Chorus: A father’s?
Oedipus: Flood on flood Whelms me; that word’s a second mortal blow.
Chorus: Murderer!
Oedipus: Yes, a murderer, but know—
Chorus: What canst thou plead?
Oedipus: A plea of justice.
Chorus: How?
Oedipus: I slew who else would me have slain; I slew without intent, A wretch, but innocent In the law’s eye, I stand, without a stain.
Chorus: Behold our sovereign, Theseus, Aegeus’ son, Comes at thy summons to perform his part.
Enter Theseus.
Theseus: Oft had I heard of thee in times gone by— The bloody mutilation of thine eyes— And therefore know thee, son of Laius. All that I lately gathered on the way Made my conjecture doubly sure; and now Thy garb and that marred visage prove to me That thou art he. So pitying thine estate, Most ill-starred Oedipus, I fain would know What is the suit ye urge on me and Athens,
Thou and the helpless maiden at thy side. Declare it; dire indeed must be the tale Whereat I should recoil. I too was reared, Like thee, in exile, and in foreign lands Wrestled with many perils, no man more. Wherefore no alien in adversity Shall seek in vain my succour, nor shalt thou; I know myself a mortal, and my share In what the morrow brings no more than thine.
Oedipus: Theseus, thy words so apt, so generous So comfortable, need no long reply. Both who I am and of what lineage sprung, And from what land I came, thou hast declared. So without prologue I may utter now My brief petition, and the tale is told.
Theseus: Say on, and tell me what I fain would learn.
Oedipus: I come to offer thee this woe-worn frame, A gift not fair to look on; yet its worth More precious far than any outward show.
Theseus: What profit dost thou proffer to have brought?
Oedipus: Hereafter thou shalt learn, not yet, methinks.
Theseus: When may we hope to reap the benefit?
Oedipus: When I am dead and thou hast buried me.
Theseus: Thou cravest life’s last service; all before— Is it forgotten or of no account?
Oedipus: Yea, the last boon is warrant for the rest.
Theseus: The grace thou cravest then is small indeed.
Oedipus: Nay, weigh it well; the issue is not slight.
Theseus: Thou meanest that betwixt thy sons and me?
Oedipus: Prince, they would fain convey me back to Thebes.