Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/114

16 Thy hands, it may be, dealt not. Had'st thou seen,

I would have said it was thy deed alone.

Teir. And has it come to this? I charge thee, hold

To thy late edict, and from this day forth

Speak not to me, nor yet to these, for thou,

Thou art the accursèd plague-spot of the land.

Œdip. Art thou so shameless as to vent such words,

And dost thou think to 'scape scot-free for this?

Teir. I have escaped. The strength of truth is mine.

Œdip. Who prompted thee? This comes not from thine art.

Teir. 'Twas thou. Thou mad'st me speak against my will.

Œdip. What say'st thou? Speak again, that I may know.

Teir. Did'st thou not know before? Or dost thou try me?

Œdip. I could not say I knew it. Speak again.

Teir. I say thou art the murderer whom thou seek'st.

Œdip. Thou shalt not twice revile, and go unharmed.

Teir. And shall I tell thee more to stir thy rage?

Œdip. Say what thou pleasest. 'Twill be said in vain.

Teir. I say that thou, in vilest intercourse

With those that dearest are, dost blindly live,

Nor see'st the depth of evil thou hast reached.

Œdip. And dost thou think to say these things unscathed?

Teir. I doubt it not, if truth retain her might.

Œdip. That might is not for thee; thou can'st not claim it,

Blind in thine ears, thy reason, and thine eyes.

Teir. How wretched thou, thus hurling this reproach!

Such, all too soon, will all men hurl at thee.

Œdip. In one long night thou liv'st, and can'st not hurt,