Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/233

Rh Who, from one father and one mother sprung,

Stood wielding, hand to hand,

Their two victorious spears,

And had their, doom of death as common lot.

But now, since Victory,

Of mightiest name, hath come

To Thebes, of chariots proud,

Joying and giving joy,

After these wars just past,

Learn ye forgetfulness,

And all night long, with dance and voice of hymns,

Let us go round in state

To all the shrines of Gods,

While Bacchos, making Thebes resound with dance,

Begins the strain of joy;

But, lo! our country's king,

Creon, Menœkeus' son,

New ruler, by new change,

And providence of God,

Comes to us, steering on some new device;

For, lo! he hath convened,

By herald's loud command,

This council of the elders of our land.

Creon. My friends, for what concerns our commonwealth,

The Gods who vexed it with the billowing storms

Have righted it again; and I have sent,

By special summons, calling you to come

Apart from all the others. This, in part,

As knowing ye did all along uphold

The might of Laios' throne, in part again,