Chorus
The stranger is a good man, lord.
[1015]
His fate has been accursed, but it is worthy of our aid.
Theseus
Enough of words. The doers of the deed are in flight, while we, the sufferers, stand still.
Creon
What order, then, do you have for a powerless man?
Theseus
Guide the way on the path to them while I escort you,
[1020]
in order that if you are keeping the maidens whom we seek in these lands, you yourself may reveal them to me. But if your men are fleeing with the spoils in their grasp, we may spare our trouble; the chase is for others, from whom they will never escape out of this land to thank their gods.
[1025]
Come, lead the way! And know that the captor has been captured; fate has seized you as you hunted. Gains unjustly got by guile are soon lost. And you will have no ally in your purpose; for I well know that it is not without accomplice or resource that you have come to such
[1030]
outrage, from the daring mood which has inspired you here. There was someone you were trusting in when you did these deeds. This I must consider, and I must not make this city weaker than one man.
Do you take my drift?
[1035]
Or do these words seem as empty as the warnings given when you were laying your plans?
Creon
Say what you wish while you are here; I will not object. But at home I too will know how to act.
Theseus
Make your threats, then, but go forward. As for you, Oedipus, stay here in peace with my pledge that, unless I die beforehand,
[1040]
I will not cease until I put you in possession of your children.
Oedipus
Thanks to you, Theseus, for your nobleness and your righteous care for me!Theseus exits with attendants and Creon.
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Sophocles. The Oedipus at Colonus of Sophocles. Edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb. Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1889.
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