Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/180

82 And there this body, sleeping in the grave,

All cold and stiff, shall drink warm blood of men,

If Zeus be Zeus, and His son, Phœbos, true.

But, since it is ill done to speak of things

Best left unstirred, leave me where I began,

Thine own pledge keeping faithfully, and ne'er

Shalt thou have cause to say thou took'st me in,

Me, Œdipus, a guest unprofitable

To this thy land, unless the Gods deceive me.

Chor. Such words, my king, and others like to them,

Long since, this man has promised to perform.

Thes. Who then were bold enough to cast aside

His kindly feeling for a man like this,

Who may claim, first, the ancient mutual ties,

The open hearth of men allied in arms;

And next, has come a suppliant of the Gods,

And to my land and me full tribute pays?

These claims I reverence, and will not disown

My friendship for him; but will welcome him

In this our land. And if it please our guest

Here to remain, I charge thee o'er him watch;

But if to go with me shall please thee, Œdipus,

I leave it thy choice to go or stay,

As thou think'st best, myself content with that.

Œdip. Ο Zeus! give blessings to such men as this!

Thes. What then desirest thou? To go with me?

Œdip. If it were lawful; But the place is here