How call you then the place
wherein we bide?
STRANGER
Whate'er I know thou too shalt know; the place
Is all to great Poseidon consecrate.
Hard by, the Titan, he who bears the torch,
Prometheus, has his
worship; but the spot
Thou treadest, the Brass-footed Threshold named,
Is Athens' bastion, and the
neighboring lands
Claim as their chief and
patron yonder knight
Colonus, and in common bear his name.
Such, stranger, is the spot, to fame unknown,
But dear to us its native
worshipers.
OEDIPUS
Thou sayest there are dwellers in these parts?
STRANGER
Surely; they bear the name of yonder god.
OEDIPUS
Ruled by a king or by the general voice?
STRANGER
The lord of Athens is our over-lord.
OEDIPUS
Who is this
monarch, great in word and might?
STRANGER
Theseus, the son of Aegeus our late king.
OEDIPUS
Might one be sent from you to
summon him?
STRANGER
Wherefore? To tell him aught or urge his coming?
OEDIPUS
Say a slight service may avail him much.
STRANGER
How can he profit from a sightless man?
OEDIPUS
The blind man's words will be
instinct with sight.
STRANGER
Heed then; I fain would see thee out of harm;
For by the looks, marred though they be by fate,
I judge thee noble; tarry where thou art,
While I go seek the burghers--those at hand,
Not in the city. They will soon decide
Whether thou art to rest or go thy way.
[Exit STRANGER]
OEDIPUS
Tell me, my daughter, has the stranger gone?
ANTIGONE
Yes, he has gone; now we are all alone,
And thou may'st speak, dear father, without fear.
OEDIPUS
Stern-visaged queens, since coming to this land
First in your
sanctuary I bent the knee,
Frown not on me or Phoebus, who, when erst
He told me all my miseries to come,
Spake of this
respite after many years,
Some haven in a
far-off land, a rest
Vouchsafed at last by dread divinities.
"There," said he, "shalt thou round thy weary life,
A
blessing to the land
wherein thou dwell'st,
But to the land that cast thee forth, a curse."
And of my weird he promised signs should come,
Earthquake, or thunderclap, or
lightning flash.
And now I recognize as yours the sign
That led my wanderings to this your grove;
Else had I never lighted on you first,
A wineless man on your seat of native rock.
O goddesses, fulfill Apollo's word,
Grant me some consummation of my life,
If haply I appear not all too vile,
A
thrall to sorrow worse than any slave.
Hear, gentle daughters of primeval Night,
Hear, namesake of great Pallas; Athens, first
Of cities, pity this dishonored shade,
The ghost of him who once was Oedipus.
ANTIGONE
Hush! for I see some grey-beards on their way,
Their
errand to spy out our resting-place.
OEDIPUS
I will be mute, and thou shalt guide my steps
Into the
covert from the public road,
Till I have
learned their drift. A
prudent man
Will ever shape his course by what he learns.
[Enter CHORUS]
CHORUS
(Str. 1)
Ha! Where is he? Look around!
Every nook and corner scan!
He the all-presumptuous man,
Whither vanished? search the ground!
A wayfarer, I ween,
A wayfarer, no
countryman of ours,
That old man must have been;
Never had native dared to tempt the Powers,
Or enter their demesne,
The Maids in awe of whom each
mortal cowers,
Whose name no voice betrays nor cry,
And as we pass them with averted eye,
We move hushed lips in reverent piety.
But now some godless man,
'Tis rumored, here abides;
The precincts through I scan,
Yet wot not where he hides,
The
wretch profane!
I search and search in vain.
OEDIPUS
I am that man; I know you near
Ears to the blind, they say, are eyes.
CHORUS
O dread to see and dread to hear!
OEDIPUS
Oh sirs, I am no
outlaw under ban.
CHORUS
Who can he be--Zeus save us!--this old man?
OEDIPUS
No favorite of fate,
That ye should envy his estate,
O, Sirs, would any happy
mortal, say,
Grope by the light of other eyes his way,
Or face the storm upon so frail a stay?
CHORUS
(Ant. 1)
Wast thou then sightless from thy birth?
Evil,
methinks, and long
Thy
pilgrimage on earth.
Yet add not curse to curse and wrong to wrong.
I warn thee,
trespass not
Within this
hallowed spot,
Lest thou shouldst find the silent
grassy glade
Where offerings are laid,
Bowls of spring water mingled with sweet mead.
Thou must not stay,
Come, come away,
Tired
wanderer, dost thou heed?
(We are far off, but sure our voice can reach.)
If aught thou wouldst beseech,
Speak where 'tis right; till then
refrain from speech.
OEDIPUS
Daughter, what
counsel should we now pursue?
ANTIGONE
We must obey and do as here they do.
OEDIPUS
Thy hand then!
ANTIGONE
Here, O father, is my hand,
OEDIPUS
O Sirs, if I come forth at your command,
Let me not suffer for my confidence.
CHORUS
(Str. 2)
Against thy will no man shall drive thee hence.
OEDIPUS
Shall I go further?
CHORUS
Aye.
OEDIPUS
What further still?
CHORUS
Lead
maiden, thou canst guide him where we will.
ANTIGONE [1]
* * * * * *
OEDIPUS
* * * * * *
ANTIGONE
* * * * * *
Follow with blind steps, father, as I lead.
OEDIPUS
* * * * * *
CHORUS
In a strange land strange thou art;
To her will
incline thy heart;
Honor whatso'er the State
Honors, all she frowns on hate.
OEDIPUS
Guide me child, where we may range
Safe within the paths of right;
Counsel
freely may exchange
Nor with fate and fortune fight.
CHORUS
(Ant. 2)
Halt! Go no further than that rocky floor.
OEDIPUS
Stay where I now am?
CHORUS
Yes, advance no more.
OEDIPUS
May I sit down?
CHORUS
Move sideways towards the ledge,
And sit thee crouching on the scarped edge.
ANTIGONE
This is my office, father, O
incline--
OEDIPUS
Ah me! ah me!
ANTIGONE
Thy steps to my steps, lean thine aged frame on mine.
OEDIPUS
Woe on my fate unblest!
CHORUS
Wanderer, now thou art at rest,
Tell me of thy birth and home,
From what far country art thou come,
Led on thy weary way, declare!
OEDIPUS