Page:The Antigone of Sophocles (1911).djvu/12

8 the god shall show. Suddenly Creon arrives with certain news, but—a riddle—neither good nor bad: “Good, an God will,—that is, if all come out aright.” The oracle neither comforts nor saddens. Then Creon speaks plainly: “Drive out the defiling thing in the land and breed it not so that it cannot be healed.” This defilement is explained to be a man who has shed blood and brought the storm of troubles on the state, namely, the man who has killed the former king. For Laius on the road to Delphi met a bloody end; his comrades too all perished, save one, who escaped and brought back word that robbers had overpowered them by force of numbers. The Thebans had done naught to seek or punish the murderers since the riddling sphinx had occupied their whole attention. Œdipus, having listened to the oracle, now promises to search out the criminal, for the sake of the land, of the god, and even for his own sake,—since in avenging Laius he but befriends himself. The suppliants retire, and fifteen Theban elders, men of noble birth, enter and express in song their feelings of distress and terror and entreat the gods to help them in their affliction.

Œdipus asks the assistance of the elders that he may obtain some clue which he may follow up in tracking out, the guilty man; he charges them to tell all they know; if the criminal be afraid, let him reveal himself, for no hurt will be done unto him—only he shall leave the land. But if he be screened, so much the worse: no one shall speak to the murderer or share house, sacrifice, or prayer with him, but thrust him forth. Œdipus is the ally of Apollo and of the murdered king: may the unknown slayer eke out in sin his unblest life; nay, more, if he should be unwittingly a member of the king’s own household, may the same curse rest on himself. In any event, e’en unurged, they should seek out the murderer of one so noble; but now since Œdipus holds the sovereignty once held by him, and also bed and wife, from whom they would have had chil-