Page:The Antigone of Sophocles (1911).djvu/17

SOPHOCLES. Œdipus allay his fire of passion with the sap of reason and listen to her; an oracle came from Delphi once declaring that the child born of Laius and herself should slay his father; but when the babe was only three days old, it was exposed on a bleak mountainside. So the oracle was not fulfilled—the babe did not slay its father, nor did Laius die by the hand of his child; for, according to report, the king was murdered by robbers at three crossways. Mention of this spot startles Œdipus. He asks for more specific information and learns that it was in the land of Phocis where roads from Delphi and from Daulia meet.

“How long ago?”

“Just before you ascended the throne.”

“O Zeus! What hast thou planned to do to me?—What was the man like?”

“Tall, his hair just turning gray, in form not unlike you.”

“Unhappy man that I am! I imprecated curses on myself and knew it not.”

“What is the matter? Œdipus, my lord, you startle me!”

“My mind misgives. ‘Teiresias after all, I fear, is not blind. But tell me this, Did he set forth with few, or many, in royal state?”

“Five in all, one a herald, and Laius in a carriage.”

“God in heaven! ’Tis plain—But who reported the occurrence?”

“A slave, the sole survivor.”

“Is he here?”

‘‘No, for when he came and found you crowned king, he besought me to send him to the pastures, to tend the flocks, as far from town as possible. He deserved even a greater reward for a favor he once did.”

“I would see him.”

“He can easily be brought back. But what good will it do?”