ACT IV
Oedipus: My soul is filled with dark, foreboding fear;
For the gods in heaven and hades join the charge 765
That by my guilty hand King Laius fell.
And yet my soul, in conscious innocence,
And knowing better than the gods themselves
Its secret deeds, denies the charge.
But now,
Along the shadowy vistas of the past,
My memory beholds an agéd man who fell
Beneath the heavy stroke of my stout staff.
But first the elder strove with haughty words 770
To drive the younger traveler from the path.
But that was far from Thebes, in Phocis' realm,
Where the forked road in three directions leads.
But thou, my faithful wife, dispel my care:
What span of life had Laius at his death?
Fell he in manhood's bloom, or spent with age? 775
Jocasta: Midway 'twixt youth and age, but nearer age.
Oedipus: Did courtiers, thronging round, protect his course?
Jocasta: The many lost him on the winding way;
A few by faithful toil kept near his side.
Oedipus: Did any fall as comrade of his fate? 780
Jocasta: One comrade in his death did valor give.
Oedipus: Alas, I stand convicted, for the place
And number tally. Tell me now the time.
Jocasta: Since Laius fell, ten harvests have been reaped.
[Enter an old Corinthian man, a messenger from Merope.]
Old Man [to Oedipus]: The state of Corinth calls thee to the throne,
For Polybus has gained his lasting rest. 785
Oedipus: See how a heartless fate doth compass me!
But tell me how my father met his end.
Old Man: In gentle sleep he breathed his life away.
Oedipus: My sire is dead, and not by violence!
I call the gods to witness that to heaven
I now in piety may lift my hands, 790
And fear no stain of impious slaughter more.
And yet a still more fearful fate remains.
Old Man: Thy father's kingdom will dispel thy fears.
