Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Jebb 1917).djvu/184

172 . Pray thou no more; for mortals have no escape from destined woe.

. Lead me away, I pray you; a rash, foolish man; who have slain thee, ah my son, unwittingly, and thee, too, my wife—unhappy that I am! I know not which way I should bend my gaze, or where I should seek support; for all is amiss with that which is in my hands,—and yonder, again, a crushing fate hath leapt upon my head.

[As is being conducted into the house, the Coryphaeus speaks the closing verses.

. Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness; and reverence towards the gods must be inviolate. Great words of prideful men are ever punished with great blows, and, in old age, teach the chastened to be wise.