cent spirits who guide him by the hand to the bourne of his earthly pilgrimage. Though stripped of his kingdom, he has acquired peace and serenity of mind. "The storm of passion has subsided, and left him calm and firm. He is conscious of a charmed life, safe from the malice of men and the accidents of nature, and reserved by the gods for the accomplishment of high purposes."[1] Ducis, in his play of 'Œdipe,' makes the king himself describe the change which had come over his troubled spirit in some eloquent lines:—
"Sur mon front, cependant, dis-moi, reconnais-tu
L'inaltérable paix qui reste à la vertu?
Je marche sans remords vers mon dernier asile:
Œdipe est malheureux, mais Œdipe est tranquille."
The scenery of Colonus has scarcely changed since the days when Sophocles described his birthplace. The landscape has that enduring beauty which Byron noticed as characteristic of Greece in a well-known passage—
"Yet are thy skies as blue, thy crags as wild,
Sweet are thy groves, and verdant are thy fields,
Thine olive ripe, as when Minerva smiled,
And still his honied wealth Hymettus yields."[2]
A modern traveller[3] has in the same way described the rich contrast of colours which pervades this spot—the sombre green of the bay and myrtle relieved by the golden orange-bloom, the red pomegranate, and
