Thou, the golden chaplet fair
Braiding 'mid thy clustering hair,
To thy native haunts repair,
Thy name that gave;
Thou, whose brow the vine-lees stain,
Thou, to whom on star-lit plain
'Evoe!' sing the frenzied train,—
Bacchus the brave!
With thy torch of pine defy
(Hated by the powers on high)
War's unhallowed deity:
Haste thee to save!"—(A.)
Then Œdipus addresses the Chorus, as representing the people of Thebes; and to the audience, who knew the story well, every word in his speech must have sounded like the bitterest irony, as they listened to the speaker unconsciously invoking upon his own head a curse as solemn and emphatic as that of Kehama.
He speaks as one of themselves—a citizen to citizens—"a stranger to the tale, a stranger to the deed." Should the murderer confess at once, banishment shall be his only punishment. Should any give a clue to his discovery, the informant shall have a reward and thanks. But if, after this gracious offer, the criminal or accomplice hold their peace—
"That man I banish, whosoe'er he be,
From out the land whose power and throne are mine;
And none may give him shelter, none speak to him,
Nor join with him in prayers and sacrifice,
Nor give him share in holy lustral stream;
But all shall thrust him from their homes, declared
Our curse and our pollution."—(P.)
All things conspire, continues Œdipus, to make
