou art a bold man, stranger, if thou think'st To execute thy purpose. CREON So I do. CHORUS Then shall I deem this State no more a State. CREON With a just quarrel weakness conquers might. OEDIPUS Ye hear his words? CHORUS Aye words, but not yet deeds, Zeus knoweth! CREON Zeus may haply know, not thou. CHORUS Insolence! CREON Insolence that thou must bear. CHORUS Haste ye princes, sound the alarm! Men of Athens, arm ye, arm! Quickly to the rescue come Ere the robbers get them home. [Enter THESEUS] THESEUS Why this outcry? What is forward? wherefore was I called away From the altar of Poseidon, lord of your Colonus? Say! On what errand have I hurried hither without stop or stay. OEDIPUS Dear friend—those accents tell me who thou art— Yon man but now hath done me a foul wrong. THESEUS What is this wrong and who hath wrought it? Speak. OEDIPUS Creon who stands before thee. He it is Hath robbed me of my all, my daughters twain. THESEUS What means this? OEDIPUS Thou hast heard my tale of wrongs. THESEUS Ho! hasten to the altars, one of you. Command my liegemen leave the sacrifice And hurry, foot and horse, with rein unchecked, To where the paths that packmen use diverge, Lest the two maidens slip away, and I Become a mockery to this my guest, As one despoiled by force. Quick, as I bid. As for this stranger, had I let my rage, Justly provoked, have play, he had not 'scaped Scathless and uncorrected at my hands. But now the laws to which himself appealed, These and none others shall adjudicate. Thou shalt not quit this land, till thou hast fetched The maidens and produced them in my sight. Thou hast offended both against myself And thine own race and country. Having come Unto a State that champions right and asks For every action warranty of law, Thou hast set aside the custom of the land, And like some freebooter art carrying off What plunder pleases thee, as if forsooth Thou thoughtest this a city without men, Or manned by slaves, and me a thing of naught. Yet not from Thebes this villainy was learnt; Thebes is not wont to breed unrighteous sons, Nor would she praise thee, if she learnt that thou Wert robbing me—aye and the gods to boot, Haling by force their suppliants, poor maids. Were I on Theban soil, to prosecute The justest claim imaginable, I Would never wrest by violence my own Without sanction of your State or King; I should behave as fits an outlander Living amongst a foreign folk, but thou Shamest a city that deserves it not, Even thine own, and plentitude of years Have made of thee an old man and a fool. Therefore again I charge thee as before, See that the maidens are restored at once, Unless thou would'st continue here by force And not by choice a sojourner; so much I tell thee home and what I say, I mean. CHORUS Thy case is perilous; though by birth and race Thou should'st be just, thou plainly doest wrong. CREON Not deeming this city void of men Or counsel, son of Aegeus, as thou say'st I did what I have done; rather I thought Your people were not like to set such store by kin of mine and keep them 'gainst my will. Nor would they harbor, so I stood assured, A godless parricide, a reprobate Convicted of incestuous marriage ties. For on her native hill of Ares here (I knew your far-famed Areopagus) Sits Justice, and permits not vagrant folk To stay within your borders. In that faith I hunted down my quarry; and e'en then I had refrained but for the curses dire Wherewith he banned my kinsfolk and myself: Such wrong, methought, had warrant for my act. Anger has no old age but only death; The dead alone can feel no touch of spite. So thou must work thy will; my cause is just But weak without allies; yet will I try, Old as I am, to answer deeds with deeds. OEDIPUS O shameless railer, think'st thou this abuse Defames my grey hairs rather than thine own? Murder and incest, deeds of horror, all Thou blurtest forth against me, all I have borne, No willing sinner; so it pleased the gods Wrath haply with my sinful race of old, Since thou could'st find no sin in me myself For which in retribution I was doomed To trespass thus against myself and mine. Answer me now, if by some oracle My sire was destined to a bloody end By a son's hand, can this reflect on me, Me then unborn, begotten by no sire, Conceived in no mother's womb? And if When born to misery, as born I was, I met my sire, not knowing whom I met or what I did, and slew him, how canst thou With justice blame the all-unconscious hand? And for my mother, wretch, art not ashamed, Seeing she was thy sister, to extort From me the story of her marriage, such A marriage as I straightway will proclaim. For I will speak; thy lewd and impious speech Has broken all the bonds of reticence. She was, ah woe is me! she was my mother; I knew it not, nor she; and she my mother Bare children to the son whom she had borne, A birth of shame. But this at least I know Wittingly thou aspersest her and me; But I unwitting wed, unwilling speak. Nay neither in this marriage or this deed Which thou art ever casting in my teeth— A murdered sire—shall I be held to blame. Come, answer me one question, if thou canst: If one should presently attempt thy life, Would'st thou, O man of justice, first inquire If the assassin was perchance thy sire, Or turn upon him? As thou lov'st thy life, On thy aggressor thou would'st turn, no stay Debating, if the law would bear thee out. Such was my case, and such the pass whereto The gods reduced me; and methinks my sire, Could he come back to life, would not dissent. Yet thou, for just thou art not, but a man Who sticks at nothing, if it serve his plea, Reproachest me with this before these men. It serves thy turn to laud great Theseus' name, And Athens as a wisely governed State; Yet in thy flatteries one thing is to seek: If any land knows how to pay the gods Their proper rites, 'tis Athens most of all. This is the land whence thou wast fain to steal Their aged suppliant and hast carried off My daughters. Therefore to yon goddesses, I turn, adjure them and invoke their aid To champion my cause, that thou mayest learn What is the breed of men who guard this State. CHORUS An honest man, my liege, one sore bestead By fortune, and so worthy our support. THESEUS Enough of words; the captors speed amain, While we the victims stand debating here. CREON What would'st thou? What can I, a feeble man? THESEUS Show us the trail, and I'll attend thee too, That, if thou hast the maidens hereabouts, Thou mayest thyself discover them to me; But if thy guards outstrip us with their spoil, We may draw rein; for others speed, from whom They will not 'scape to thank the gods at home. Lead on, I say, the captor's caught, and fate Hath ta'en the fowler in the toils he spread; So soon are lost gains gotten by deceit. And look not for allies; I know indeed Such height of insolence was never reached Without abettors or accomplices; Thou hast some backer in thy bold essay, But I will search this matter home and see One man doth not prevail against the State. Dost take my drift, or seem these words as vain As seemed our warnings when the plot was hatched? CREON Nothing thou sayest can I here dispute, But once at home I too shall act my part. THESEUS Threaten us and—begone! Thou, Oedipus, Stay here assured that nothing save my death Will stay my purpose to restore the maids. OEDIPUS Heaven bless thee, Theseus, for thy nobleness And all thy loving care in my behalf. [Exeunt THESEUS and CREON] CHORUS (Str. 1) O when the flying foe, Turning at last to bay, Soon will give blow for blow, Might I behold the fray; Hear the loud battle roar Swell, on the Pythian shore, Or by the torch-lit bay, Where the dread Queen and Maid Cherish the mystic rites, Rites they to none betray, Ere on his lips is laid Secrecy's golden key By their own acolytes, Priestly Eumolpidae. There I might chance behold Theseus our captain bold Meet with the robber band, Ere they have fled the land, Rescue by might and main Maidens, the captives twain. (Ant. 1) Haply on swiftest steed, Or in the flying car, Now they approach the glen, West of white Oea's scaur. They will be vanquished: Dread are our warriors, dread Theseus our chieftain's men. Flashes each bridle bright, Charges each gallant knight, All that our Queen adore, Pallas their patron, or Him whose wide floods enring Earth, the great Ocean-king Whom Rhea bore. (Str. 2) Fight they or now prepare To fight? a vision rare Tells me that soon again I shall behold the twain Maidens so ill bestead, By their kin buffeted. Today, today Zeus worketh some great thing This day shall victory bring. O for the wings, the wings of a dove, To be borne with the speed of the gale, Up and still upwards to sail And gaze on the fray from the clouds above. (Ant. 2) All-seeing Zeus, O lord of heaven, To our guardian host be given Might triumphant to surprise Flying foes and win their prize. Hear us, Zeus, and hear us, child Of Zeus, Athene undefiled, Hear, Apollo, hunter, hear, Huntress, sister of Apollo, Who the dappled swift-foot deer O'er the wooded glade dost follow; Help with your two-fold power Athens in danger's hour! O wayfarer, thou wilt not have to tax The friends who watch for thee with false presage, For lo, an escort with the maids draws near. [Enter ANTIGONE and ISMENE with THESEUS] OEDIPUS Where, where? what sayest thou? ANTIGONE O father, father, Would that some god might grant thee eyes to see This best of men who brings us back again. OEDIPUS My child! and are ye back indeed! ANTIGONE Yes, saved By Theseus and his gallant followers. OEDIPUS Come to your father's arms, O let me feel A child's embrace I never hoped for more. ANTIGONE Thou askest what is doubly sweet to give. OEDIPUS Where are ye then? ANTIGONE We come together both. OEDIPUS My precious nurslings! ANTIGONE Fathers aye were fond. OEDIPUS Props of my age! ANTIGONE So sorrow sorrow props. OEDIPUS I have my darlings, and if death should come, Death were not wholly bitter with you near. Cling to me, press me close on either side, There rest ye from your dreary wayfaring. Now tell me of your ventures, but in brief; Brief speech suffices for young maids like you. ANTIGONE Here is our savior; thou should'st hear the tale From his own lips; so shall my part be brief. OEDIPUS I pray thee do not wonder if the sight Of children, given o'er for lost, has made My converse somewhat long and tedious. Full well I know the joy I have of them Is due to thee, to thee and no man else; Thou wast their sole deliverer, none else. The gods deal with thee after my desire, With thee and with this land! for fear of heaven I found above all peoples most with you, And righteousness and lips that cannot lie. I speak in gratitude of what I know, For all I have I owe to thee alone. Give me thy hand, O Prince, that I may touch it, And if thou wilt permit me, kiss thy cheek. What say I? Can I wish that thou should'st touch One fallen like me to utter wretchedness, Corrupt and tainted with a thousand ills? Oh no, I would not let thee if thou would'st. They only who have known calamity Can share it. Let me greet thee where thou art, And still befriend me as thou hast till now. THESEUS I marvel not if thou hast dallied long In converse with thy children and preferred Their speech to mine; I feel no jealousy, I would be famous more by deeds than words. Of this, old friend, thou hast had proof; my oath I have fulfilled and brought thee back the maids Alive and nothing harmed for all those threats. And how the fight was won, 'twere waste of words To boast—thy daughters here will tell thee all. But of a matter that has lately chanced On my way hitherward, I fain would have Thy counsel—slight 'twould seem, yet worthy thought. A wise man heeds all matters great or small. OEDIPUS What is it, son of Aegeus? Let me hear. Of what thou askest I myself know naught. THESEUS 'Tis said a man, no countryman of thine, But of thy kin, hath taken sanctuary Beside the altar of Poseidon, where I was at sacrifice when called away. OEDIPUS What is his country? what the suitor's prayer? THESEUS I know but one thing; he implores, I am told, A word with thee—he will not trouble thee. OEDIPUS What seeks he? If a suppliant, something grave. THESEUS He only waits, they say, to speak with thee, And then unharmed to go upon his way. OEDIPUS I marvel who is this petitioner. THESEUS Think if there be not any of thy kin At Argos who might claim this boon of thee. OEDIPUS Dear friend, forbear, I pray. THESEUS What ails thee now? OEDIPUS Ask it not of me. THESEUS Ask not what? explain. OEDIPUS Thy words have told me who the suppliant is. THESEUS Who can he be that I should frown on him? OEDIPUS My son, O king, my hateful son, whose words Of all men's most would jar upon my ears. THESEUS Thou sure mightest listen. If his suit offend, No need to grant it. Why so loth to hear him? OEDIPUS That voice, O king, grates on a father's ears; I have come to loathe it. Force me not to yield. THESEUS But he hath found asylum. O beware, And fail not in due reverence to the god. ANTIGONE O heed me, father, though I am young in years. Let the prince have his will and pay withal What in his eyes is service to the god; For our sake also let our brother come. If what he urges tend not to thy good He cannot surely wrest perforce thy will. To hear him then, what harm? By open words A scheme of villainy is soon bewrayed. Thou art his father, therefore canst not pay In kind a son's most impious outrages. O listen to him; other men like thee Have thankless children and are choleric, But yielding to persuasion's gentle spell They let their savage mood be exorcised. Look thou to the past, forget the present, think On all the woe thy sire and mother brought thee; Thence wilt thou draw this lesson without fail, Of evil passion evil is the end. Thou hast, alas, to prick thy memory, Stern monitors, these ever-sightless orbs. O yield to us; just suitors should not need To be importunate, nor he that takes A favor lack the grace to make return. OEDIPUS Grievous to me, my child, the boon ye win By pleading. Let it be then; have your way Only if come he must, I beg thee, friend, Let none have power to dispose of me. THESEUS No need, Sir, to appeal a second time. It likes me not to boast, but be assured Thy life is safe while any god saves mine. [Exit THESEUS] CHORUS (Str.) Who craves excess of days, Scorning the common span Of life, I judge that man A giddy wight who walks in folly's ways. For the long years heap up a grievous load, Scant pleasures, heavier pains, Till not one joy remains For him who lingers on life's weary road And come it slow or fast, One doom of fate Doth all await, For dance and marriage bell, The dirge and funeral knell. Death the deliverer freeth all at last. (Ant.) Not to be born at all Is best, far best that can befall, Next best, when born, with least delay To trace the backward way. For when youth passes with its giddy train, Troubles on troubles follow, toils on toils, Pain, pain for ever pain; And none escapes life's coils. Envy, sedition, strife, Carnage and war, make up the tale of life. Last comes the worst and most abhorred stage Of unregarded age, Joyless, companionless and slow, Of woes the crowning woe. (Epode) Such ills not I alone, He too our guest hath known, E'en as some headland on an iron-bound shore, Lashed by the wintry blasts and surge's roar, So is he buffeted on every side By drear misfortune's whelming tide, By every wind of heaven o'erborne Some from the sunset, some from orient morn, Some from the noonday glow. Some from Rhipean gloom of everlasting snow. ANTIGONE Father, methinks I see the stranger coming, Alone he comes and weeping plenteous tears. OEDIPUS Who may he be? ANTIGONE The same that we surmised. From the outset—Polyneices. He is here. [Enter POLYNEICES] POLYNEICES Ah me, my sisters, shall I first lament My own afflictions, or my aged sire's, Whom here I find a castaway, with you, In a strange land, an ancient beggar clad In antic tatters, marring all his frame, While o'er the sightless orbs his unkept locks Float in the breeze; and, as it were to match, He bears a wallet against hunger's pinch. All this too late I learn, wretch that I am, Alas! I own it, and am proved most vile In my neglect of thee: I scorn myself. But as almighty Zeus in all he doth Hath Mercy for co-partner of this throne, Let Mercy, father, also sit enthroned In thy heart likewise. For transgressions past May be amended, cannot be made worse. Why silent? Father, speak, nor turn away, Hast thou no word, wilt thou dismiss me then In mute disdain, nor tell me why thou art wrath? O ye his daughters, sisters mine, do ye This sullen, obstinate silence try to move. Let him not spurn, without a single word Of answer, me the suppliant of the god. ANTIGONE Tell him thyself, unhappy one, thine errand; For large discourse may send a thrill of joy, Or stir a chord of wrath or tenderness, And to the tongue-tied somehow give a tongue. POLYNEICES Well dost thou counsel, and I will speak out. First will I call in aid the god himself, Poseidon, from whose altar I was raised, With warrant from the monarch of this land, To parley with you, and depart unscathed. These pledges, strangers, I would see observed By you and by my sisters and my sire. Now, father, let me tell thee why I came. I have been banished from my native land Because by right of primogeniture I claimed possession of thy sovereign throne Wherefrom Etocles, my younger brother, Ousted me, not by weight of precedent, Nor by the last arbitrament of war, But by his popular acts; and the prime cause Of this I deem the curse that rests on thee. So likewise hold the soothsayers, for when I came to Argos in the Dorian land And took the king Adrastus' child to wife, Under my standard I enlisted all The foremost captains of the Apian isle, To levy with their aid that sevenfold host Of spearmen against Thebes, determining To oust my foes or die in a just cause. Why then, thou askest, am I here today? Father, I come a suppliant to thee Both for myself and my allies who now With squadrons seven beneath their seven spears Beleaguer all the plain that circles Thebes. Foremost the peerless warrior, peerless seer, Amphiaraiis with his lightning lance; Next an Aetolian, Tydeus, Oeneus' son; Eteoclus of Argive birth the third; The fourth Hippomedon, sent to the war By his sire Talaos; Capaneus, the fifth, Vaunts he will fire and raze the town; the sixth Parthenopaeus, an Arcadian born Named of that maid, longtime a maid and late Espoused, Atalanta's true-born child; Last I thy son, or thine at least in name, If but the bastard of an evil fate, Lead against Thebes the fearless Argive host. Thus by thy children and thy life, my sire, We all adjure thee to remit thy wrath And favor one who seeks a just revenge Against a brother who has banned and robbed him. For victory, if oracles speak true, Will fall to those who have thee for ally. So, by our fountains and familiar gods I pray thee, yield and hear; a beggar I And exile, thou an exile likewise; both Involved in one misfortune find a home As pensioners, while he, the lord of Thebes, O agony! makes a mock of thee and me. I'll scatter with a breath the upstart's might, And bring thee home again and stablish thee, And stablish, having cast him out, myself. This will thy goodwill I will undertake, Without it I can scare return alive. CHORUS For the king's sake who sent him, Oedipus, Dismiss him not without a meet reply. OEDIPUS Nay, worthy seniors, but for Theseus' sake Who sent him hither to have word of me. Never again would he have heard my voice; But now he shall obtain this parting grace, An answer that will bring him little joy. O villain, when thou hadst the sovereignty That now thy brother holdeth in thy stead, Didst thou not drive me, thine own father, out, An exile, cityless, and make we wear This beggar's garb thou weepest to behold, Now thou art come thyself to my sad plight? Nothing is here for tears; it must be borne By me till death, and I shall think of thee As of my murderer; thou didst thrust me out; 'Tis thou hast made me conversant with woe, Through thee I beg my bread in a strange land; And had not these my daughters tended me I had been dead for aught of aid from thee. They tend me, they preserve me, they are men Not women in true service to their sire; But ye are bastards, and no sons of mine. Therefore just Heaven hath an eye on thee; Howbeit not yet with aspect so austere As thou shalt soon experience, if indeed These banded hosts are moving against Thebes. That city thou canst never storm, but first Shall fall, thou and thy brother, blood-imbrued. Such curse I lately launched against you twain, Such curse I now invoke to fight for me, That ye may learn to honor those who bear thee Nor flout a sightless father who begat Degenerate sons—these maidens did not so. Therefore my curse is stronger than thy "throne," Thy "suppliance," if by right of laws eterne Primeval Justice sits enthroned with Zeus. Begone, abhorred, disowned, no son of mine, Thou vilest of the vile! and take with thee This curse I leave thee as my last bequest:— Never to win by arms thy native land, No, nor return to Argos in the Vale, But by a kinsman's hand to die and slay Him who expelled thee. So I pray and call On the ancestral gloom of Tartarus To snatch thee hence, on these dread goddesses I call, and Ares who incensed you both To mortal enmity. Go now proclaim What thou hast heard to the Cadmeians all, Thy staunch confederates—this the heritage that Oedipus divideth to his sons. CHORUS Thy errand, Polyneices, liked me not From the beginning; now go back with speed. POLYNEICES Woe worth my journey and my baffled hopes! Woe worth my comrades! What a desperate end To that glad march from Argos! Woe is me! I dare not whisper it to my allies Or turn them back, but mute must meet my doom. My sisters, ye his daughters, ye have heard The prayers of our stern father, if his curse Should come to pass and ye some day return To Thebes, O then disown me not, I pray, But grant me burial and due funeral rites. So shall the praise your filial care now wins Be doubled for the service wrought for me. ANTIGONE One boon, O Polyneices, let me crave. POLYNEICES What would'st thou, sweet Antigone? Say on. ANTIGONE Turn back thy host to Argos with all speed, And ruin not thyself and Thebes as well. POLYNEICES That cannot be. How could I lead again An army that had seen their leader quail? ANTIGONE But, brother, why shouldst thou be wroth again? What profit from thy country's ruin comes? POLYNEICES 'Tis shame to live in exile, and shall I The elder bear a younger brother's flouts? ANTIGONE Wilt thou then bring to pass his prophecies Who threatens mutual slaughter to you both? POLYNEICES Aye, so he wishes:—but I must not yield. ANTIGONE O woe is me! but say, will any dare, Hearing his prophecy, to follow thee? POLYNEICES I shall not tell it; a good general Reports successes and conceals mishaps. ANTIGONE Misguided youth, thy purpose then stands fast! POLYNEICES 'Tis so, and stay me not. The road I choose, Dogged by my sire and his avenging spirit, Leads me to ruin; but for you may Zeus Make your path bright if ye fulfill my hest When dead; in life ye cannot serve me more. Now let me go, farewell, a long farewell! Ye ne'er shall see my living face again. ANTIGONE Ah me! POLYNEICES Bewail me not. ANTIGONE Who would not mourn Thee, brother, hurrying to an open pit! POLYNEICES If I must die, I must. ANTIGONE Nay, hear me plead. POLYNEICES It may not be; forbear. ANTIGONE Then woe is me, If I must lose thee. POLYNEICES Nay, that rests with fate, Whether I live or die; but for you both I pray to heaven ye may escape all ill; For ye are blameless in the eyes of all. [Exit POLYNEICES] CHORUS (Str. 1) Ills on ills! no pause or rest! Come they from our sightless guest? Or haply now we see fulfilled What fate long time hath willed? For ne'er have I proved vain Aught that the heavenly powers ordain. Time with never sleeping eye Watches what is writ on high, Overthrowing now the great, Raising now from low estate. Hark! How the thunder rumbles! Zeus defend us! OEDIPUS Children, my children! will no messenger Go summon hither Theseus my best friend? ANTIGONE And wherefore, father, dost thou summon him? OEDIPUS This winged thunder of the god must bear me Anon to Hades. Send and tarry not. CHORUS (Ant. 1) Hark! with louder, nearer roar The bolt of Zeus descends once more. My spirit quails and cowers: my hair Bristles for fear. Again that flare! What doth the lightning-flash portend? Ever it points to issues grave. Dread powers of air! Save, Zeus, O save! OEDIPUS Daughters, upon me the predestined end Has come; no turning from it any more. ANTIGONE How knowest thou? What sign convinces thee? OEDIPUS I know full well. Let some one with all speed Go summon hither the Athenian prince. CHORUS (Str. 2) Ha! once more the deafening sound Peals yet louder all around If thou darkenest our land, Lightly, lightly lay thy hand; Grace, not anger, let me win, If upon a man of sin I have looked with pitying eye, Zeus, our king, to thee I cry! OEDIPUS Is the prince coming? Will he when he comes Find me yet living and my senses clear! ANTIGONE What solemn charge would'st thou impress on him? OEDIPUS For all his benefits I would perform The promise made when I received them first. CHORUS (Ant. 2) Hither haste, my son, arise, Altar leave and sacrifice, If haply to Poseidon now In the far glade thou pay'st thy vow. For our guest to thee would bring And thy folk and offering, Thy due guerdon. Haste, O King! [Enter THESEUS] THESEUS Wherefore again this general din? at once My people call me and the stranger calls. Is it a thunderbolt of Zeus or sleet Of arrowy hail? a storm so fierce as this Would warrant all surmises of mischance. OEDIPUS Thou com'st much wished for, Prince, and sure some god Hath bid good luck attend thee on thy way. THESEUS What, son of Laius, hath chanced of new? OEDIPUS My life hath turned the scale. I would do all I promised thee and thine before I die. THESEUS What sign assures thee that thine end is near? OEDIPUS The gods themselves are heralds of my fate; Of their appointed warnings nothing fails. THESEUS How sayest thou they signify their will? OEDIPUS This thunder, peal on peal, this lightning hurled Flash upon flash, from the unconquered hand. THESEUS I must believe thee, having found thee oft A prophet true; then speak what must be done. OEDIPUS O son of Aegeus, for this state will I Unfold a treasure age cannot corrupt. Myself anon without a guiding hand Will take thee to the spot where I must end. This secret ne'er reveal to mortal man, Neither the spot nor whereabouts it lies, So shall it ever serve thee for defense Better than native shields and near allies. But those dread mysteries speech may not profane Thyself shalt gather coming there alone; Since not to any of thy subjects, nor To my own children, though I love them dearly, Can I reveal what thou must guard alone, And whisper to thy chosen heir alone, So to be handed down from heir to heir. Thus shalt thou hold this land inviolate From the dread Dragon's brood. The justest State By countless wanton neighbors may be wronged, For the gods, though they tarry, mark for doom The godless sinner in his mad career. Far from thee, son of Aegeus, be such fate! But to the spot—the god within me goads— Let us set forth no longer hesitate. Follow me, daughters, this way. Strange that I Whom you have led so long should lead you now. Oh, touch me not, but let me all alone Find out the sepulcher that destiny Appoints me in this land. Hither, this way, For this way Hermes leads, the spirit guide, And Persephassa, empress of the dead. O light, no light to me, but mine erewhile, Now the last time I feel thee palpable, For I am drawing near the final gloom Of Hades. Blessing on thee, dearest friend, On thee and on thy land and followers! Live prosperous and in your happy state Still for your welfare think on me, the dead. [Exit THESEUS followed by ANTIGONE and ISMENE] CHORUS (Str.) If mortal prayers are heard in hell, Hear, Goddess dread, invisible! Monarch of the regions drear, Aidoneus, hear, O hear! By a gentle, tearless doom Speed this stranger to the gloom, Let him enter without pain The all-shrouding Stygian plain. Wrongfully in life oppressed, Be he now by Justice blessed. (Ant.) Queen infernal, and thou fell Watch-dog of the gates of hell, Who, as legends tell, dost glare, Gnarling in thy cavernous lair At all comers, let him go Scathless to the fields below. For thy master orders thus, The son of earth and Tartarus; In his den the monster keep, Giver of eternal sleep. [Enter MESSENGER] MESSENGER Friends, countrymen, my tidings are in sum That Oedipus is gone, but the event Was not so brief, nor can the tale be brief. CHORUS What, has he gone, the unhappy man? MESSENGER Know well That he has passed away from life to death. CHORUS How? By a god-sent, painless doom, poor soul? MESSENGER Thy question hits the marvel of the tale. How he moved hence, you saw him and must know; Without a friend to lead the way, himself Guiding us all. So having reached the abrupt Earth-rooted Threshold with its brazen stairs, He paused at one of the converging paths, Hard by the rocky basin which records The pact of Theseus and Peirithous. Betwixt that rift and the Thorician rock, The hollow pear-tree and the marble tomb, Midway he sat and loosed his beggar's weeds; Then calling to his daughters bade them fetch Of running water, both to wash withal And make libation; so they clomb the steep; And in brief space brought what their father bade, Then laved and dressed him with observance due. But when he had his will in everything, And no desire was left unsatisfied, It thundered from the netherworld; the maids Shivered, and crouching at their father's knees Wept, beat their breast and uttered a long wail. He, as he heard their sudden bitter cry, Folded his arms about them both and said, "My children, ye will lose your sire today, For all of me has perished, and no more Have ye to bear your long, long ministry; A heavy load, I know, and yet one word Wipes out all score of tribulations—love. And love from me ye had—from no man more; But now must live without me all your days." So clinging to each other sobbed and wept Father and daughters both, but when at last Their mourning had an end and no wail rose, A moment there was silence; suddenly A voice that summoned him; with sudden dread The hair of all stood up and all were 'mazed; For the call came, now loud, now low, and oft. "Oedipus, Oedipus, why tarry we? Too long, too long thy passing is delayed." But when he heard the summons of the god, He prayed that Theseus might be brought, and when The Prince came nearer: "O my friend," he cried, "Pledge ye my daughters, giving thy right hand— And, daughters, give him yours—and promise me Thou never wilt forsake them, but do all That time and friendship prompt in their behoof." And he of his nobility repressed His tears and swore to be their constant friend. This promise given, Oedipus put forth Blind hands and laid them on his children, saying, "O children, prove your true nobility And hence depart nor seek to witness sights Unlawful or to hear unlawful words. Nay, go with speed; let none but Theseus stay, Our ruler, to behold what next shall hap." So we all heard him speak, and weeping sore We companied the maidens on their way. After brief space we looked again, and lo The man was gone, evanished from our eyes; Only the king we saw with upraised hand Shading his eyes as from some awful sight, That no man might endure to look upon. A moment later, and we saw him bend In prayer to Earth and prayer to Heaven at once. But by what doom the stranger met his end No man save Theseus knoweth. For there fell No fiery bold that reft him in that hour, Nor whirlwind from the sea, but he was taken. It was a messenger from heaven, or else Some gentle, painless cleaving of earth's base; For without wailing or disease or pain He passed away—and end most marvelous. And if to some my tale seems foolishness I am content that such could count me fool. CHORUS Where are the maids and their attendant friends? MESSENGER They cannot be far off; the approaching sound Of lamentation tells they come this way. [Enter ANTIGONE and ISMENE] ANTIGONE (Str. 1) Woe, woe! on this sad day We sisters of one blasted stock must bow beneath the shock, Must weep and weep the curse that lay On him our sire, for whom In life, a life-long world of care 'Twas ours to bear, In death must face the gloom That wraps his tomb. What tongue can tell That sight ineffable? CHORUS What mean ye, maidens? ANTIGONE All is but surmise. CHORUS Is he then gone? ANTIGONE Gone as ye most might wish. Not in battle or sea storm, But reft from sight, By hands invisible borne To viewless fields of night. Ah me! on us too night has come, The night of mourning. Wither roam O'er land or sea in our distress Eating the bread of bitterness? ISMENE I know not. O that Death Might nip my breath, And let me share my aged father's fate. I cannot live a life thus desolate. CHORUS Best of daughters, worthy pair, What heaven brings ye needs must bear, Fret no more 'gainst Heaven's will; Fate hath dealt with you not ill. ANTIGONE (Ant. 1) Love can turn past pain to bliss, What seemed bitter now is sweet. Ah me! that happy toil is sweet. The guidance of those dear blind feet. Dear father, wrapt for aye in nether gloom, E'en in the tomb Never shalt thou lack of love repine, Her love and mine. CHORUS His fate— ANTIGONE Is even as he planned. CHORUS How so? ANTIGONE He died, so willed he, in a foreign land. Lapped in kind earth he sleeps his long last sleep, And o'er his grave friends weep. How great our lost these streaming eyes can tell, This sorrow naught can quell. Thou hadst thy wish 'mid strangers thus to die, But I, ah me, not by. ISMENE Alas, my sister, what new fate * * * * * * * * * * * * Befalls us orphans desolate? CHORUS His end was blessed; therefore, children, stay Your sorrow. Man is born to fate a prey. ANTIGONE (Str. 2) Sister, let us back again. ISMENE Why return? ANTIGONE My soul is fain— ISMENE Is fain? ANTIGONE To see the earthy bed. ISMENE Sayest thou? ANTIGONE Where our sire is laid. ISMENE Nay, thou can'st not, dost not see— ANTIGONE Sister, wherefore wroth with me? ISMENE Know'st not—beside— ANTIGONE More must I hear? ISMENE Tombless he died, none near. ANTIGONE Lead me thither; slay me there. ISMENE How shall I unhappy fare, Friendless, helpless, how drag on A life of misery alone? CHORUS (Ant. 2) Fear not, maids— ANTIGONE Ah, whither flee? CHORUS Refuge hath been found. ANTIGONE For me? CHORUS Where thou shalt be safe from harm. ANTIGONE I know it. CHORUS Why then this alarm? ANTIGONE How again to get us home I know not. CHORUS Why then this roam? ANTIGONE Troubles whelm us— CHORUS As of yore. ANTIGONE Worse than what was worse before. CHORUS Sure ye are driven on the breakers' surge. ANTIGONE Alas! we are. CHORUS Alas! 'tis so. ANTIGONE Ah whither turn, O Zeus? No ray Of hope to cheer the way Whereon the fates our desperate voyage urge. [Enter THESEUS] THESEUS Dry your tears; when grace is shed On the quick and on the dead By dark Powers beneficent, Over-grief they would resent. ANTIGONE Aegeus' child, to thee we pray. THESEUS What the boon, my children, say. ANTIGONE With our own eyes we fain would see Our father's tomb. THESEUS That may not be. ANTIGONE What say'st thou, King? THESEUS My children, he Charged me straitly that no moral Should approach the sacred portal, Or greet with funeral litanies The hidden tomb wherein he lies; Saying, "If thou keep'st my hest Thou shalt hold thy realm at rest." The God of Oaths this promise heard, And to Zeus I pledged my word. ANTIGONE Well, if he would have it so, We must yield. Then let us go Back to Thebes, if yet we may Heal this mortal feud and stay The self-wrought doom That drives our brothers to their tomb. THESEUS Go in peace; nor will I spare Ought of toil and zealous care, But on all your needs attend, Gladdening in his grave my friend. CHORUS Wail no more, let sorrow rest, All is ordered for the best. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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