Sophocles Oedipus Trilogy | Page 9

art much astray.
OEDIPUS
If thou dost hold a kinsman may be wronged,
And no
pains follow, thou art much to seek.

CREON
Therein thou judgest rightly, but this wrong
That thou
allegest--tell me what it is.
OEDIPUS
Didst thou or didst thou not advise that I
Should call the
priest?
CREON
Yes, and I stand to it.
OEDIPUS
Tell me how long is it since Laius...
CREON
Since Laius...? I follow not thy drift.
OEDIPUS
By violent hands was spirited away.
CREON
In the dim past, a many years agone.
OEDIPUS
Did the same prophet then pursue his craft?
CREON
Yes, skilled as now and in no less repute.
OEDIPUS
Did he at that time ever glance at me?
CREON
Not to my knowledge, not when I was by.
OEDIPUS
But was no search and inquisition made?
CREON
Surely full quest was made, but nothing learnt.
OEDIPUS
Why failed the seer to tell his story then?
CREON
I know not, and not knowing hold my tongue.
OEDIPUS
This much thou knowest and canst surely tell.
CREON
What's mean'st thou? All I know I will declare.

OEDIPUS
But for thy prompting never had the seer
Ascribed to
me the death of Laius.
CREON
If so he thou knowest best; but I
Would put thee to the
question in my turn.
OEDIPUS
Question and prove me murderer if thou canst.
CREON
Then let me ask thee, didst thou wed my sister?
OEDIPUS
A fact so plain I cannot well deny.
CREON
And as thy consort queen she shares the throne?
OEDIPUS
I grant her freely all her heart desires.
CREON
And with you twain I share the triple rule?
OEDIPUS
Yea, and it is that proves thee a false friend.
CREON
Not so, if thou wouldst reason with thyself,
As I with
myself. First, I bid thee think,
Would any mortal choose a troubled
reign
Of terrors rather than secure repose,
If the same power were
given him? As for me,
I have no natural craving for the name
Of
king, preferring to do kingly deeds,
And so thinks every
sober-minded man.
Now all my needs are satisfied through thee,

And I have naught to fear; but were I king,
My acts would oft run
counter to my will.
How could a title then have charms for me

Above the sweets of boundless influence?
I am not so infatuate as to
grasp
The shadow when I hold the substance fast.
Now all men cry
me Godspeed! wish me well,
And every suitor seeks to gain my ear,

If he would hope to win a grace from thee.
Why should I leave the
better, choose the worse?
That were sheer madness, and I am not mad.

No such ambition ever tempted me,
Nor would I have a share in
such intrigue.
And if thou doubt me, first to Delphi go,
There

ascertain if my report was true
Of the god's answer; next investigate

If with the seer I plotted or conspired,
And if it prove so, sentence
me to death,
Not by thy voice alone, but mine and thine.
But O
condemn me not, without appeal,
On bare suspicion. 'Tis not right to
adjudge
Bad men at random good, or good men bad.
I would as lief
a man should cast away
The thing he counts most precious, his own
life,
As spurn a true friend. Thou wilt learn in time
The truth, for
time alone reveals the just;
A villain is detected in a day.
CHORUS
To one who walketh warily his words
Commend
themselves; swift counsels are not sure.
OEDIPUS
When with swift strides the stealthy plotter stalks
I must
be quick too with my counterplot.
To wait his onset passively, for
him
Is sure success, for me assured defeat.
CREON
What then's thy will? To banish me the land?
OEDIPUS
I would not have thee banished, no, but dead,
That men
may mark the wages envy reaps.
CREON
I see thou wilt not yield, nor credit me.
OEDIPUS
[None but a fool would credit such as thou.] [3]
CREON
Thou art not wise.
OEDIPUS
Wise for myself at least.
CREON
Why not for me too?
OEDIPUS
Why for such a knave?

CREON
Suppose thou lackest sense.
OEDIPUS
Yet kings must rule.
CREON
Not if they rule ill.
OEDIPUS
Oh my Thebans, hear him!
CREON
Thy Thebans? am not I a Theban too?
CHORUS
Cease, princes; lo there comes, and none too soon,

Jocasta from the palace. Who so fit
As peacemaker to reconcile your
feud?
[Enter JOCASTA.]
JOCASTA
Misguided princes, why have ye upraised
This wordy
wrangle? Are ye not ashamed,
While the whole land lies striken, thus
to voice
Your private injuries? Go in, my lord;
Go home, my
brother, and forebear to make
A public scandal of a petty grief.
CREON
My royal sister, Oedipus, thy lord,
Hath bid me choose (O
dread alternative!)
An outlaw's exile or a felon's death.
OEDIPUS
Yes, lady; I have caught him practicing
Against my
royal person his vile arts.
CREON
May I ne'er speed but die accursed, if I
In any way am
guilty of this charge.
JOCASTA
Believe him, I adjure thee, Oedipus,
First for his
solemn oath's sake, then for mine,
And for thine elders' sake who wait
on thee.
CHORUS
(Str. 1)
Hearken, King, reflect, we pray thee, but not

stubborn but relent.
OEDIPUS
Say to what should I consent?
CHORUS
Respect a man whose probity and troth
Are known